Q1. What do I do if I feel the urge to share a photo of my baby?

The short answer is “Resist it!” and don’t share any photos of your baby. If you are finding it hard not to share a photo of your baby, then think of it this way — imagine that sharing a photo is the equivalent to shaking your baby. You wouldn’t want to cause brain damage to your baby would you? So please don’t cause self-esteem damage to your baby either. Remember that one day they will grow up and have a life of their own [and they are the ones who will take care of you when you’re wearing a diaper].

Q2. How about sharing photos of my baby privately with family members only?

I cannot believe you’re still dwelling on this! Take my advice; there is no privacy when it comes to online social media. Just five days ago (7th June 2018), Facebook had another meltdown with their security, where 14 million users were affected by a bug which posted their private posts. You can read about it here.

Q3. Ok, so forget the baby photos. What about taking photos of me?

I think that the question you should ask yourself is: “What am I getting out of sharing selfies?” If you feel that you need to perform for likes and comments from your online friends [and strangers], then I sincerely feel sorry for you. I am not going to lecture you about how you should love yourself just the way you are and that you shouldn’t need the approval of anyone else to do so. No, instead I am going to paint a scenario for you. Imagine you are going for an important job interview that you’ve been waiting for a long time. Back in the day job interviews were carried out as a means to confirm what you have written about yourself and your qualifications in your curriculum vitae — sort of like a psychometric test. Nowadays, job interviewers are able to read your [unfiltered] whole life’s story on your social media and they are able to form an opinion about you before they even meet you. If that is not an enough good reason for you, then by all means carry on with the show.

Q4. Will I go to hell if I don’t type “Amen” or share an image of a sick child?

On the contrary, you will go to hell if you do! [laughs]. But joking apart, you have to be mindful of what you share and to which posts you react — if you do not know the source, then just ignore or report the post. If you really want to help someone in need, just go do voluntary work in your society and I’m sure God will be pleased.

Q5. So you’re saying that social media is bad and it should be avoided?

No! Like everything else in life, try to find a balance. Social media is an excellent, cheap [up till now], and fast tool to communicate with your relatives, promote your work or brand, keep up-to-date with the world, and so on. This is my advice to you — keep your personal life personal and to those people who matter to you, and remember that your digital footprint should be guarded as much as possible, for your own sake and the ones in your social network.

I sincerely hope that I was able to share my perception on social media and online identity with you, and that at the same time you were able to acknowledge its dark side with a little bit of humour :)

This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.

Rather, in this blog post I will be discussing and comparing my personal online identity with that of strangers. The way I went about it was by conducting an online survey on one of Malta’s most popular Facebook Groups called The Salott (RUBS). With almost 50K members, I was able to get 262 responses, where people were asked a total of 20 questions about their personal Facebook Profile as well as their activity on the same social media. But before I start evaluating the responses, I would like to explain to you the general idea that I have about social media.

In my first blog post I said that our online identities look like they are being manufactured in a virtual online factory. The picture I had in mind when I said that, was Walt Disney’s 1932 animated short film called “Santa’s Workshop”.

This personal perception is based on the fact that social media is shaping our unique identity, in terms of character, facial expressions, thought, values, etc., into an online identity template. To better understand what I mean, let me explain myself by going through the survey responses, which are divided into four groups: Facebook Friends; Emojis; [inspirational] Quotes; and Role Models.

FACTS ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

(i) The majority of the survey was completed by women (almost 95%).

(ii) The average (arithmetic mean) age of the participants was 35 years old with the youngest participant at 15 years of age and the oldest at 72.

(iii) The majority of participants (89%) use Facebook to connect with family and friends as well as to keep up with what’s going on around the world.

(iv) Almost half of the participants (48.9%) change their profile picture once a year; followed by participants (26.3%) who don’t even remember the last time they changed theirs; followed by participants (23.7%) who change it once a month; and finally (1.1%) who change it once a week.

(v) The majority (58.1%) of the participants’ profile picture shows themselves; followed by participants (37.1%) whose profile picture includes members of their family or pets; followed by participants (4.8%) who either display objects as their profile picture or they just leave it blank.

FACEBOOK FRIENDS

The first question in this category was the obvious one: “how many Facebook friends do you have?” and it was interesting to find out that the range in which I belong (100–200) is the one just before the two extremes. The next question I asked was whether they knew all of them personally (I do), and it is a bit disappointing that less than half (45.6%) of the participants answered “yes”. This was followed by the next question where I asked whether they thought that they might have FB friends with a fake profile. To this, less than a quarter (22.5%) of the participants, believe so or are suspicious that they might have. While I know all of my FB friends, it is a bit worrying that while the majority of participants do not know all their FB friends, less than half of them are concerned about who they might be. The answer to this could be found in the last question of this category, where more than a third (37.2%) of the participants usually receive friend requests as opposed to the minority (5%) who usually request to add them [like I do].

EMOJIS

The results deduced here were more interesting than I had originally anticipated. The main reason why I included questions about emojis was in order to prove my point that social media is shaping our unique facial features, such as when we laugh, cry, get angry, etc., into emotionless emojis. This notion was explored brilliantly in ‘The Emoji Movie’ (2017). While, just like the majority (71%) of the participants I admit that I make a lot of use of emojis during my activities online, a small number of them (4.2%) never do. It was also interesting that a group of participants (13.1%) use emojis only when they are happy. This is supported by the result (image above) which was deduced from the responses, when I asked the participants which is their favourite emoji.

This was followed by another question where the participants were asked to choose an emoji which describes them and these are my favourite 3 responses:

“because I am always being sarcastic, thus I always have that evil/devious smirk on”

“it’s not that I’m always happy but I like using it!”

“I like to see the world upside down from another perspective”

Although not everyone replied to this question, there was one particular participant who answered honestly by saying: “I don’t think that I can reduce myself to an emoji because I am a human being with depth and a variety of characteristics”. In the final question of this category I asked the participants whether they use the appropriate ‘Like’ on posts. What drove me to ask this question was the fact that sometimes people share sad or disappointing news and you see that their followers react with a thumbs up, something which I find inappropriate considering that there is a ‘Sad-Like’ for those occasions. In fact, more than a quarter of the responses (27.5%) said that they simply use the thumbs up for everything.

[INSPIRATIONAL] QUOTES

I know that I am going to sound a bit dull, but if there is one thing which I absolutely hate about social media are those quotes which people seem to get inspired from. However, I’m glad that the majority of the participants agree with me, since only less than half of them (46.2%) actually share these kinds of quotes. According to their response, the majority (40.2%) do so because other people who are going through the same thing can relate to their situation, while a good number of them (32%) said that these quotes help them share their mood or situation with their FB friends. When asked about their favourite quote, out of all the list of cliché [inspirational] quotes, I would have to say that the worst one would be: “open your mind before [you open] your mouth”.

ROLE MODELS

Another thing which does not seem to influence me personally is the way other [famous] people live their life. I mean, I do follow different motorsport drivers and music DJs, but I do it because I love the sport or their music respectively; however, I am far from interested about their personal lives. So what about the Kardashians? Apparently 10 out of 99 participants who follow celebrities said that they either follow Kim Kardashian or the family’s show. While from my tone you can guess that I definitely do not follow the Kardashians, you can assume why. However, if you disagree with me, I suggest that you read this blog post by Jessinta Smith, and evaluate her reasons ‘Why The Kardashians Are Ideal Role Models For Female Students’.

The final couple of questions asked to the participants included some general information as to the reasons why they follow these famous people as well as to how much they are ‘hooked’ on them. While more than a third of the participants (34.4%) said they try not to miss any of their posts, the majority (44.1%) answered that the reason is attributed to their role model’s fashion, style or talent.

This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.

“It’s like praising gaming (betting) companies for creating job opportunities and contributing to the economy, while at the same time being unaware that these companies thrive on people who have a gambling addiction.”

What I’m trying to say is that, when it comes to social media we are more in control than we might think, and that before we start to complain and look like fools (once again!) we should question our digital footprint. I am talking about those Facebook ‘tests’ such as “What nationality is revealed by your face?” “What career were you meant for?” “What car should you drive?” and so on. Comparing the previous analogy with this example, the gaming companies are the Facebook “engagement bait” posts and the gambling addicts are the people who take these tests. But out of all the different creative posts of this kind, my favourites are the ones which are of a religious nature.

I am referring particularly to the “Type Amen” kind-of-posts. The sole purpose of such scam posts is to gather large number of likes, and before I continue, I would like to spell it out to those people who think that I am possessed by some kind of demon, that: “Face-book-likes-and-shares-do-not-save-lives-or-cure-ill-ness-es”. Yes, you heard me correctly. People who react either by liking, sharing, or commenting (even if to say that the post is a scam), they are actually aiding Facebook spammers in their mission to make out easy money from vulnerable people. These are called like-farming scams and their sole aim is to accumulate followers. While those who fall prey to these scam posts are not directly in any danger of having their online identity stolen by hackers (since hackers are not particularly interested in the average Joe [and Jane]), it is still recommended to refrain from reacting to such posts. On the other hand, by ‘feeding’ these Pages it will only result in an increase in their popularity, which in turn then they can be used to spread malicious activity such as publicity, viruses, and other scam messages.

Just like the financial and moral corruption which indulgences in the Middle-Ages brought about, we can say that religious Facebook pages are the online indulgences of the 21st century. Around two years ago, it was claimed that Facebook was considering removing posts which contained the word “Amen”; however, there were Pages such as this one, who objected. In fact, it was the same Page who made this claim through a post on their page and in a couple of days the same post was shared more than 60K times (source). If you’re still not convinced that this kind of pages exist for the sole purpose of monetary gain, then the “Donate” button might put things in a better perspective.

Do you remember that in my last blog post I said that 81% of children under the age of two currently have some kind of digital profile or footprint, with images of them posted online? Well, part of the reason which might be contributing to this factor is Facebook Pages such as this one. Long story short, this Page asks parents to share their child’s photo, while at the same time being a front for an online baby supply shop in Nigeria. With more than 400K followers, it is quite impressive how much gullible people this world has to offer. But that’s not all (as if posting photos of your baby is not bad enough). This Page fabricates fake stories in an attempt to gain more followers. And how do they do it? You guessed it, they use terminology such as “before her death, she held the baby in her arms and smiled “God is great”” while at the end reminding you to “[not] ignore this post, [and to] share to others”. It’s also interesting to point out that they even stole the photo from a photographer who confirmed that the story was a fake!

This is not the only instance where Facebook Pages steal online photographs of vulnerable children and use them to trick people with good intentions into liking and sharing them. They claim that they will donate money to the sick or injured child if a target amount of likes and shares are reached. Some of them even profess that likes and shares equate to prayers. Successful online hoaxes with thousands of [blind] followers are then sold to Internet marketers to push their products.

Bottom line is that you should not only protect your online identity by not giving into these scams, but you should also be responsible by reporting such posts. Remember that these Pages survive and expand because they have an audience; therefore, liking and sharing them will probably cause your social network to fall into their trap.

Sources:

https://www.hoax-slayer.net/facebook-sick-child-hoaxes/

Facebook Posts Asking You to Type 'Amen' To Help Children or Animals Are Like-Farming Scams Not Hackers - Hoax-Slayer

This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.

When I was researching about the most inspiring [traditional] autobiographies of all time, I came across the right one which would help me communicate the message I would like to deliver. I am talking about ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’, which even though I admit I haven’t read from cover to cover, I have read about the story behind its popularity. What prompted Anne Frank to start writing about her life, at the age of 13, was the fact that her family had to go into hiding for two years during World War II. For her, being able to confide everything to her imaginary friend named Kitty, was a source of comfort and support. Sadly enough, Anne Frank would have never guessed that three years after her death (at the age of 15), on June 25, 1947 her “story of faith, hope and love in the face of hate” (biography.com, 2018), would come to be published by her father and eventually end up inspiring the millions of people who have read it.

Fast forward several decades and you’ll find that today’s ‘victims’ are of another sort — they are the victims of an online society which controls their self-esteem through obsessive posting on social media. I am not talking about all kinds of online posting, but I am specifically referring to the constant need to post selfies, photos of food prior to being eaten, photos of pets, and so on. Actually, it turns out that this obsession is in fact a psychological issue. Dr. Peggy Drexler (2015), in her article ‘Obsessive Posting Is A Result Of Obsessive Following’ for Psychology Today, describes this behaviour as “a never-ending slide show from hell”. She also explains that this addictive nature of social media is directly connected to the pleasure centres of the brain.

“What’s the big deal?!” you might ask. Technically, there’s nothing wrong with [over]sharing your personal life events with the rest of the world, in what I call performoir (a collection of online staged performances — coined from performance and memoir). However, it does get bad when young children are involved or even worse than that — when they are not yet born. In fact, a 2010 study by AVG Technologies, found out that a global average of “81 percent of children under the age of two currently have some kind of digital profile or footprint, with images of them posted online” (businesswire.com, 2010). But (you guessed it) that’s not all. The same study also “shows that 23% of children in the UK have a digital footprint before they are born” (Knowles, 2012), since their proud parents post their sonograms online.

“81 percent of children under the age of two currently have some kind of digital profile or footprint, with images of them posted online”

(businesswire.com, 2010)

These children’s parents’ irresponsible conduct might include even more foolish behaviour than that when it comes to their personal online identity. Steve Kuncewicz (a lawyer specializing in online and social media issues) speaks about the irony found between social profiles and employment laws safeguarding every citizen. While a prospective employer, by law, is not allowed to ask for certain information, the same information is [unconsciously] divulged by the prospective employee through social media (Knowles, 2012). However, it also seems like this is not as bad as it sounds. Take the classical example of Donald Trump’s online identity both before and after his campaign for president of the United States of America. His winning election for president can only mean one of two things — either that everything I just said about online identity is meaningless or that the majority of the US electorate have voted for [at least] 4 years of the best political showmanship their country has ever witnessed.

Just like a bestseller, these 21st century autobiographies are successful because they have an audience. In fact, according to Dr. Drexler (2015), “if there were no audience at the ready, there would be no need or reason to post”. This also leads to the question that, if these ‘authors’ are ‘selling’ their autobiography for free, then why do they embellish details about their lives? It’s like watching Jim Carrey’s `98 movie ‘The Truman Show’ in reverse, where instead of people trying to get away from their staged life, they embrace it or even seek it out.

Concluding by comparing Anne Frank’s need to write her [sadly] brief life events in her diary when she was forced to hide away from outside world, with today’s ‘need’ to post and share every ridiculous thing we do with millions of strangers, I’d say that we need to reconsider our priorities as human beings. While sharing [and oversharing] on social media is getting easier every day, we need to remember that nowadays our online identity takes precedence over our ‘offline’ one.

Sources:

Drexler, P. (2015, February 12). Obsessive posting is a result of obsessive following. Retrieved June 1, 2018 from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/our-gender-ourselves/201502/obsessive-posting-is-result-obsessive-following

Biography. (2018, May 16). Anne Frank biography. Retrieved June 1, 2018 from https://www.biography.com/people/anne-frank-9300892

Business Wire. (2010, October 6). Digital birth: welcome to the online world. Retrieved June 1, 2018 from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101006006722/en/Digital-Birth-Online-World

Knowles, J. (2012, April 21). Our children and facebook. AVG releases its latest ‘Digital Diaries’ research. Retrieved June 1, 2018 from https://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2012/04/21/our-children-and-facebook-avg-releases-its-latest-digital-diaries-research/

This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.

In total there is going to be 5 blog posts (including this one), where I will discuss, share my opinion, ask strangers about how they manage their online identity (through an online questionnaire), and finally compile all the information in a do’s and don’ts list everyone should consider when using social media.

It all started with the internet, yes, — the internet — where people were given the possibility to communicate with each other even if they were living on opposite sides of the planet. While at first only those who could afford a computer could have access to such technology, in a couple of decades the same technology was made available even on on-the-move devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. However, time has also proven that the more accessible the internet became and the more ‘friendly’ social media platforms appeared to be, the more people started to look and act like fools (what a pity).

It seems like this technology is like a polygraph (lie detector machine) for brainless people (no offence) who are unaware that they are the true victims of social media. This has nothing to do with how well-educated a person is, in fact, there has been instances when prominent people such as lawyers, educators, and even presidents (yes, we’re thinking about the same person), had to resign or issue apologies for their comments on social media. So, if we are the same person when we are online as when we are offline, in terms of thoughts, personal values, and our behaviour in general, what is that mysterious power that brings out the idiotic side of our characters through our actions while online?

In the second blog post which I will publish (following this one), I will expand more on the notion of who the real victim of social media is. This will be discussed with particular reference to how nowadays people are ‘promoting’ their online identity without even considering the repercussions that it might have in the future. I will make the connection between the traditional conscious decision for someone to write their own autobiography, compared to today’s unconscious decision of doing the same thing online. This is in direct reference to the constant need for the different generations (both young and old) living in the 21st century, to ‘document’ and share every single aspect of their life.

Following the second blog post, I will discuss the repercussions which come along with like-farming scams such as the ‘Type Amen’ and the ‘sick-child’ hoaxes. Unfortunately these scams guilt people into liking and sharing their posts in order to increase internet traffic, while unknowingly feed these malicious online pages. However, despite most people are unaware of such scams, there are [more than] a few who believe that the theories behind these scams are not true and they still choose to ignore the warnings. Once again, this is a reflection of how much vulnerable our online identity can be when we are naive about the fact that we blame social media platforms for selling our online information, while we are willingly submitting it for free.

The fourth blog post will explore the perception that social media, with a particular reference to Facebook, is shaping our unique identities into uniform templates, in such a way that our online identities look like they are being manufactured in a virtual online factory. The discussion will revolve around a questionnaire submitted to complete strangers, based on what I refer to as the 4 pillars of online identity, namely: Facebook Friends; Emojis; [inspirational] Quotes; and Role Models. The outcome of the results will be discussed in such a way as to determine how much online social media has taken over our lives and is shaping us into off-the-shelf human beings.

“… our online identities look like they are being manufactured in a virtual online factory.”

In the fifth and last blog post I will be discussing [and stressing] the importance of evaluating our digital footprint represented by our online identity. This will be achieved through a series of Questions & Answers which will sum up the major points discussed during these blog posts on Social Media & Online Identity. Through these instructions and personal opinions, I hope to make my audience think twice before posting or reacting to something online. In the end, nowadays our online identity is a reflection of who we truly are, and the digital image of ourselves which we portray to the outside world will follow us anywhere we physically go.

This blog is a project for Study Unit DGA3008, University of Malta.