Online identity is a concept that has become more and more important as each year goes by. In this day and age, we are spoiled for choice when choosing what particular platform we choose to establish our identity. Furthermore, it is possible to have different identities for different platforms. Instagram, which has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, is one where an individual’s identity can become quickly misconstrued. Instagram’s focal point is its ability to allow users to post pictures with captions, to an individual’s following. As Instagram’s focus is on pictures that are taken by users, it becomes easy to construct a false image and identity of oneself. But where does this need to create a false persona actually come from? It is possible that we ourselves are only partially to blame, and that social media in the true instigator. Because of Instagram, we are directly exposed to millions and millions of attractive, famous and wealthy individuals with a few just clicks of a screen. It gives us a glimpse of what their lives are like, what they do on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps the biggest problem of having this type of access and exposure is that we start to model our identities after these people, and start to force their personas upon ourselves. Identity, therefore, appears as a result of the balance between the pressures of the unconscious and those of the external world (Faccioli, 2019). Before social media, we did not have this direct line of access to these people. The only ways we could get a glimpse of these celebrities, was through mainstream media, magazines and interviews.
One major problem with all of this is that due to Instagram’s nature, it is so easy to present an image to one’s following, that it may not even represent us at all.
My life is not how it appears…
These images come directly from my own Instagram page. By looking at them, it is easy to create a persona that involves being an ‘outdoors’ type of person who loves hikes, waterfalls and physical activity. This however, is really not a true indication of my life at all. It is a perfect example of how i aim to hide the life i actually live day to day, and replace it with how i actually want people to see me. By looking at these selected photos, it is almost impossible to know that i am a full time student and work a 9-5 desk job.
But why?
Obviously this begs the question… why would I or anyone else do this? I believe that the answer is validation. All we ever see on Instagram are famous people living glamorous lives and it makes us want to do the same. It makes us want to be validated by our friends, family, peers etc. The problem with this, is that our REAL lives, the lives we live Monday to Sunday are sometimes far from glamorous and will almost never be validated by those who week seek validation from, or so we think. This leads into what is likely an even bigger issue. We are now seeking validation from people we do not know and quite frankly we do not particularly care about. This is truly dangerous.
Consequences..
Leaving your persona and hope for validation purely in an online format can perhaps be viewed as ‘safe’. Bringing your online persona and forcing it onto your physical existence is perhaps asking for trouble. If one’s lust for validation leads to them purchasing an expensive outfit they don’t really like, a car they cannot afford or a house that is above their budget, we then venture into dangerous territory. Depending on the extent one takes it to, it can truly affect the life we actually live and those we actually care about. Something that is common is individuals financing cars they should not even be looking at. Ultimately putting them under financial pressure only because they wanted a few pictures and the image that they are ‘rich’ or ‘doing well’. And when you add very REAL aspects of life such as partners and children to the mix we have a recipe for disaster. Controlling our online persona and how far we take is is paramount.
Different personas for different platforms
As mentioned earlier, it is possible to have different personas for different platforms. How one sets up their Instagram account may be very different from how their Twitter or especially Linkdin accounts are made. For myself, Instagram is for displaying how I wish people to view me. Twitter is more of a free space where i can talk about whatever i want and put my thoughts out into the world.
The tweet above is one that I posted and relates to a basketball game i was watching. A big passion of mine.
This other tweet relates the the changes in Australia’s Budget that have been made recently.
Twitter for me is a free fall all, a creative space where i can post my thoughts and feelings about a range of topics.
For obvious reasons, my Linkdin profile is immensely different from my Instagram and twitter pages. This page displays my professional side and is mostly used for interacting with colleagues and other professionals.
The crazy thing is, is that there are three different profiles above, all very, very different. Which one is real? Maybe none of them are. Or, maybe all of them are. I believe that how we depict our online identities, is a result of how we view our one true identity, and how we wish to display them on the various online platforms available. What is truly amazing, is that every individual views all of these things differently, leading to various interpretations of social media and our identity.
thewolfofallstreets 