Something unique about identity is how it can be shaped by both culture and media. People identify themselves by the music they listen to, movies they enjoy, favorite TV shows, etc. Essentially, the media we consume becomes part of our collective, generational “identity”. While different cultural groups can be united around aspects of their culture, like food and shared experiences, people are more generally united by generational groups. Being the same age makes it more likely that individuals consumed similar media, uniting them more closely with each other than members of other generations. More recently, identity is being shaped through social media. Constantly seeing what members of one’s peer group are doing, watching, or listening to can pique interest in these varying types of media, which may in turn become part of one’s identity. As Judith Butler states, “Identity is more about what you do rather than about what you are.” This has been greatly emphasized by social media, where what you post dictates the exterior perception of your identity. This keyword seems to argue that identity is solely a projection of an image, because the reality is less concrete. Since social media gives us the opportunity to curate our identities and how we’re perceived, I wonder if this falsification will have negative consequences in the long term.
5 thoughts on “Identity: Mary Margaret Clouse”
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I think the question of whether online identity falsification will have negative consequences is very interesting. Personally, I hope that for the sake of younger generations we are able to find a way to either spread awareness about these “curated internet identities” or find a way to stop them from happening in general. Otherwise, I think there will definitely be consequences in the future.
I agree that generational groups unite people even more so than culture. All of us have grown up in the same generation, therefore we can all understand the huge effect social media has on one’s identity. I think that some people only want to show the best sides of themself on social media, which can and has been detrimental for young generations today. Every single person who owns their own social media platform has the ability to promote something that is not real. Whether it’s editing their body before they post a picture, or sharing videos of their “amazing vacation” that had actually been the worst trip of their life, it is impossible to tell whether something is real or fake. To answer your question, yes I think that this falsification will have negative consequences long term. In fact, I think it already has. Girls and boys today will look at an edited photo and immediately feel bad about themselves because they do not look a certain way or because they do not have the money to go on a fancy trip. Sadly, they are unaware that certain things have been fabricated.
I agree that identity can be shaped by both culture and media. I like the point that you bring up about how people are generally united by age or generational group. I think generations are cultural groups in and of themselves. The media definitely plays a role in some of the differences of identity between Gen Z, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials. As you noted, since people of the same generation commonly consume the same type of media, they are being influenced by the same media. Your question about whether or not the falsification of identities in the media will have long term negative effects is very interesting. I think yes, there will be consequences in the long term, because curating our identities on social media creates a false sense of reality, which can create unrealistic/unattainable expectations for young people on social media that are still trying to find their personal identity.
I found your perspective about how generational groups impact identity to be very interesting and I totally agree. Although there’s certainly a range in identities among people of the same age group, it is interesting to see how so many of us tend to consume similar or even the same media. Especially with social media platforms such as Tik Tok, so much of what we consume plays a role in shaping our identity, whether we are conscious of this or not. In our generation, much of the media we consume truly does become apart of who we are, so if the people around us are constantly consuming the same media and finding communities through doing this, it makes me wonder how this might cause or perpetuate a lack of diversity in identity among social groups and online communities.
Great use of Butler to support your position. You’ve raised a really interesting question about the impact of generational experiences on identity formation. We even talk about this overtly, using terms like “the greatest generation” to talk about Americans who lived through (and often fought in) World War II. Their identity, whether performed as such or not, was determined by their common generational experience rather than their performative behaviors.