![]() Contributed by Peter Ludolph In the internet media age, we have seen an increase in conversations about race, culture, and activism. There have been two major subjects in race within the realm of the internet in the last couple of years. The first involves racial discrimination—particularly discrimination toward black Americans by police officers. The second major subject has been the idea of transracial legitimacy. Both of these receive support and criticism in their aims to create social change. In this short article, I will write about the idea of racial transformation and how the internet has reacted to this idea. When many people think about the idea of racial transformation, one name usually is brought up before all others: Rachel Dolezal. This woman was the former head of the Spokane, WA, chapter of the NAACP. She was born and raised white but in early adulthood she began to identify as a black woman. She has received both support and criticism for her decision in changing her identity. Large portions of the internet population has expressed feelings of opposition toward Dolezal, however, the academic community has been accepting of Dolezal’s racial transformation. I think that this contrast in opinion on behalf of the internet toward Dolezal shows an interesting characteristic of the internet when it comes to social commentary. Internet media is in many ways a mirror in the way it reflects back toward people the feelings that exist on certain topics. Most of the support seen on the internet for Dolezal comes from the academic sphere, while, at the same time, the negative commentary or opposition comes from those outside the academic realm. White people seem to not care as much when a black person says they identify as white, as black people do when a white person says that they identify as black. This probably has to do with a feeling that white people don’t understand the struggle of black people, so identifying as black when you’re white comes off as demeaning. In the past, people were not thought to be able to change or decide what their race is. However, this is a changing value in our society and most of the commentary that is going on about this subject is off of the internet. Much of what is being discussed on the internet is the core concept of racial fluidity, which includes the main question, “Can people choose their race?” Recently, Nancy Leong did an article for The New York Times called “Racial Fluidity Complicates the Value We Assign to Race” (Leong, 2015). In it, she talks about how society gives different values toward different races within society. In particular she notes that there are specific advantages to being white in society and other equal advantages to being black (Leong, 2015). She continues by writing that for white people the ability to get loans, get jobs, and even sell things on Ebay comes easier (Leong, 2015). On the flip side, black people tend to have advantages with companies that are trying to diversify their workforce (Leong, 2015). The problem that arises, Leong notes, is that when we accept racial fluidity we then begin to take away those particular advantages from people who are specific races (Leong, 2015). An example of this may be a white person identifying as black receiving the benefits of Affirmative Action to the same extent as a black person. To many people this would not seem fair, however, if race determines these benefits, then racial fluidity could aid a person in getting benefits they would not have originally been entitled to. You can find Nancy Leong’s article here. Other points that fight the idea of racial transformation are arguments that race cannot change because it is beyond a choice. Race in many way is an experience. We are born into a race and every experience from birth in a particular race defines the experiences of that race. A black person who is born black and raised black cannot define their experience growing up to be white because that is what they felt like they were. Race is not merely as individualistic as something like gender is. Gender has a highly limited amount of possibilities, whereas race has many forms. A person who decides that they are white after living their whole life as black is not actually white. They are their own race in many ways because the experience of being a race has to be a lifelong experience to truly be a particular race. The jury is still out on the case of transracial people. Most new media sources have not made their mind up on what their thoughts are on transracial individuals. I believe that in the coming years it will become more apparent on forms of new media what people actually think about this concept. If you want to be at the forefront of this type of discussion, the best place to talk about it is the internet. The amount of discussion going on about this topic is staggering. Works Cited Leong, Nancy. "Racial Fluidity Complicates the Value We Assign to Race." The New York Times. 2015 The New York Times Company, 17 June 2015. Web. 18 Mar. 2016.
0 Comments
![]() Contributed by Gustavo Zogobi Humans of New York is a blog and bestselling book containing portraits and interviews collected on the streets of New York. Brandon Stanton is a photographer and the creator. He started writing it in November 2010. The initial goal for Brandon was to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers on the street, and after that he would be creating a catalogue of the city’s inhabitants. At some point of doing it, he started interviewing his subjects in addition to photographing them, and alongside their portraits he would be including quotes and stories about their lives. Later on, he started doing both things together. He was photographing and writing about the inhabitants of New York. After doing that for a while, Humans of New York was born. Brandon looks for any kind of person that wants to share some interesting aspect of their lives. For him, where you came from, your race, your sexuality, or your religion does not matter. What really matters for him is the point that you have a great story that you can be told, and that he can publish. New York being one of the biggest cities in the world is great for this kind of thing. With thousands and thousands of different people, with many kinds of culture, Brandon is in paradise. One of the greatest things about Humans of New York is that anyone can be a protagonist. For Brandon, it's only important that you have something really interesting to tell, any kind of story, based on some experience in life that you have lived. Racism, discrimination, or differences do not exist for Brandon. His job is to know a lot of different people, and consequently new cultures, and that is what he looks for. Humans of New York can be accessed in any social media. It can be found on Facebook with over seventeen million likes so far. Also, it can be found on Instagram, and almost 5 million people have liked it on Instagram. Brandon Stanton has a Twitter account, and on Twitter he shares every story that he publishes. On his Twitter account he has almost five hundred thousand followers. Lastly, Humans of New York has its own website where people can learn more about what Brandon does and what Humans of New York is. Humans of New York has become a success with all those followers on social media because people want to know about each other’s lives. What Brandon does without any kind of discrimination of culture, race, and religion is especially great. People like sites like this one because it reflects reality; it is not like a movie where almost everything is fiction. Personally, I think Humans of New York is awesome. Every week I read a different story, and how Brandon does it is phenomenal. He always tells interesting stories. It seems like he knows how to pick the right person because every person has an amazing story that has to be told. It does not matter the age, gender, race, country, and religion, every time that he tells a story it gets more interesting. And what always gets my attention is that every person has something absolutely amazing that has to be heard, and Brandon does it perfectly. He deserves all the success that he is having right now with Humans of New York because he knows how to do it. It is not simply a picture and a story that he presents, it is way more. He makes us, his audience, wait anxiously for the next post. Keep doing it, Humans of New York; keep making us to read more, and more. Brandon, you are great! Students in COM425 were asked to contribute opinion articles on the subject of the #BlackLivesMatter campaign and the various responses it has inspired. This forum features student opinions and perspectives on the hashtag campaign, its meanings, and its efficacy in promoting or restricting understanding and justice. ![]() #BlackLivesDoMatter Contributed by Willie Franke The year 2013 was a year that changed a lot of people’s lives, but perhaps none more than those of Trayvon Martin and his family. In this year, Trayvon Martin was killed by a community watch member, George Zimmerman. Trayvon had been returning home from a convenience store with a can of soda and a bag of candy. These items had been misjudged by George Zimmerman as harmful weapons or perhaps stolen goods. The town Trayvon had been walking through had recently seen a number of burglaries, which is why Zimmerman had been volunteering on the neighborhood watch. There was then an altercation involving the two. Martin was shot and killed, and Zimmerman was injured but remained in good health and was not charged for any wrongdoings. As a result of this incident, in 2013, the activist movement #BlackLivesMatter started to raise awareness of unfair treatment of Black Americans by the police. This movement was founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. This movement has reached global popularity raising questions of racism, profiling, brutality, and unfair legal treatment to minority races. This activism has been a huge success in raising awareness of unfair treatment, especially at the hands of our own police officers in our country. But we still have work to do as a society to end racism. This campaign for #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) is now rivaled by other hashtags branching off of it. For example, #BlueLivesMatter is a campaign trying to raise awareness that police officers’ lives matter because they are getting a lot of the blame and are also being wrongfully killed themselves. Also, the biggest hashtag to combat BLM is #AllLivesMatter. This movement is taking a jab at BLM because they are trying to say that all lives are important, not just Black lives. In my opinion, all lives do matter, but the original #BlackLivesMatter movement was not to claim that Black lives only matter. It is also not saying that Black lives matter more than other lives. The argument I hear from this activism is that Black lives DO matter, as opposed to they don’t matter. This activism is trying to raise awareness that these Black individuals being killed have families, friends, pets, etc., and they matter to all of those people just as much as a White person or a person of any other race would to their families and friends. I think by adding the word “do” to #BlackLivesMatter and making it #BlackLivesDoMatter would change the way people view the activism and will help people understand the real message: all lives matter. Each life matters the same as the next no matter what size, shape, age, race, or religion. We need to prove to everyone that all lives matter by supporting the movement #BlackLivesMatter because they need the most help right now. ![]() #BlackLivesMatter vs. #AllLivesMatter Contributed by J'Clef After the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, the Black Lives Matter organization was created. The movement was started in the year of 2013 as a hashtag that represented how African Americans were being treated and killed by police. The movement's main purpose is to bring awareness to police brutality and racial discrimination. This organization has become the face of the African American culture. They stand up for freedom of speech and equality. #BlackLivesMatter has become such an influence on the world that many media organizations have compared it to the Civil Rights Movement. Some see this organization as a way of saying that other lives don’t matter. It became such an argument that there was a hashtag that countered #BlackLivesMatter, called #AllLivesMatter. The All Lives Matter movement believes that everyone should be cared for and that black lives are not the only one, but the rapper Macklemore spoke back and gave a prime example of why Black Lives Matters should be used and supported. Within one of his songs, he stated, “If there's a subdivision and a house is on fire...the fire department wouldn't show up and put water on all the houses because all houses matter, they would show up and turn on their water on the house that was burning because that's the house that needs help the most.” What Macklemore is trying to say is that as a nation we understand that all lives matter, but right now, within the African American culture, there is a problem that needs recognition and needs to be solved. When it comes to #AllLivesMatter, there was an African American male by the name of Tim Scott who defended this movement and got a lot of heat for it. After receiving many messages supporting #AllLivesMatter, Scott responded by saying "If it causes offense that I say that 'all lives matter'—black lives, white lives, police officers, jurists, all of us, even politicians, all of our lives matter—if that is somehow offensive to someone, that's their issue, not mine." Scott believes he has the right to say that other lives matter and there’s no need for people to get offended because his statement is true. I definitely agree, but I can definitely counter that. If I were able to give him a scenario, I would say, “What if your mom had died and you were at her funeral and you cried out, 'My mom’s life mattered,' but another person got up and said 'Everyone's mom’s life mattered?'” I believe he would be upset and tell that person to sit down or leave because at that moment and time he is hurting and needs to be comforted as an individual. When I look at both organizations, I side with Black Lives Matter. I understand that all lives matter but, being an African American myself, I understand that my race is being beaten and killed every day by police and others, no matter if they are innocent or guilty of a crime. When I stand up for Black Lives Matter, I am not just standing up for black people, but for my future children, for life in general, and for equality as human beings. Now that I have chosen my path, I dare you to support #BlackLivesMatter, not because I’m black, but because are live matter just like yours. All Lives Matter…or Not? Contributed by Romain Johnson II I’ve been on a #BlackLivesMatter rant for a few months now, but it's something that hits home with me. The campaign itself has been a huge effort to get support across the country to rally together for this one cause, this one message that we are trying to send to the entire world, but things keep happening to complicate the message. Things like people saying “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter,” like everyone doesn’t have an understanding of that already. Yeah, I agree, all peoples' lives including cops' lives matter to people. But the message that the black community is trying to give off is that a lot of people aren’t seeing value in black lives and we need to come together to make sure they do. I feel that people are trying to take us away from what we are coming together for, which is each other. If all lives did truly matter to those who feel the need to say it, then why can’t they understand the reason behind why the hashtag was ever created? When I look at this situation I feel that globalization is having a negative impact. What I mean by that is that it seems like the world is trying to generalize everyone's situation, making us all equal, even when the black community is not being treated equally. Media globalization is a huge key for this situation. Anyone across the globe now can participate in these anti-campaigns to belittle the minority group that is trying to overcome these situations. America seems to be a frontrunner for all social media, and it is evident that something is wrong. Many people feel the same way, too, which is kind of scary to anyone that is a minority in the country and world. ![]() Make America Great Again? Contributed by Ashton Holzman Racial tensions have come to a head in the media in recent months. Donald Trump’s rise to political success certainly can be connected to some racial issues. The amount of support that Donald Trump has acquired concerns me. The things that Donald Trump is publicly saying are frightening. His clear disdain for the Muslim religion and disrespect of immigrants makes me sick to my stomach. What might concern me more is the amount of people that are publicly supporting his racist, ignorant statements. The most common response I’ve heard in support of Trump is, “he tells it like it is.” If he is saying things that are morally gray, at best, is that something you really want to align yourself with? The “Make America Great Again” slogan that Trump rallies behind baffles me. At what point is he referring to America being great? When we first became an independent nation that was started on the basis of the right to practice any religion? Or possibly shortly after when we fought a war amongst ourselves over whether slavery should be legal. How about that period of time known as, “The Great Depression?” Even better yet, how about when women weren’t allowed to vote? Although, based on some of his comments it doesn’t seem too far off to think that Mr. Trump wouldn’t mind America going back to that. But most of all what do all of those “great” times in American history have in common? The oppression of African Americans. Sierra Thomas is a student at Virginia State. She attended a Trump rally intending to protest his message. It was the same rally that resulted in the now famous viral video of a black man being sucker-punched while being escorted out. During Trump’s speech, Thomas started yelling “Black Lives Matter!” Trump pointed in her direction and said, “Get out.” As she was being escorted out by police, she claims she heard countless words of hatred littered with the “N” word (Thomas). An article written by her can be found here. I would by no means argue that all people that support Donald Trump think this way, or use this word regularly—doing so would be stooping to his level—but the lack of Trump stepping up and condemning this behavior speaks volumes to his character. I have tried to keep my political views to myself, but the possibility that Donald Trump could be the President of the United States of America is something that is far too important to stay silent about. An America that elects Donald Trump is not an America I want to be associated with. I would no longer be “proud to be an American.” To be frank, I would be embarrassed. This man publicly stated, “If Hilary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?” (Weaver). I would be ashamed of my fellow voters. Not because Donald Trump is leading our nation, but because it shows how insanely far we as a nation have fallen from what I thought was a time of acceptance and equality during the 2008 election of Barack Obama. It seemed to me—a severely misinformed high schooler—that America was finally embracing the differences of all people. I guess I couldn’t have been more wrong. Works Cited Thomas, Sierra K. "I Yelled ‘Black Lives Matter!’ at a Trump Rally. This Is What Happened Next." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. Weaver, Al. "Trump: How Can Hillary ‘Satisfy America’ If She ‘Can’t Satisfy Her Husband?’." The Daily Caller. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2016. ![]() Effective Activism Contributed by Yoji Hayashi The term activism itself is strongly related to social movements because activists are usually taking actions for social changes in order to spread their claims. In particular, they are taking the actions for social, political, economic, or environmental changes. Although there are several reasons behinds the activism, an expression of activism can be very different based on sex, race, age, and social classes. Interestingly, some activists introduce their claims through music and movies. For example, Bob Marley was well-known Jamaican reggae singer. He was also well-known activist who worked to promote racial equality in the late 1960s in Jamaica. As an activist, his songs encouraged people in the world to rethink about race and cultures. Today, activists promote their claims via digital mass media, such as Facebook and Twitter. On the Facebook and Twitter, activists promote their claims with hashtags which is known as hashtag activism. Albright (2015) states “58% of Americans think that tweeting or posting information online is an effective form of advocacy,” and “people are really excited by the idea that they could use Facebook and Twitter to make a change in the world, but there are a lot of factors that go into the success of a campaign; including, of course, the definition of success.” When I check my Facebook page, my friends share news articles. Recently, many people shared an article about the American presidential campaign. In particular, Donald Trump is the specific target of activists because his political notions have created a stir in the world. The Japan Times (2016) reported, “Trump dismissed the notion his extreme statement on immigrants and Muslims had exacerbated tensions.” Because his political notion is too biased for particular racial groups, many activists were taking actions against his political allies in Chicago. I believe posting information is an effective way to promote activism, but when activists promote their claims, they should consider how activism is promoted by social media. ![]() Contributed by J'Clef In the 21st century, Facebook has become the number one social media in the country. According to Newsroom, there are over 1.59 billion users of Facebook. Facebook is a site that allows people from all across the world to create a page for themselves and demonstrate who they are. Yet Facebook promotes hyper-personal communication and this relates to Facebook relationship statuses. Think: why do people want to publicly disclose their relationships so quickly? Is it that they are desperate for attention? Do they really want everyone to know that they are taken for the right reasons? A couple of days ago, I asked my fiancée why it is important to have the relationship status posted on Facebook, and she said that it means that we are truly official. Let me explain. In this generation, showing love and commitment online allows for your significant other to know that you don’t care about what others say and that you will let the whole world know how happy and committed you are. When asking students around the school, I found that many of us (and especially the women) feel that if their partner does not have the guts to acknowledge the relationship on Facebook, then that partner is ashamed and hiding something. Many of the students I spoke with also feel that when there is no relationship status visual, a person may be trying to keep themselves open to relationships with other people by making it seem as if they are still single. But my real question is still why information about a relationship is broadcasted so quickly. In my opinion, many people want to hurry up and make a relationship “Facebook official,” so that they may be perceived of as a good, committed person or just to let others know what they have done. Relationship status on Facebook is like a milestone you have achieved in life. I relate Facebook relationship statuses to social exchange. The information spreads quickly, but it always has a reason behind it. I asked a woman in her mid-30s about Facebook relationship status posts and she said that relationship statuses are not important to her, but it depends on the person, their age, and how they feel about themselves. She definitely made me think. What if those who are so worried about their relationship status are the ones that are insecure and lack trust in their relationship? Many may feel that if there is a relationship status posted on their partners’ page, others would not attempt to flirt or make a move on their other half. Also, one may feel as if the status secures them from people to whom they do not want to talk, such as past boyfriends or an old crush. Further, after doing a little research, I noticed that many people disagree with me and feel as if Facebook relationship statuses are not being used often anymore. I found out that instead of having a status, some people are now using their photos as the tool for showing off their relationship. Many use their cover picture, by having a photo of themselves and their partners. In all, Facebook statuses are optional but can also create our identity online, portraying that we can be insecure, happy, confident, committed, and even excited about achieving something new. Even though the information about the relationship is visual and posted at a fast pace, I have come to a new conclusion about whether the status posts are necessary in our social media. What do you think? Does relationship status truly define who you are as a person in society and does it still create this image within other people’s minds? ![]() Contributed by Willie Franke Many of us have that one friend who posts pictures of their food on social media. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a healthy snack, we can always count on pictures blowing up their news feed. Why do such people feel the need to post pictures of their food instead of just old-fashioned eating it? Imagine you’re on a date, and your date ordered something great to eat. The food comes out and by the time they’re done snapping a picture with the right lighting and posting the final product with an “original” caption, you’ve already almost finished with your dish. What do you do then? You’ve finished eating and your date is still working. Do you watch them eat? Do you talk to them while their mouth is full? No, you sit there awkwardly and you probably don’t get a second date. Yes, this example is extreme, but in reality, is it really that far out of reach? According to eater.com, people who take and post pictures of their food are believed to have a mental illness. This illness describes people’s obsessive relationship to food, which can lead to obesity. This is another extreme example, but is it unimaginable? An example that NFL or sports enthusiasts know of is what happened to Eddie Lacey, a running back of the Green Bay Packers. His story starts in college, where tweets were recovered of him posting pictures of his food and tweeting about food. From his senior year of college to his third year in the NFL, he put on roughly 50-60 pounds, including 30 in three months from draft day to training camp. This is one example of performed identity because it is a routine performed regularly, and eventually it defines who you are. Now, posting pictures of food doesn’t exactly mean you’re going to become obese. Don’t worry, it’s not always about the quantity of posts that are made if the food is healthy. Obviously, healthy food will lead to a healthier lifestyle than Eddie has been living. According to psychologytoday.com, the number two reason why people post pictures of their food is to show other people what a good job they are doing of eating healthy, and to encourage others to do the same. This is an example of self-identification because people are trying to belong to a group, or trying to start a group among their followers. For example, there may be a group on Facebook that is trying to lose weight to live a better lifestyle. They post pictures on this page to show other members their progress, and also encourage the other members to follow in their footsteps. Their pictures might also spark interest in people who would like the same meal or recipe, and they will duplicate it for themselves. In conclusion, posting pictures of food on Facebook, whether it will annoy your audience or not, is a great way to identify yourself, your goals, and your taste interests. However, be aware of what types of foods people in your network are posting. Noticing early trends of unhealthy eating may save a friend, family member, or acquaintance before they become overweight or obese. This is an easy way to track people’s eating habits too, if you pay attention closely. And one final thought: be mindful of the audience of your posts. Some people will like your post, others may become annoyed. ![]() Contributed by Lindsey Vagnini Recently, my iPhone 4 had blackened and become unresponsive, and despite my frantic attempts to press the little circular button with the square on top as many times and as hard as I could without causing a different reason for its fragmentary state, it stayed that way. After 24 hours of my iPhone refusing to come back from the Apple Inc. dead, I realized its absence caused an uncomfortableness in me that I didn’t know existed. Suddenly, I lost immediate contact with my friends, family, boss, co-workers, classmates, and so on. While maybe extreme, this feeling is experienced by many. The moment your phone stops working for more than an hour—or, for some, even ten minutes—creates feelings of irresponsibility. For instance, I couldn’t reach, respond, or ultimately do one of the most important things humans regularly do: communicate! ![]() After 48 hours, I couldn’t take the sight of my lifeless iPhone and went to a local Apple store. When I arrived, I explained my situation to the Apple store associate. I thought maybe because the iPhone 4 is becoming more outdated by the minute, my phone would never be usable again, and it was time for a new iPhone. Immediately, the associate took my iPhone and put one finger on the circle button (what I now call the “magic iPhone puddle”) and another on the on/off button placed on its top edge. Bam! My social relationship world was rejuvenated and I had my source of communication back! Apparently, if an iPhone is not turning on, pushing both of these buttons for 30 seconds at the same time brings the iPhone instantly back to life; however, holding just one of these buttons deletes its internal storage. Good tip! The incident left me wondering: is this a problem? Is this a possibly ever-accruing phenomenon, that while useful for those with the incapability to communicate through conversation, we use our technology to converse more than we use face-to-face social exchange? Some research says relying on technology is constructive. In other words, our reliance on technology is helping to develop a task only possible through the assistance of these digital devices; therefore, this makes digital assistance somewhat of a necessity. This form of communication is called Assistive Technology. In some ways, Assistive Technology could be taking on a new meaning when we consider our internal anxieties caused by the absence of technology. For instance, the “high tech” described in this PBS article reveals the reliance people are putting on their technology when living a twenty-first century version of a “normal” life. In this case, technology is used to fill the need that people with disabilities cannot, without technology’s assistance. So, in this sense, relying on technology is essential for some folks. Still, the question remains: is this reliance a good thing, even when it is necessary for certain individuals' daily functionality? The worrisome aspect of this idea is that people concerned about their technology needs seem to be few in number. This lack of “worried people” posing, holding, and using iPhones in the images released even in the large domains like Google Images are, in my experience, hard to find. For example, in my search to find a representation for this post, I googled the following: “worried people with iPhones.” Needless to say, I found just the opposite in my results. For example, images of Barack Obama, a sunburnt chimpanzee, and a bunch people with teeth glistening smiles surrounded by at least one iPhone appeared. It is safe to say iPhones, according to the Internet’s representation of them, are perceived as healthy and pleasant interactive devices. Google Images seem to think so, and many other advertisement companies often project a sense of mutual agreement in the images they disclose on their websites. This positive light could be causing us to rely on iPhone assistance to effectively communicate in our lives. In consequence, could it be that losing our mouth would worry us less than losing our iPhone? After all, we don’t need a mouth to send a text message! ![]() Contributed by Thomas Tochterman Imagine yourself surfing the web and stumbling across a picture of your significant other captured or posing in a provocative and or embarrassing photo. Would you be able to look at him or her the same again? What would you think about how they portrayed their identity online? These are questions online users have to be aware of when posting pictures on the internet. A popular photo entertainment website known as “The Chive” has been growing in popularity since its emergence in the year 2007. The website is operated by Resignation LLC which first drew the attention of online users by posting internet hoaxes about well-known people and events. Since 2007, the site has grown dramatically, redesigning its content into photo and video categories for user entertainment. The site contains photo and video categories such as “Work Happens” and “So You Got Wasted.” Many other categories of the website may seem provocative to some users because of the exploitation of females. These categories include names such as “Hump Day” and “Future Lower Back Problems” where females are shown posing half naked to show their bodily features. The Chive pulls some of their photos from websites throughout the Internet but it also allows users to upload and post their own photos as well. The site contains no personal information such as name or location but only the image itself. So what does this website have to do with online identity? Even though “The Chive” is purely designed for user entertainment, the posted images of people pose an identity portrayal issue. Other social media websites such as Facebook allow users not only to post pictures but also personal information to portray a certain online identity. “The Chive” only allows for pictures and, as we all know, pictures can say a thousand words. Users who post provocative pictures on “The Chive” need to be aware of what they are portraying their identity to be online. These users need to be aware of the repercussions of millions of other users looking at their photos and making judgements about who they are in reality. Say a female user posts a half-naked photo of herself in her bedroom mirror to “The Chive” before she goes to bed and the next day her coworker recognizes her on the website and mentions something to their boss. The female’s representation of her online identity could have major repercussions because of one picture. This obviously raises more concerns when the pictures are uploaded without the woman's permission. Online identity is easy to create and difficult to change once it has been seen by millions of users. Users are not always aware of the identity they are creating online with the use of pictures. The way people represent their identity online can be completely different from their identity in real life, but a certain embarrassing or controversial picture of them posted online can be up for interpretation by a large audience and that my friends is a scary thing to think about. |
New and Social MediaOn this page, students provide reports and opinions on various developments and social concerns in new media communication. Categories
All
Archives
April 2019
|