Referring to Livingstone (2008), how do people use social networking services to construct their identities, and how do social connections form part of those identities?

Personal identity can be what makes you different and unique from others, the way you define yourself, or it could be the network of values you follow. Many people have more than one identity, an online identity and a real world identity. Social networking sites are all about showing off who you are and what you do. You create a profile, add, accept or block persons, follow certain people or groups, upload pictures and videos and constantly engage in conversation.

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are basically virtual biographies that display a person’s created identity. It does this by exhibiting an individual’s lifestyle; their interests in music and fashion, pictures, groups and communities of interest, where they work, who they follow and who is in their social network of friends. Livingstone (2009) states “It seems that for many, creating and networking online content is becoming an integral means of managing one’s identity, lifestyle and social relations”. Livingstone (2009) mentions that the affordances of social media sites enables communication among an ever widening circle of contacts. She refers to the new generation of teens and youth that use these online social network sites as a culture. They use these sites as a place to express themselves locally and globally.

Livingstone’s study showed many different ways that peers express their personal identity using an online platform. For some, it was about what was on the page for people to view, for others it was about what was written in their interests and lifestyles pages. Some had the view that social networking sites were just a front to their identity while many relied on the online platforms to establish their positioning within their peer groups and friends.

Thomas (2007) came to the notion that identity is about the body, bodily states and desires of being, becoming, belonging and behaving. She believes that the roles we adopt across the social spheres that we inhabit, play an integral part in forming ones identity. “ Identity is characterised by aspects of self, others and community”. (Thomas 2007) The online identity we create Thomas (2007) considers to be an edited ‘shadow’ of one’s self. “ it’s me, but minus the things I don’t like about me” (Thomas 2007) The reasons social connections play such an important part in creating ones identity can be explained though the social identity theory. According to Trepte (2006) “Social identity theory focuses on the ‘groups in the individual’ and assumes that one part of the self-concept is made up of our belonging and social groups”. 

The individual will engage in social connections to assert one’s self and place in their social status. Online social networking assists in intergroup behavior by providing expansive social connections and multimedia platforms. These multimedia platforms give the individual routes to construct their social identity though creative expression and social connections.

References:

Livingstone, S, 2008. Taking Risky Opportunities in Youthful Content Creation: Teenagers’ Use of Social Networking Sites for Intimacy, Privacy and Self-Expression. New Media & Society 10(3), 393-411.

Thomas, A, 2007. Youth Online: Identity and Literacy in the Digital Age. 1st ed. New York: Peter Lang.

Trepte, S, 2006. Social Identity Theory. Psychology of entertainment, [Online]. XVI, 255-271. Available at: https://www.unihohenheim.de/fileadmin/einrichtungen/psych/Dateien/Laufende_Projekte/Social_Identity_Theory.pdf [Accessed 22 September 2013].


Images:
myspace profiles

1.How do the affordances of networked media culture (hyperlinks, multimedia, sharing ect) enhance online communication?

We live in an era where networked media culture has become the norm and the popular source of communication between others is though online resources. The digital realm we refer to as the Internet, enables users to communicate with one another from all over the world. No longer are there geographical boundaries holding us back.

The reason for this is the change in the way users used web after the dot.com era. Web 2.0 as we know it today, has been shaped by users, rather than business. The technology used has not changed, it is the level in which the user practices and the number of users that are now online. “ Web 2.0 is not a technology, it is an attitude.”(O’Reilly, 2005). This online attitude

that O’Reilly refers to has been accepted and incorporated into everyday life. The social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, and YouTube, have aided in this communication and made communication for most, an interactive two-way conversation. Due to the popular nature of this new social communication tool business and organisations now use social networking sites to communicate to their consumers, as it is easy and effective.

What has enhanced this online communication? The main change to the way we use to Internet is the way we now use hyperlinks. Hyperlinks have been adapted into every day online use. It is used by all search engines, by your email account, even your word processing document uses hyperlinks within the web browser. Hyperlinks make it easy and efficient to communicate to the user or for the user to communicate to their chosen source. Halavais (2008) writes that hyperlinks or citations were initially used as tools for navigation, transporting attention from place to place within the internet. He acknowledges that with the rise of user created media, hyperlinks play a major role in social navigation.  “Hyperlinks have become the default user interface for the internet” (Halavais, 2008).

Hyperlinks have been incorporated into smart phone applications where the user can take a photo and upload it to their chosen social media site by a click of a button, they can be taken to their Facebook or twitter notification’s by clicking on the link that is sent to their phone. Facebook uses hyperlinks all aspects of their site, for example they use hyperlinks in their online advertising for businesses, or as a way to rapidly move to a person’s page by simply clicking on an image of their face. The hyperlinks provide immediate comparison and an opportunity to gain a more comprehensive understanding of products, events and people. You can follow individual people now by clicking on certain pictures or status updates. All social networking sites, web search technologies and web pages for private use or businesses and online promotions for shopping or holidays rely on the structural property of a hyperlink to enhance communication.

Deuze (2008) writes about the changing effects of online communication and the new way in which we now use the internet. Deuze (2008) states “Online, media participation is the defining characteristic of internet in terms of its hyperlinked, interactive and multiple-way networked infrastructure”

The new age of smart phones 3G and 4G  wireless networks enables the users to be online all the time. This allows the user to share and upload pictures, videos or their general thoughts whenever they feel like it. Everything that could once only be performed from a computer can now all be done on your smartphone, a take anywhere mobile computer and communication device that provides and demands immediate online responses.

Hilton & Hjorth (2013) view the new Web 2.0 as an environment where free speech is unlimited. Creating and sharing content is vastly less complicated. Anyone, any business or corporation can publish information on the Internet.

Multimedia elements such as videos, pictures, along with file sharing have become increasing popular in online communication. Sites such as YouTube, Facebook, twitter, tumbler, Webpress and smartphone applications such as Instagram and Snapchat all revolve around using the internet to share, send, upload, view and communicate with one another. It is a never-ending cycle of pictures, videos and status updates that has enhanced the way we now communicate with one another. According to Hilton & Hjorth (2013) “personalisation and content creations are the fundamental concepts for Web 2.0”.

 References 

O'Reilly, T. (2005) What is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the next Generation of software. Retrived from http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html. Viewed 20/09/2013

Halavais, A.(2008). The hyperlink as organizing principle. In J. Turow & L. Tsui (EDs), The hyperlinked society: Questioning connections in the digital age (pp.39-55). USA: The University of Michigan Press.

Deuze, Mark (2008), “Corporate Appropriation of Participatory Culture,” in Nico Carpentier and Benjamin DeCleen (eds.), Participation and Media Production: Critical Reflections on Content Creation. Newcastle upon Tyne:Cambridge SP, 27–40.

Hinton, S., & Hjorth, L. (2013). What is Web 2.0? (Ch. 2). Social Network Sites (Ch.3) Understanding Social Media (pp. 7- 42). SAGE.

Images:
Chris Chavez, (2013), Trouble updating instagram with a video [ONLINE]. Available at:http://phandroid.com/2013/06/20/instagram-for-android-video-download/ [Accessed 23 September 13]

http://mashable.com/2010/11/16/twitter-iphone-push-support/