Media plays a big part in identity because from the day we are first introduced to any form it starts to play a role in the way that we think. For example, after watching new stories about people from your area and how they are supporting a certain candidate in a political party you will feel more inclined to see what that candidate is about. Media can also influence you to make the same decision as people who are like you. This can push you away from your individualistic identity and lead you to follow a single trait in your identity that you use to identify with others. Media also influences us to buy into popular culture and stray away from our individualistic identities. A big example of this is in TikTok and how trends cause people to dress differently instead of dressing in ways that they find cool. These trends make watchers feel like if they buy these clothes and wear them they will be seen as cool in the eyes of others because it is popular culture.
3 thoughts on “Identity- Thomas Takele”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I like the example of TikTok you mentioned. Many people nowadays are willing to follow the mainstream like the outfit of internet celebrities and give up what they really like and their own style. Good-looking should not be defined by the mainstream. There are many different kinds of beauty and cool, and we just need to be ourselves. Also, I agree that people’s decisions will be influenced by how media perform other’s identities.
Honestly, I think that it is extremely relevant to note that in today’s day in age, people (mainly people in our age demographic) are willing to join the bandwagon for a popular trend found on social media, such as tiktok. And I think it more of a problem that because of this, people aren’t really researching the trend they’re jumping on to, as every trend is just that, a ‘trend.’ So like, on tiktok for example, trends involving food pass by incredibly frequently, and popular trends subsequently arise from the influence of popular creators. However, these creators can be presenting unhealthy trends, such as eating too little food for the sake of ‘health,’ or basically presenting an unsustainable lifestyle in the lens of a ‘popular trend.’
I’d love to see you grapple in more specifics with TikTok as an example. How do influencers and posters use TikTok to influence identity formation? How do posters themselves curate their identities. When providing examples, seek to be more specific.