You've heard about people becoming obsessed and falling in love with material things, but nowadays, people are falling in love and obsessing over the intangible. The intangible being the internet. How is it that the human race is so completely wrapped up and overtaken by something which isn't physical? It's the power behind online media that makes me scared for what the future will be like. Although I do have these concerns, I'm not immune to the social media obsession. I try not to spend time on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook, but it's hard. Growing up and having social media since the time I was 12 makes you addicted, and it's a system that perpetuates itself; as new apps and features are created and come in and out of style. The internet is always re-inventing itself, and that's part of what makes it so alluring. It's so hard to stay offline.
If I'm honest, I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about my online footprint as a whole. However, I do spend a lot of time thinking about the content I share and upload. I do get a bit anxious about this lasting footprint I'm making for myself online, which transfers to the real world. People need to realize that there is no difference between the online world and the real world; it is all the same these days. What you upload online has tangible effects. Although I understand that you could argue that online media is false and fake content of people posing to be one thing or another, that is true. But, whatever facade you put of yourself online translates to the real world in other areas of your life, which you may be unaware of or not thinking about in the moment before you click "post."
So What is my Online Footprint?
Over my eight or so years in the online world, I've accumulated many different media platform accounts. My first social media account was on Instagram; this is my most used media platform even today. Following Instagram, I joined other platforms such as Snapchat, Facebook, Spotify, Pinterest, Twitter, Linked In, YouTube, and Tik Tok. An interesting thing to note about my online presence is some of these platforms I was "forced" to join. In high school, I was on many executive boards, which required me to create a Facebook account as that was their primary way of communicating. Similarly, I didn't have a Twitter until my high school teacher required my classmates and me to make one as we needed one to participate in a Twitter competition with our principal.
When I use these platforms, I always make sure to have them set to "Private" to keep my account more secure and only have those that I accept to be able to view and follow my posts. But my username is my real name; this is something I changed when I got older. However, now I am considering changing it back after learning about all the privacy invasion that's done online through media platforms. Thankfully though, the content I share online is primarily of my friends and I having fun and hanging out, nothing inappropriate. After reading some of the articles you linked, I plan to be more careful with attaching locations to my post. It's not necessary and gives more information that no one needs to know. Now thinking about my professional media like Link-In, I typically share internship/job updates or content about my classwork and projects.
Looking at my social media, one can tell that I am a college student at High Point University and am an avid concert go-er (pre- COVID). It also shows I am a member of the Co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, a prior member of the FFA in high school, and someone who loves dogs and nature. This is typically common knowledge to people who meet me, so I'm not uncomfortable with that being the way I appear online. I find it interesting that the content that appears to you online is personally tailored based on your likes, comments, and searches. Sometimes they're even politically charged. For example, this past election, I did a lot of media viewing on both sides, conservative and liberal, and now I've confused my social media algorithm as it can't decide which kind of media to show me; I get both conservative and liberally charged ads. Another thing that I find downright creepy is the way your phone "listens" to you, and I know this to be true because of this:
My name is Ries, spelled R I E S, but pronounced like Reese, which just so happens to be a candy. I am consistently bombarded with Reese's peanut butter cup ads online as it is my name, and my phone hears my name repeatedly throughout the day. I have never searched the candy online, so there's no other way I could be being target by these ads if it weren't for my phone listening and hearing my name repeatedly. Although I found this humorous initially, receiving targeted Reese's ads, I now think it's scary because of what else my phone could be listening to.
Overall I think my relationship with social media is more healthy than my peers. I try my best not to spend too much time scrolling mindlessly through Instagram or tapping through Snapchat stories. Although I have to say, during quarantine, my usage skyrocketed, and it put me in a negative place, swiping through digital media day in and day out over and over again to wake up and do it all over again. That's why social media can be tricky; it pulls you in for what you think is two minutes, and then all of a sudden, it's been a half-hour. Because of this, I try my hardest to stay cognizant of the time I spend online. Even the iPhone has put in a weekly "usage report," which gives iPhone owners a detailed breakdown of how much time you spent on your phone and which apps you were using. This has helped keep me offline and accountable with my time online. Writing this blog post has convinced me to pause from posting and do a social media detox. Especially in the age of the COVID- 19 pandemic, we've learned to live in the moment and be grateful for the people we have around us. While I'm home from school for the holidays, I think I will try to live more in the moment and put down my phone and only use it to communicate between texts and calls and give myself a break from social media; after all, it is exhausting.
When I use these platforms, I always make sure to have them set to "Private" to keep my account more secure and only have those that I accept to be able to view and follow my posts. But my username is my real name; this is something I changed when I got older. However, now I am considering changing it back after learning about all the privacy invasion that's done online through media platforms. Thankfully though, the content I share online is primarily of my friends and I having fun and hanging out, nothing inappropriate. After reading some of the articles you linked, I plan to be more careful with attaching locations to my post. It's not necessary and gives more information that no one needs to know. Now thinking about my professional media like Link-In, I typically share internship/job updates or content about my classwork and projects.
Looking at my social media, one can tell that I am a college student at High Point University and am an avid concert go-er (pre- COVID). It also shows I am a member of the Co-ed service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, a prior member of the FFA in high school, and someone who loves dogs and nature. This is typically common knowledge to people who meet me, so I'm not uncomfortable with that being the way I appear online. I find it interesting that the content that appears to you online is personally tailored based on your likes, comments, and searches. Sometimes they're even politically charged. For example, this past election, I did a lot of media viewing on both sides, conservative and liberal, and now I've confused my social media algorithm as it can't decide which kind of media to show me; I get both conservative and liberally charged ads. Another thing that I find downright creepy is the way your phone "listens" to you, and I know this to be true because of this:
My name is Ries, spelled R I E S, but pronounced like Reese, which just so happens to be a candy. I am consistently bombarded with Reese's peanut butter cup ads online as it is my name, and my phone hears my name repeatedly throughout the day. I have never searched the candy online, so there's no other way I could be being target by these ads if it weren't for my phone listening and hearing my name repeatedly. Although I found this humorous initially, receiving targeted Reese's ads, I now think it's scary because of what else my phone could be listening to.
What is my Relationship with Online Media?
Overall I think my relationship with social media is more healthy than my peers. I try my best not to spend too much time scrolling mindlessly through Instagram or tapping through Snapchat stories. Although I have to say, during quarantine, my usage skyrocketed, and it put me in a negative place, swiping through digital media day in and day out over and over again to wake up and do it all over again. That's why social media can be tricky; it pulls you in for what you think is two minutes, and then all of a sudden, it's been a half-hour. Because of this, I try my hardest to stay cognizant of the time I spend online. Even the iPhone has put in a weekly "usage report," which gives iPhone owners a detailed breakdown of how much time you spent on your phone and which apps you were using. This has helped keep me offline and accountable with my time online. Writing this blog post has convinced me to pause from posting and do a social media detox. Especially in the age of the COVID- 19 pandemic, we've learned to live in the moment and be grateful for the people we have around us. While I'm home from school for the holidays, I think I will try to live more in the moment and put down my phone and only use it to communicate between texts and calls and give myself a break from social media; after all, it is exhausting.
Sources:
https://carrierclinic.org/2019/08/08/the-good-bad-and-in-between-of-social-media/
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/28/teens-and-their-experiences-on-social-media/
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