“I Tweet, Therefore I Am” Summary
In “I Tweet, Therefore I Am” author Peggy Orenstein writes about her addiction to Twitter. At the beginning of the text Orenstein describes a lazy afternoon with her daughter and what it consisted of but she felt this need to tweet about it. Orenstein goes into depth on how social media sites for example Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter is changing our identities and that they are shaping us. With these sites like Twitter you try to express who you are but because of the audience you try to make it more interesting than need be. That’s where your “psychology becomes a performance”(Orenstein 6). Orenstein's over all view of Twitter is that it’s fun but there should be lines between person and persona what is
Cited by Shari Veil, in her 2011 article, “Incorporating Social Media in Risk and Crisis Communication,” “Social media is at its core human communication, possessing characteristics of participation, openness, conversation, community, and connectedness.” This demonstrates how integral social media has become in our daily communication.
Jessica began struggling with her mental health and how she viewed her body in seventh grade, the year she made an account on the popular social media site, Instagram. Jessica’s world started to change as she spent more time online viewing the mirages of perfect lives. Everyday, she consumed edited “thinspiration” photos, and with each passing day Jessica felt more insecure about how her body measured up. She became intoxicated in the world that was social media and obsessed over popular Instagram models (people who earn endorsements on the site and advance their modeling career through Instagram). Instagram was once a fun way to interact with friends, but each time she used the website, she fed the growing destruction within her mind. Extreme dieting seemed like the only way for Jessica to achieve the pinnacle of beauty she saw every time she went on her phone. She sought validation of her appearance in likes, comments, and followers. When she didn’t get as many likes as her peers, her self-esteem plummeted. Satisfaction was never achieved for Jessica; no matter how toned her body became or how many followers she gained, she never felt like it was enough, as someone always looked better than her. After several years of maintaining detrimental habits, Jessica started to realize that social
In the article “I Tweet, Therefore I Am,” author Peggy Orenstein criticizes the problems associated to the distractions of social media sites such as Twitter. The author introduces her article by describing her relaxing Sunday morning with her daughter. The author then quickly recounts her sense of urge to compress her beautiful day into a tweet, acknowledging that her “consciousness had spin off and was observing the scene from the outside… [her] perfect oppurtunity to tweet.” Living in a fast-paced world like today, many people can agree that what we decide to share is ultimately determined by our fantasies of what we think people should see, know and hear for the
In 2011, New York Times executive editor, Bill Keller, wrote an article entitled, “The Twitter Trap” in which he uses the social media site to discuss its’ impact on society, and the negative ramifications. The article attempts to illustrate the potential dangers of social media on relationships, the functioning of the brain, as well as the education and intelligence of current and future generations. He claims that social media can be dangerous because “innovation comes at a price” and Keller’s concern is that “the price is a piece of ourselves”, which becomes the basis of his argument throughout the article (Keller). Keller’s is directing his article, and consequently his argument towards the New York Times readership, and even more specifically those who are parents of children on social media, as well as general Twitter and social media users.
4: We are finding our own voice, defending every statement with “It’s my own opinion and you cannot question it.”
Social media is considered to be “websites and applications that allow individuals to participate in social networking” (Spies Shapiro, 2014). Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory suggests that life is like a play in which people are the actors. Through social media it can be possible that some may learn how to play their role/identity through the socialization of others. In recent years, social media has changed dramatically, allowing individuals to share feelings, ideas,
Living in a world where social media is highly incorporated into our daily lives is associated with being detached from the things that matter, such as family, friends, and even human relationships in general. In 2016, Cal Newport pointed out in his article, “Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend On It”, from The New York Times, that people are now beginning to believe that social media may even take a toll on their career. On the contrary, I find it ironic that people claim to be victimized by social media when they are giving it authority over them and their lives by assuming they cannot stay in control of how they spend their time. If common people allow social media to take up valuable work time, then they are one of two things; careless of their job, or they feel as though they are not in charge of their life. I believe that social media cannot hurt a career unless the person using it gives it the power to do so. On the other hand, Newport believes that social media can “hurt your career” by making someone counterproductive.
“Social media allows people to connect with each other to create and share information. It is people-powered communication, an authentic dialogue motivated by a basic human desire to share information” (CIPD, Social Media and Employee Voice Report 2013). ‘Click’ and my message is on its way to my friend’s Facebook inbox hundred of miles away. The astonishing speed of how quick we can communicate in today’s societies, all thanks to social media. The invention of Facebook simplified everything we know about communication. We can connect to people whenever and wherever, sharing information has never been more convenient and exciting. In Shane Hipps’ Article, “ Is Facebook Killing Our Souls?,” he has no intention to impede technological advancements, instead he wants users to understand technologies with insights. According to my research, although Hipps ' points has some merits, I disagree with him because he overgeneralized the impacts that Facebook and other social media has on users’ behaviors and identities.
thaninternaly developed."(2) This quote is used to further influence the reader to be cautious of Twitter and other social media. Orenstein is concerned that social media is consuming people's ability to think freely and be their own self. She uses a reliable source, Turkle, to further help influence the reader and show that the concern for social media isn't unwarranted. Additionally, Sherry goes on to say that "those moments in which you're supposed to be showing your true self become a performance. Your psychology becomes a performance."(2) Turkle and Orenstein believe social media is an issue. The author is attempting to not only persuade the reader into being cautious of losing one's ability to be themselves, but is also using an evaluative pattern to discuss the
“People can take their time when posting information about themselves, carefully selecting what aspects they would like to emphasize (Gonzales 80).” By controlling what information and self-attributes to share with the online world, an individual may present an idealized version of self that would not align with societal perceptions in the face-to-face interactions. Furthermore, Gonzales notes that recent research in computer-mediated communications suggests that online self-presentations can alter self-perceptions (80). As Orenstein says, “I tweet, therefore I am.” The online presentations of self can become the reality, or idealized reality, of the
These days it seems that the Internet, a post-modern medium, something so complex and vital to our society as being reduce to a mere antiquity of personal feuds and interactive relationships (or at least the satisfaction of what seems like a relationship) between people. The rise of social media applications like Twitter and Facebook allows people to voice their opinions to wider audience, creating a pluralist, postmodern medium in which questions raised about the impact of mediated relationships have surely increased. What is particularly interesting about Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook) is the newfound proximity we ‘normal people’ have to modern
Within Jenna Wortham's article, "Turn Off the Phone (and the Tension)," Wortham discusses the impact that social media possesses, in which Wortham believes that technology is responsible for shaping people's lives negatively. From Wortham's previous experiences, she shares a moment in her life that made her realize that people often compare their lives to others excessively- one of the reasons why people have social media attachment issues. Wortham also expresses how social media users brag about their lives being better than others through exaggerated posts- something that shouldn't be encouraged. With effort to resolve this issue, Wortham considers and suggests Mr. Hofmann's advice to readers: go screenless for a certain
Relevance to audience: As users of social media you may not think that it can have a bad effect on your life or the lives of those around you. After listening to what I have to say today, will give you a new perspective on social media and the huge control that it can have peoples’ lives.
Living in the 21st century requires one to stay current with latest technological advancements. Ever since the development of social networking sites, people are now able to create a carefully-crafted identity for themselves. This has led psychologists to question how well these online personalities match the person in front of the computer. The innovative branch of media psychology looks into how social networking portrays individuals and initiates human interactions within a society.
Silva effectively uses rhetorical appeals throughout the article to convey her stance on the side effects of social media. She uses her credibility, emotion, and statistics to open the eyes of many and hammer in on each factor of self-esteem it effects.