Making A Case For Facebook

If students had to take away one thing from class earlier today, I think it would be that social media (namely Facebook) have a terrible reputation for its affect on us as people, and how we alter our appearance in the digital world compared to real life. Today in class, we talked about how Facebook allows us to create a highly curated and carefully constructed representation of the self. We noted, that yes, it’s not accurate reflection of our every day life. But, what if the way we use Facebook is actually a form of self-affirmation (“Affirming the Self Online”, 2011)? Claude Steele, a social psychologist proposed the theory of self-affirmation, which claimed that accessing positive and meaningful information about the self satiates the fundamental need for positive self-regard, and has profound psychological benefits, such as increased self-confidence and open-mindedness, and decreased biased processing.

When we use social networking sites, such as Facebook, we behave the way we do because we like feeling that what we’re doing is attention-worthy of our networks, and because we believe we’re expressing our individuality to our networks. Through the process of uploading our carefully selected images from the previous night, and “liking” a product for our network to see, we feel as if we’re valuable and worthy, which is why we continue to carry on like we do on Facebook and other social networks. In order for users to achieve self-affirmation, their Facebook profiles must meet three criteria: Represent domains of the self on which self-worth is contingent, offering a flattering portrait of the profile owner, and be accurate, given information that the self-presenter knows to be untrue cannot increase positive self-regard (“Affirming the Self Online”, 2011).

By representing domains of the self, users reveal personal information about themselves, such as their job, birthday, and allow networks to see interactions with friends. In order to present a flattering self-portrait, users take meticulous care of their public activity on Facebook, from wall-to-wall conversations to the photographs that they’re tagged in.  Finally, since users’ networks are composed of friends and acquaintances, they are challenged to provide content that is both accurate and honest.

In conclusion, while our Human-Computer Interaction may limit our Human-Human Interaction, it’s unfair to say that there are not benefits to making an effort to ensure that our online identity lives up to our personal standards.

References

Affirming the Self Online: Motives and Benefits of Facebook Use. (2011). Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1-49.