Access this journal, Social Media and Society, and read one article from the current issue that appeals to your interests. In a blog post, provide a brief description and an analysis of the article of your choice. Do you agree with the authors? If not – why not? (350-400 words)
Individuals change and adapt their behavior according to their social situation; this is the opening line of the journal article written by Brittany I Davidson and Adam N Johnson. After reading this, ask yourself? Do you change your behaviour according to the social media platform you are using?
The article states that users take on diverse personalities dependent on the platform they’re using. For instance, Facebook is utilised to showcase more family-friendly content. Users were more likely to post their holiday snaps on Facebook. Whereas Instagram users would opt for their ‘best photo’ instead (Davidson & Johnson, 2020, p. 6). The correlation between Facebook and Instagram mediums is the photo sharing aspect between the two, often in tandem with one another.
This indicates we make ourselves more appealing to the eye for Instagram or try and give off an illusion that we’re family-friendly on Facebook. Are these personas we’re perpetuating who we truly are? As someone who doesn’t use social media, bar Messenger and WhatsApp, I find this chameleon behaviour quite fascinating. I often wonder why do people do it? Take my Mum, for example; she loves Facebook, cooking is her passion, and it’s something she’s known for, thanks to social media.
Growing up, I have noticed a trend in her dishes. Becoming more technically sound and delicious as I’ve grown older (not that I’m complaining). Is she cooking these extra succulent meals as a means to test her cooking ability, or is she trying to show off to her legion of fans that she can indeed cook? Maybe it’s all the above. Whatever the reason, it’s worked out quite well for her, opening ‘Nori’s Kitchen,’ her own catering business which feeds the Filipino communities within Tucson, AZ.
“You have one identity. [. . .] The days of you having a different image for your work friends or co-workers and for the other people you know are probably coming to an end pretty quickly.” – Mark Zuckerberg (Davidson & Johnson, 2021, p. 1). I disagree. It’s been eleven years, and now, more so than ever, people are chameleonising their social media behavior. Is the professional LinkedIn profile you have created your true self? Is your life as advertised on snapchat really that interesting? Do you really enjoy moving strangely on Tik Tok to a 1-minute dance clip? I’m sure these are all extensions of yourself, but in my experience exaggerated extensions that don’t always conform to reality.
So, do I think people shape shift across social media? Absolutely, the evidence is in this article, and every time you look down at your phone. There’s nothing wrong with changing your persona a little when engaging online, I just believe we should stay true to ourselves and not try and conform to what is trendy at the time.
Are we dancer? Or are we human?
References
Davidson, B. I., & Johnson, A. I., (2021) Shape Shifting Across Social Media. SAGE, 1(11). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305121990632
Totally agree, we do present a different persona depending on which social media platform we are on. I think this is because we do it naturally in our day to day lives. Our connection with our work colleagues is quite different to the connection we have with our friends. I think this is why there is such a variety of social media platforms available as different platforms appeal to different personalities and hobbies.