Who are we really fooling?

Picture fail: photo attempt no. 1092377

Cooler than thou

Before I continue with yesterday’s commentary on virtual identity, I’d like to first clarify some terminology I had used (Thanks Jess for your suggestions!)

First, I mentioned in the last paragraph that: ‘’It is in my opinion that this social malaise is attributable to…de-sensitized self identity.’’ I admit, on occasion, I am prone to self-grandiosity when it comes to wordiness (maybe the residuals from an overly ambitious Social Science post-secondary education) so I’ve tagged the word ‘self’ in front of the word ‘identity’.  What I wanted to reference was the identity of self.  Our self-worth has been demoted to a popularity contest akin to the amount of face-time and friends we get online.  The phenomenon is widely recognised and even merits the occasional joke; in one particular scene in ‘’Due Date’’, Annoying Guy (so called because I can’t remember his name) proudly proclaims that he has 90 friends on facebook and in his words, ‘’12 of them are pending, but I got 90 friends on facebook.’’

FYI I'm hotter than you

However, the seemingly innocuous ‘’anonymity’’ veil provided via the Internet, either via web forums or video sharing platforms that do not immediately reveal user identity, provides a platform for users to abuse targets safely without retaliation.  But how far has our morals fallen when we can easily gripe about a certain TV personalities cellulite on the web when we are not immune either to the same problem.  With the sheath of our brightly light computer screens, remorse and accountability for actions perpetrated online is detached from our ‘real-world’ selves.  It is easier to attack a virtual target than a real person.  It is probably comparable to one attacking an avatar whilst believing that the real person is remains unharmed. New forms of harassment, such as cyber-bullying, have found its niche in such form.

Secondly, that by ‘’ by scattering ourselves virtually, we are spreading ourselves and our identity too thinly in order to seek approval from many and in the process forgetting what makes us us’’. In the storm that is Facebook and Twitter updates (good for you if your ‘’eating your favourite dish with mum’’?), the immeasurable ‘’fun’’ that is our life is validated only as soon as it is updated as a fb or twitter status.  With this social online profile, a certain archetype of cool online aesthetics – imagine a certain aloofness that speaks ‘’take my picture or whatever’’ attitude – demonstrates our ultimate hip status.  Indeed such forays into developing a public persona invariably stroke our desire for aesthetics not only for oneself but also towards others.  Ultimately, the pictures frame how we are perceived by our peers – hopefully of the happy and fun-loving kind.  If you’ve ever noticed, this prompts a certain generic formula. Just Google it.  If you can Google it than its generic enough that it can be applied formulaically.

It is permissible, of course, that one would not want to post a bad picture of themselves (or as I say, when you have a ‘’bad face day’’) but the compulsion to look a certain way to fit in with our online peers has seemingly trumped our own individual personality. Who are we really fooling?


And on the tails of my supposition comes the recent conviction of a burglar who decided it was a bright idea to self-incriminate himself by posting pics of himself on his victim's facebook. Good job Einstein. You earned bragging rights for your smooth thievery ways.