Flipbook for FILM 260 Queens University Summer 2017

1. Digital Self(ie)
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s
By Jennifer Bouman

2. THE DESIRE TO BE NOTICED IS AN
INHERENT TRAIT OF HUMANITY, BUT THE
RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BROUGHT
THIS NEED TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
TODAY WANTING APPROVAL IS MORE
PROMINENT THAN EVER.
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s

3. SHARING EVERY MOMENT OF
OUR LIVES HAS BECOME SO
NORMALIZED, THAT MANY
DON'T STOP TO CONSIDER
THE IMPACT THAT
UPLOADING OUR PRIVATE
THOUGHTS AND MOMENTS
CAN HAVE ON OUR LIVES.
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s

4. S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s

5. OUR EGOS AND SOCIAL
MEDIA
SELF-IMPORTANCE
PERSONALITY TRAITS
AMONG 37,000 COLLEGE
STUDENTS ROSE AS
QUICKLY AS OBESITY
FROM THE 1980'S TO
PRESENT.
80
MILLION
20% OF THE
WORLD'S
POPULATION
A RECENT STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT OUR FREQUENT USE OF
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS DRASTICALLY ELEVATED OUR PERSONAL
EGOS
PHOTOS UPLOADED TO
INSTAGRAM DAILY
OR, 1.4 BILLION PEOPLE,
PUBLISH DETAILS OF THEIR
LIVES DAILY ON FACEBOOK
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s
Citation 5, 7

6. SO WHY DO WE LOVE TO
SHARE EVERY THOUGHT AND
EMOTION SO FREELY?
Source Canva Images

7. The desire to share comes from wanting to express our true
selves and creates a sense of belonging. When others like or
share our updates, our brains get a temporary high.
Searching for acceptance on the web can be dangerous due to
high rates of being misunderstood, decreased privacy and
feelings of anxiety and depression.
There is an expression called "Digital Self" or "Ambient
Awareness" which is defined as "a peripheral social awareness
that we pick up on about a person depending on what they like
and share."
Citation 10
Image retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/S7w8UL

8. 0%
30%
60%
90%
Entertain
OthersDefineOurselves
Netw
ork
SelfFullfill
Spread
W
ord
1) To bring valuable and entertaining content to others. 49% say
sharing allows them to inform others of products they care about
and potentially change opinions or encourage action
2) To define ourselves to others. 68% share to give people a better
sense of who they are and what they care about
3) To grow and nourish our relationships. 78% share information
online because it lets them stay connected to people they may not
otherwise stay in touch with
4) Self-fulfillment. 69% share information because it allows them
to feel more involved in the world
5) To get the word out about causes or brands. 84% share because it
is a way to support causes or issues they care about
Citation 7

9. Acceptance
People tend to feel that sharing pictures, thoughts and feelings expresses
their "true self" and creates a sense of belonging.
This can also be dangerous due to being misunderstood and anxiety
related to less popular posts that don't draw in an excepted number of
likes or shares.
Citation 10
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s

10. W e w a n t t o f e e l v a l u e d a n d r e c o g n i z e d
f o r o u r a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s .
T h e n e g a t i v e a s p e c t o f p o s t i n g a b o u t
a c h i e v e m e n t s i s t h a t w e c a n b e
p e r c e i v e d a s b e i n g d i s i n g e n u o u s a n d
b o a s t f u l .
C i t a t i o n 1 0
Appreciation
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s

11. Posting about
everyday mundane
activities has become
a typical part of our
day, which can
largely be attributed
to celebrity
fascination and
emulation of those
we aspire to be like.
Citation 10
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s
Attention

12. Retrieved via https://flic.kr/p/n9YL94
narcissists
or is it inherently present?
Is social media turning us into

13. There i s
much debate whether there is a link between
narcissism and social media.
Some argue that for social media to have
become so popular, there would have to be
pre-existing narcissism.
Others feel that we are simply more aware of
narcissistic traits because of
the prevalence of social media.
Citation 6,7
Retrieved via https://flic.kr/p/8ZsF7H

14. S P E N D I N G T I M E T O G E T H E R , B U T N O T R E A L L Y B E I N G C O N N E C T E D
I N C O N V E R S A T I O N H A S B E C O M E A C C E P T A B L E I N C U R R E N T
S O C I E T Y . P O S T I N G O N L I N E G I V E S U S A N O U T L E T O F C R E A T I V E
E X P R E S S I O N , B U T R E D U C E S O U R A B I L I T Y T O F O C U S O N
I N D I V I D U A L F A C E T O F A C E C O N V E R S A T I O N S . " W E L I V E I N A T E C H
U N I V E R S E I N W H I C H W E A R E A L W A Y S C O M M U N I C A T I N G A N D Y E T
W E H A V E S A C R I F I C E D C O N V E R S A T I O N F O R M E R E C O N N E C T I O N " .
B E I N G
" A L O N E T O G E T H E R "
S o u r c e C a n v a i m a g e s
Citation 1

15. So, in order to feel more, and to feel more
like ourselves, we connect. But in our rush
to connect, we flee from solitude, our ability
to be separate and gather ourselves.
Lacking the capacity for solitude, we turn to
other people but don't experience them as
they are. It is as though we use them, need
them as spare parts to support our
increasingly fragile selves.
We think constant connection will make us
feel less lonely. The opposite is true. If we
are unable to be alone, we are far more likely
to be lonely.
SHERRY
TURKLE
Citation 1

16. A lot of focus is placed on the millennial generation
and how social media affects their lives.
The way parents and kids utilize these sites impacts
the family, many kids stating that they don't want their
parents to be posting things about them due to fear of
ridicule, invasion of privacy and unintended snooping
by parents.
Conversely, parents tend to post about their kids and
experiences for shared understanding and pride, not
intending to cause distress to their children.
Source Canva Images
Citation 4

17. Using social media as a professional has special
considerations. On one hand, it can be beneficial in
adverstising, brand promotion and awareness, also
with building a network.
The negative aspect of our constant drive to make our
lives public is that by tweeting a statement that can be
misintrepreted or posting a picture, a person can wind
up with disicplinary action or even fired.
Such was the case for a PR professional who tweeted a
joke that she found to be funny, and no one else did.
She lost her dream job, simply trying to obtain
approval from an unseen audience.
Source Canva Images
Citation 2, 5, 9

18. Many young people don't understand
the permanency of the digital world and
freely post without much
consideration.
Sadly, there have been many examples
of applicants being rejected from
schools and programs due to something
that they have tweeted, posted or an
image that they have created online.
Citation 3
Source Canva Images

19. Some things are better
left unsaid. Similarly,
some things
are better left unposted.
Using social media
wisely and creating
personal boundaries is
an effective approach to
navigating online
success.
Source Canva Images

20. Citations
1 ) Turkle, S. (2012, April 22). The flight from conversation. New York Times, p. 1(L).
Retrieved 24 May 2017, from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=queensulaw&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA287213303&asid=9e22389507a
dacd60cce5aabfd6d7991.
2) Ronson, J. (2015, February 15). Feed Frenzy. The New York Times Magazine,
20(L). Retrieved 24 May 2017, from http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=LitRC&sw=w&u=queensulaw&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA401653701&asid=ce25ebb24e
3352e84d3612e3bdd40799
3) Singer, N. (2013, November 10). They loved your G.P.A. then they saw your tweets.
New York Times, p. 3(L). Retrieved 16 May 2017, from
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=AONE&sw=w&u=queensulaw&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA348658208&asid=52d687d8
05501c666ad06747eeb3ea2c
4) Dell’Antonia, K. (2017). Don't Post About Me on Social Media, Children Say.
Well. Retrieved 30 May 2017, from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/dont-post-
about-me-on-social-media-children-say/?_r=1

21. A
J
B
5) Our Dangerous Obsession with External Recognition. (2017). Harvard Business
Review. Retrieved 25 May 2017, from https://hbr.org/2013/12/our-dangerous-obsession-
with-external-recognition
6) Williams, Z. (2017). Me! Me! Me! Are we living through a narcissism epidemic?.
the Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2017, from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/mar/02/narcissism-epidemic-self-
obsession-attention-seeking-oversharing
7) Fishwick, C. (2017). I, narcissist – vanity, social media, and the human condition. the
Guardian. Retrieved 1 June 2017, from
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/17/i-narcissist-vanity-social-media-and-
the-human-condition
8) Moon, G., & Moon, G. (2017). Why People Share: The Psychology of Social
Sharing - CoSchedule Blog. CoSchedule Blog. Retrieved 1 June 2017, from
https://coschedule.com/blog/why-people-share/
9) How using social media can get you fired. (2017). CNBC. Retrieved 1 June 2017,
from http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/05/how-using-social-media-can-get-you-
fired.html
10) Handel, S. (2017). The "Over-Sharing" Epidemic: How the Internet Makes Us
Devalue Our Private Lives. The Emotion Machine. Retrieved 2 June 2017, from
http://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-over-sharing-epidemic-how-the-internet-makes-
us-devalue-our-private-lives/