Thohid Ohiduzzaman ( 20041791)

The Influence of Virtual Identities in Modern Day.

Abstract:

Learning has drastically changed due to the introduction of social media platforms and other technologies. Considering that there are different ways that anyone can learn with their identities in term of interactions socially in the digital world of internet. This paper will show a study done regarding how virtual identities can influence the students of today be it at home or in school.

Introduction:

It has been researched that ‘remembering self’ and ‘experiencing self’ has been membered by many as happiness and is split between the two ‘self’, currently in this era happiness is experienced in different ways (Barker, 2009). Most of the time, the ‘experiencing self’ is felt with the experiences that the person has gone through while on the other hand the “remembering self’ is what that person thinks about at a later time in a memory form; though most people are influenced less by the ‘experiencing self’ and much more by the ‘remembering self’ (Barker, 2009).

Though with the technological advances such as cameras and cell phones, where one can take pictures and make videos, there is a new experience that is felt which is ‘anticipated memory’ where one can feel what they felt when the photo or video was taken. In which case then both the ‘self’ such as experiencing and remembering will both be used together which helps the person to choose which experiences need to be remembered which gives them the freedom of choice, when both ‘self’ work together it is neither pros or cons. One might ask how these aspects of ‘self’ influence learners in this era? (Huang & Springer-Verlag Gmbh, 2016).

Literature review

The study that will be used shows that pictures and videos can show the virtual identities of students and how others of their age see them as well such as ‘pic or it didn’t happen!’. This shows that most of these moments are shared with others and this helps to know the identities of each student in the 21st century (Geert Lovink, 2011).

Interpreting pictures and also analyzing them is important because it is helpful as a source and shows how the deep foundations of knowledge are ever changing. Online content and direct accessibility to learning have indeed changed the way students engage also with their education, and all past conceptions of centralized awareness in classrooms should be broken (Gündüz, 2017). Learning is no more a distinct body of knowledge that now the instructor and curriculum propagate; instead, it is already exchanged and continues to grow in the digital realities accessed by all these individuals.

Due to the advances to digital technologies that are easily available nowadays, the social interactions and exchanges have drastically changed as well. In the past the function of socializing in institutions were to exchange norms and customs, the base culture of the institute, and societal conducts; though in this era all of this has been changed into the norms and customs of today which are completely different (Barker, 2009). The learners of today are referred to as ‘connected learners’ which explains how technology can be used to teach students in formal way inside of school but also how students informally or socially interact with one another; another name for such generation is referred to either Generation Y or Millennials. This means that the connected learner’s day to day socializing has also been affected and shaped by technology which means that students have the capability to connect instantly with anyone and it has become an expectation through cell phones, social media platforms and pc (Barker, 2009).

Most of the interactions that happen in this generation are mainly online and in the digital world, which is why they must juggle socializing in both virtual and real-life spaces side by side. This exclusively happens to those who also have an identity online and also offline; although, online identities can also affect offline identities be it school or home. This can come into play be it how these students act or they way that they write such as, text language be it BRB, ILY and TTYL (Huang & Springer-Verlag Gmbh, 2016). These identities that have been created online are the result of how the students want to portray themselves and want to feel included with others, so they alter their identities in-relation to that.

Research

Before the internet became popular it was felt that the virtual identities and real identities of these users were separate, but it was concluded that there was a correlation between virtual and real identities as virtual identities were formed from real identities. It has been researched by Goffman in a study that teenagers aged 13-17 go online everyday and that at least eighty-nine percent of them have social media on their phone; this was researched through snowball sampling (Easton & Schroeder, 2008). This show that social media consumption is growing and has become quite popular be it to show pictures, message friends or to see their friend’s pictures. This shows that social media needs to be taken seriously and used so that students can relate and learn better.

It also shows that the frequency and chemistry of the brain is changing itself to accommodate to the amount of reading and scrolling is done. This can also occur so that the brain can feel sensations that are not there such as, vibrations from their cell phones even though they are in fact not vibrating Marcus, S. R. (2015). A study that supports this statement was conducted in Indiana University where two hundred and ninety students were studied regarding the vibrations where eighty nine percent felt the placebo vibrations and were noticed over a term of two weeks. This is known as phantom vibration syndrome where one can feel the vibrations, but they are not there only through the phone, which also shows that yes, the brain has rewritten itself one way or another Marcus, S. R. (2015).

Result

These are simply a few examples of how students are affected by the technology of today. Due to the fact that schools use specific unchanging curriculums these aspects of life are neglected and ignored; this shows that education of today is unreliable and not suited for the students of today. Identities can be seen as performances that are shown socially as those who show these identities want to seem different to others by outer appendences, body language and attitudes and behaviors. Hanyun Huang (2014). With how vast social media is, and due to the fact that one can send their pictures to many people in an instant, students have ample opportunities to show themselves and their identities in a different manner and in a way put on a show. These platforms also help students to express themselves freely, share any type of information and make connections with other students as compared to in a classroom. Which shows that the teachers are put under pressure as teaching becomes harder also how students react to the more traditional learning curriculums and also how students can relate with others around them. Instagram a very popular social media platform will also be discussed (Pan et al., 2017).

Instagram

Instagram, a social platform, helps this generation to instantly message or send pictures to anyone online, which also in turn affects how students can learn. Instagram was chosen because it has surpassed Facebook in popularity among teenagers which approximately more than three hundred million users per month as compared to Facebook; many believe that Facebook has lost its appeal with the youth of today. In 2020 Instagram is now worth hundred billion dollars which was first bought by Facebook themselves for one billion, which shows that it was a great investment by Facebook. (Easton, L., & Schroeder, R (2008)

Instagram itself was created so that photos and videos could be shared easily along with captions, being able to like video and comments; Instagram also started the hashtag craze. Hashtags are used to tag a group or movements that have occurred where has tagged the picture or video will be shown together with those who have also been tagged with the same hashtag (Stapleton et al., 2017). Instagram also has its own Instagram account. The students of today have a different relationship to technology as compared to the past where there were advances to technologies but not to the extent that is seen today, which changes the ideologies the students and how the students connect with each other. This also includes the use of these platforms such as Facebook and Instagram (Stapleton et al., 2017).

“Much of social media can be seen as the ‘News of me.’ It’s not so much a platform for connecting and sharing as it is a platform for advertising the idea of yourself you want to portray to others: the image of yourself you want to project.” – Hozier

Discussion

The research done on identities that are shown online is essential as it helps to find information regarding the students and how they are influenced by them creating these identities be it in the classroom or in their homes. Those who were born in a society where technology and social media were not popular or available might not fully understand why it might affect students in their daily lives (Geert Lovink (2011). Teachers mainly are also learning to adapt to the new technologies and are also connected learners so that they can be more helpful to students when teaching and also gain the insight about their students such as, their feelings regarding social media or their online identities that they have created and also how the students feel about the environment and overall feelings regarding school. This help teachers who do not know much about technology and those who do understand technologies with a different mindset and perspectives about how the students are feeling and doing in their daily lives. It might also better guide how educators deal with problems of educational management by giving a greater and also in-dept. understanding of the importance of social interaction that are done online in which the students use to socialize online and the experiences that the students of this century have.

Using social media can bring about a kind of stress where there were some expectations to have the approval of others; this is what most younger users of social media feel. Also, the younger generations are expected to take pictures and videos with the personas that they have created online; where one who knew the person would not be able to recognize them through those pictures or videos Ganda, M. (2014). Also, this generation has the tenancy to take out their phones take pictures or record everything that they are seeing or watching and then posting it online for everyone else to see and judge and comment. Though people who have more followers on their account usually post frequently as they want to impress those who have followed them, which in turn puts more pressure on those users who are what you call ‘influencers’ Ganda, M. (2014).. There is a stigma regarding getting ‘likes’ as when one gets more likes they feel as though they feel more popular or more liked by others who are viewing the pictures or videos. Though when the likes are not as expected it can in turn depress the person who made the post as they feel as though people have lost interest or are not impressed, which is why they need to make more exciting videos or take photos. This can also become a type of addiction where one needs to get the likes that they should be getting or more. Easton, L., & Schroeder, R. (2008)

Conclusion:

In conclusion, I believe that virtual identities are affecting students in different ways. Be it to show another side to them when posting on social media platforms such as Instagram, feeling pressed to post more or to seem more interesting to get those likes and to impress others. It also shows that social media and technology has changed the way that we function where one can even feel vibrations from their phones which are not there. People also have the tenancy to take their phones out when anything exciting happens in their life and take pictures or record it and then post it online for everyone else to see so that their opinions and likes can be taken in by the person posting it or those reading the post. Social media also affects the students of today with the way that they can be taught or the way that the students act in classrooms. This also shows that people of today use both their ‘experiencing self’ and their ‘remembering self’ all together in the form of social media where everything is posted and then remembered later in time as a memory. This shows that virtual identities affect everyone be it normal users or students in classrooms or even in their day-to-day life.

References

Barker, V. (2009). Older Adolescents’ Motivations for Social Network Site Use: The Influence of Gender, Group Identity, and Collective Self-Esteem. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 209–213. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0228

Easton, L., & Schroeder, R. (2008). The influence of imagination : essays on science fiction and fantasy as agents of social change. Mcfarland & Co.

Ganda, M. (2014). Social media and self: Influences on the formation of identity and understanding of self through social networking sites.

Geert Lovink. (2011). Networks without a cause : a critique of social media. Polity.

Gündüz, U. (2017). The Effect of Social Media on Identity Construction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(5), 85–92. https://doi.org/10.1515/mjss-2017-0026

Huang, H., & Springer-Verlag Gmbh. (2016). Social Media Generation in Urban China A Study of Social Media Use and Addiction among Adolescents. Berlin Springer Berlin Springer.

Marcus, S. R. (2015). Picturing'ourselves into being: assessing identity, sociality and visuality on Instagram. In international communication association conference.

Pan, Z., Lu, Y., Wang, B., & Chau, P. Y. K. (2017). Who Do You Think You Are? Common and Differential Effects of Social Self-Identity on Social Media Usage. Journal of Management Information Systems, 34(1), 71–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2017.1296747

Stapleton, P., Luiz, G., & Chatwin, H. (2017). Generation Validation: The Role of Social Comparison in Use of Instagram Among Emerging Adults. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(3), 142–149. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0444