“Me, Social Media and I”
I would define my involvement with the web as “average, but not”, mainly because the standards for being “average” are continuously changing as new social media powerhouses are introduced into society. I had stepped into the social media circle at a young age, having created an email address, Myspace account and Facebook account before high school. My motives were simple; I wanted to conform to the web frenzy everybody around me seemed to be absorbed in. As a pre-teen, I was very keen on the idea of fitting in, because surely, if everyone was on the web, then it must be a socially acceptable activity to follow. However, the need to appease everyone else eventually dissipated, and the purposes for my continued use of social media sites changed to fulfill my own desires: to communicate with others, to learn about matters in and out of the classroom, and to entertain myself. This is why I consider my presence on the web “average”, as I use social media sites for myself, for entertainment.
Despite all that though, as the criteria for new new media rises, so do the reasons for involvement in it, by which I only consider half. As Paul Levinson, author of New New Media, elaborates, one important reason why mediums such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Foursquare and so forth, are classified as new new media, rather than simply, new media, is due to the fact that the audience is given the powers to be both a consumer and a producer of content. Just as it is simple to watch a video, listen to a song, or read a blog, the same work can be created and posted just as easily on the web by those behind the screens. However, I have always had a passive presence on the web, meaning I have taken on the role as consumer of social media. I simply surf and observe the web, rarely putting my own words out there. I’ve always considered a producer to be anyone or anything that creates his, her or its own output. Output may range from an original short story uploaded Wattpad, a math question posted to Yahoo Answers, or even a reply to a comment on a YouTube video. I appreciate the path social media has taken in granting a slightly bit more power for the consumers. I find this aspect of the new mediums for new media extremely profound and empowering for the brilliant minds around the world who have little to no ability to share their ideas and work in person. The realm social media has now encompassed, spreading its availability with ease through time and space, providing, in more ways than one, be it necessary or not, a means to connect and share ideas, relationships and words has steadily merged the roles of consumer and producer together.
The reliance on social media, however, has drastically increased to the point that I have become mildly disgusted in not just society, but myself as well. As I admitted earlier, the web has plenty of benefits to offer for humans in these online mediums that allow for the dispersing of ideas, connecting of people and entertaining the self and others. In particular, I have gained the advantage of communicating with individuals I wouldn’t see or meet otherwise in person through the web, the ability to get in contact whenever and wherever I want, which is a definite plus. Communication and connection with friends and family, is certainly an important part of my life. Facebook, the one frequent new new media medium that I use, is a simple and efficient means to keep up with the lives of the people around me. As brought up in BBC’s video, “The Virtual Revolution: Homo Interneticus”, Facebook has become a “self sustaining and self fulfilling system”, run by the connections we personally make online with one another. However, there’s also a dark side to this kind of system: the growing, desperate need to be validated by others’ actions and words through this online society. The video brings up the idea of a feedback loop, in which people are relying on the approval and acceptance of other people in order to feel any kind of sentiment. This is actual present in society offline, in the form of conforming to normalcy, peer pressure and the idea of acceptance by the community, but it has transferred over to the world on the web. Instead of, while still going with the Facebook example, writing a post just to let out emotions or a thought, people have an inner motive, which is to have said post “liked” or “commented on” by others. Then elaboration of what the person was feeling or saying at the moment can be made. Otherwise, if no one on Facebook even had the slightest response to one’s post, he or she would feel silly to have made it in the first place.
Now, having only used Facebook for the past few years to stay connected online, I can’t assume that all social media mediums elicit this kind of senseless dependency on the public by the individual. However, even as a passive user of Facebook, meaning making the occasional scroll through my news feed or responding to a chat message, I have felt such a need for validation before. Making a post or commenting on another takes a slightly longer time than I would like, hence my mild dislike at myself. Thoughts such as “Will I get a response back?”, “What if no one likes this?”, or even “On a scale of 1 or 10, how stupid does this sound?” come forth. Maybe it is me being self conscious once again, or maybe it really is a constant need for feedback to authenticate feelings which should be labeled as my own. This need for validation does not affect my relations with others in person though. If that were to ever come in between live, interpersonal relationships, then there would be a problem.
Regardless, I believe the dependency on others comes hand in hand with the advancing new forms of social media, since they work to bring people closer and closer. It’s not the same dependency on people’s opinions because we wish to hear them out and respect their wishes; it has evolved to one that relies on others’ thoughts to make certain one’s own are acceptable. Whether or not this affects me or my family any time soon should not be a problem, because not only is my web presence minimal, but so is my family’s knowledge of the web. This does cause rifts sometimes, when my family does not see the appeal in continuous use of the web, while I, just an average college student, can easily waste half a day on a computer. With peers though, the web has definitely created an easy bridge to connect and bond over, ultimately serving the purpose of social media.
Overall, my lack of presence on the web does not eat away at me. I enjoy the type of participation I put into social media, and don’t feel a strong need to change it at the moment. But, if and when I can gain a large benefit out of social media, I, like many others, will certainly take advantage of the openness the new media has to offer.