There are four assumption that can be made about social networks and your cyber self in chapter 11.
Assumption #1: The computer screen can deceive
The internet can be very tricky because you only see the words that are written on the screen, you never really know the emotion behind it. In my opinion, social networks, such as facebook, can be very deceiving. They are a mask that hides people’s true feelings and lifestyle. On facebook people are able to portray an ideal lifestyle. They are able to hide all the different things that are really happening in their life and use words that make them seem perfect. I personally only have facebook because my brother is in Bagdad and that is the only way that I can actually communicate with him. Although I am “friends” with lots of family members and classmates, I rarely let people in on my every move and update my status constantly. I do read other people’s statuses and find that they tend to be misleading. An example of this happened recently when I saw my sister post that she was having a “GREAT DAY!” And she was so happy and thankful for people in her life. I was very happy to see this post, so I called her only to here a sad voice and find out that she was not feeling well because she was bored and had a stomach ache. This showed me that on facebook, people are able to twist their lives and basically play mind games.
Assumption 2: Online discussions often prompt introspection
The second assumption in chapter 11 is that online discussions often prompt introspection. I find that on facebook, many people love to pretend that they have their lives well put together and therefore want to tell you how your life should be. They do this by posting “inspirational messages” and giving lectures about what you should and should not do. Unless you know the person and are able to see that they themselves do not take the advice that they give, you will be forced to consider their advice and think about what you should do to change your life. I personally do not listen to what others say on facebook, because I think that it is filled with hypocrites.
Assumption3: Online discussion promote self orientation
Your personal facebook is a presentation of who you are. People who do not know you well will be able to see what type of person you are, and what type of lifestyle you live based on your presentation. Your status, pictures, and even personal information will tell a lot about who you are. Based on that people will decide the type of relationship they want to have about you, and also the type of feelings they will have toward you.
Assumption 4: Self- disclosure online occurs
Some people are more private than others. Facebook allows you to have limitations. People are able to show certain things to certain people. Some people post their numbers and school names and birthdays and make all of this information public. I personally keep a lot of my information private and not many people on facebook are able to find me unless they are friends with people I already know. Some people want only their school friends to see certain things that are different from what their family is able to see. Facebook allows you to do this which is good because we all create different personas with different people
Some other concepts include screen names; some people choose to post their actual name as their screen names, and others choose to post screen names that symbolize something. My screen name on facebook is Tempestt Duncan because I personally do not have any alter egos, but my brother, Amir Duncan uses the name Landon Hood because he is an artist, and that is his artistic title.
Another concept is signaling theory, this theory applies to people only portraying part of them, people only show the positive side if that’s how they want others to think of them or some choose to show a tougher side if they want people to think they are tough and scary.
Other concepts include; abbreviated language, identity marker, and write literally. These apply to what you choose to say and show. People use abbreviated languages when they are writing conversations because they do not want to write too much but they want to get right to the point, which is what write literally means. Identity markers apply to who you are such as your name or a picture of yourself. My cyber self says that I love my family and am a very quiet, yet friendly hardworker. I do not let many strangers into my life, but I reveal just enough for them to get an idea of the type of person that I am.
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