Online Self
I am and Anthropology student, and I wanted to start off my medium account by commenting on something that attracts my interest above all. Specifically I refer to the online self. The online self is different and unique to all. My definition of the online self, however, is the self that we portray online through a variety of social media. Whether it is authentic to ourself offline selves, our online self has extensive opportunities (good or bad) that our offline self may not have.
Here I refer to the ability for the online self to allow an individual to exist in another space. This space, the online space, can facilitate our socialization, in addition to suffocating our offline contact. I think it is important to look not only at the down falls of social media, and the way in which it distracts individuals from “paying attention to their real lives,” but to look at the opportunities it allows.
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For individuals who find it difficult to navigate the “real world” I think it is important to have a space where they can “be.” For example, individuals who have extreme anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, or physical disorders, which keep them indoors, the online space permits them to “have a life” that they might otherwise be unable to participate within. We can see success stories here, even when we look to people who display their entire lives on platforms such as YouTube. Select individuals have made a career for themselves on online platforms, and through communication with complete strangers. The fact and everyone has the opportunity to create a career for themselves, is exhilarating and fascinating, in my opinion.
It is important, to remember the pit falls of social media on the individual. For example, although we have the ability to have an entire alternate life online, consequences will always exist for some people. When we look at bullying and harassment, the internet is a perfect petri dish for negativity to fester and spread. Anonymity, permanence of messages, and being able to reach anyone at any time of the day, make cyber-harassment a very frightening possibility. There are many cases of people who have taken their own lives due to the ruthless harassment of their online selves. Almost ironically, when these individuals take their own offline lives, their online lives remain, as a ghost of the self that once controlled them. The online self is must more permanent in this way; it is immortal.
The online self, a product of the computer and the internet is a volatile and important aspect of modern self. Careful maintenance, and curation is required in order to create a successful self. We now teach the younger generation the significance of displaying one’s self online and the many repercussions and advantages implicated.
If we have so much of ourselves online, that we are able to make connection to others in any part of the world, is it really such a bad thing to have less physical relationships? I do not think there is an easy answer. The answer depends entirely on the individual, their situation, and their self.
