Abstract
In recent years, social media have become a major part of our lives and it has impacted our ways of socializing both in the real world as well as the online communities that are present. With advancement in Web 2.0 and the growing popularity of social networking sites amongst teens, users are conformed in creating online identities that may resemble or largely differ from reality. How the youth participate and represent themselves on social media platforms reflect valuable information on their identities and peer-to peer sociality (Danah, 2007). Using the works of Goffman’s theories of social performance, this study looks to analyze the behavioral impacts on the youth on the virtual creation of identity through social networking sites. This research fits within the streams of Identity in communities and networks. This essay will point out certain behavioral traits of virtual identity creations supported by the works of Dannah and Pearson.
Behavioral impact of youth on social media.
Over the years, social media have gained popularity amongst users of all age groups. Nowadays, one can find almost any type of information online within a matter of minutes. As a result, sites are becoming more user friendly and generating more traffic. Social networking sites are still growing in popularity. With it, also comes the amount of time the user spends on those sites. Now, the availability of accessing these sites have become much easier. Users can access almost any social media sites via their mobile phones rather than their personal computers (Pew Research Internet Project 2013). Social media has allowed for information to be carried out far and wide. Communication is by far the most common social media tool. On sites such as Facebook or Twitter, users can share comments, upload photos or videos or even establish relationships with other users. These platforms can also be a way to collaborate with other users. For example, Wikipedia is edited and constantly updated and reviewed by users. Blogs are platforms where users can again collaborate and share opinions or review movies, restaurants, products and so on. Social media also gives its users the ability to upload videos and encourage participatory culture amongst audiences especially on YouTube. In a way social media touches upon vast areas. It is developing at a fast rate and has got a large portion of the society hooked up on it. With the concept of users staying connected with their online community, a phenomenon has risen wherein users can create their ideal identity online. Today’s teens spend a lot of time online connecting with friends and sharing photos or expressing their views over matters that they are concerned about. To narrow down this vast spectrum, I have decided to carry out the research on the behavioral impacts of the youth on the virtual creation of identity through social networking sites.
The teen demographic has been chosen as an area to research since this group is currently growing alongside social media and they spend an enormous amount of time on those sites. As a result, certain social networking sites such as Instagram and YouTube will be considered to better illustrate the arguments made. Most teens engage with a form of social media without realizing it. They tend to get into a habit of maintaining an online social presence rather than a physical one. The teen demographic can be observed as a group that is moving more towards being concerned of online friends rather than face-to-face interaction. It can be argued that there are some positive effects of spending time on social media, however, there are equally as many dangers with social networking sites. Teenagers, find it constantly hard societal pressure on them. They are constantly told to behave a certain way or function a certain way which is regarded acceptable for the society. However, online, they have the freedom to create an identity for themselves and likewise, connect with other people with similar tastes. Behavioral traits that are created online can be beneficial for some people, but the dangers outweigh the benefits. Teenagers find it necessary to be the best versions of themselves when sharing part of their lives online. Ironically, social media platforms in a way have put more pressure and restrictions on teenagers to fit the ‘’virtual community’’.
As stated above, this essay will be supported by using examples of Instagram and YouTube. While the option of researching on Facebook was also available, it was decided to stick to these two mentioned sites as these are networking sites which have allowed teenagers to post pictures or videos on a professional level, thus having the pressure that everything that is posted must be perfect. Instagram is a free photo and video sharing service (Instagram, 2018), that allows users to post, edit photos and videos, write captions, like and comment as well as share posts. This site allows users to upload their best photos and videos which are esthetically pleasing to the Instagram community or their audiences. Instagram can be accessed via personal computers or mobile phones. This means that an Instagram user is always connected with the application. Users as young as thirteen years old use the site (Instagram, 2018), which is the stated age limit for users on this application. However, there are users who are younger than the age limit and have accounts on Instagram. As of 2017, there are 800 million active users worldwide (Statista, 2018).
A feature of Instagram is that it functions as a window for the user’s daily activities. Users post photos or video clips of what they are wearing, eating, going to and so on. Moreover, Instagram has a feature that allows users to post stories which disappear after twenty-four hours. These stories can be perceived as the different activities that this user has done throughout the course of the day. Users can comment and like photos, which for most users like posting on Instagram. Having an online environment where one can comment on photos, allows its users to develop certain behavioral traits. Users follow other ‘’Instagrammers’’ and try to level up their photos or videos to them.
YouTube is a web 2.0 platform that allow users to upload videos which can then be streamed by viewers. The audience have the option to like, dislike or comment on videos. The idea of being able to share opinions and comments open a new virtual community where the viewers can communicate with other people from around the world who share the same interests, be it in music, politics and so on. With the concept of creating channels, certain people have made a career out of YouTube. Commonly known as Youtubers, these people create content and post them on the social networking site. They in return generate money by advertisements. When someone clicks on an advert or watches 30 seconds of it, the advertiser pays the Youtuber. Famous YouTube channels of the moment include PieDiePie, Smosh, Niga Higa, Jenna Marbles, Superwoman and so on. These content creators have between 15 to 55 million subscribers (McAlone, 2017).
YouTube has over one billion users worldwide (YouTube, 2018). It is also one of the most diverse communication and social platform and is available in 88 countries and 76 languages. On average, teens and young adults spend 34% of their video watching time on YouTube compared to other formats such as TV, Netflix and so on (McAlone, 2017). This research has involved exploring this social networking site as to understand what kind of behavioral identities can be identified to the process of maintaining a brand on YouTube.
Considering the context of Instagram, some people may say that social media platforms are elaborate forms of popularity contests. Researches have showed that adults and teens use them differently. The youth use Instagram merely as a tool to self-express and solely focus on photos that will generate attention. Their posts on Instagram mainly reflect their emotions or use hashtags to attract more followers. Teenagers want large audiences and more of a way to emphasize on the popularity status amongst their group. Internet celebrities have risen from amassing large followers and posting consistently to maintain their brand. As a result, other teens are also pressured to follow the same. We live in the era of the ‘’perfect selfie’’. Teens spend a generous amount of time in taking the perfect photos at the perfect places and find captions that will surely boost their brand. In doing so, most teenagers opt to alter or create new identities that will allow them to gain more likes and followers.
This identifies that teenagers can decide how they want to be represented to the online community. This can be in the form of their avatars which is usually the new identity they have created on their chosen online platform (Pearson, 2009). Pearson (2009), argues that these behavioral changes exist in the imagination of users. This means that, the user merely uses social networking sites as tools to project and constantly improvise or revise their online presence. It is also observed that by doing this, users meticulously plan and stage what their identities should look like when they’re presented to the virtual community.
Teenagers can alter or create new identities through their choices of usernames, photos and online behavior while communicating with other users online. Instagram has become an online community where only the best photographers and only accounts which have a massive following can thrive. Teens find it needful to step up their photography skills just to be able to get likes and followers. It has also become a dangerous addiction where teens are willing to spend any amount of time just to get the right photo which may ultimately bring in some new followers. They are obsessive over the idea of portraying how they want to be perceived online and in return they are drifting away from the real society. The time teens spend on Instagram is roughly 25 minutes per day. This translates that teens spend an average of 8 months using Instagram in their lifetime (Asano, 2017).
With YouTube, behavioral traits are quite varied. The pressure of maintaining an online brand and personality is even greater than that of Instagram. Youtubers have a reputation at stake. They are just like celebrities but the only difference is that they get to choose how they want to be perceived. Youtubers spend countless hours in creating videos and understanding their audiences’ tastes. Therefore, it is crucial for a Youtuber to maintain good quality videos on their channels. Youtubers at the beginning would film their videos with a simple video recorder. Today, youtubers have professional teams, use industry standard equipment and shoot at well know studios and production houses. YouTube videos have become extremely professional even if a lot of viewers do not get to witness what goes on behind the scenes of shooting a YouTube video. YouTube is the largest video platform and can shape society.
YouTube gave rise to the term ’Vlogging’. It is the process where users video blog their experiences and post it on YouTube rather than writing and posting it on a blog. Studies have showed that vloggers and their viewers can have a sense of connection between the two parties (Wesch, 2008). Certain YouTubers have had to completely change identities or renew themselves to able to appeal to an audience or to generate views. Moreover, makeup tutorials and beauty channels have created a new environment where viewers are expected to follow the same. Teenagers fit the right targeted audience to follow these trends of what is popular now. Teenagers behavioral traits can be attributed to certain negative events that can shape long lasting effects. In 2014, a United Arab Emirates court convicted 8 people over a documentary video. The video was aimed at teenagers living in the UAE and insinuated a gangster culture that is supposedly rising amongst teens. The matter of concert was that the video was perceived as defaming the teenage demographic and fear of disturbing the state security (BBC, 2013).
Teenagers have made social networking sites as a place to grow and develop according to how they want. Social class and race play a very little role in determining which sector of the demographic use these sites (Dannah, 2007). Poor teens are also more likely to join the virtual community of Instagram and Youtube as their wealthier counterparts. However, behavioral traits in identity change highly depends on what the teens do online. Those who use social networking sites in schools, use them as a more asynchronous method to connect. Those who use them continuously at home, spend more time modifying their identities, surfing the web and maintaining their online presence.
Self-identity is easily changed amongst teens. Spending time on social media such as Instagram, can lead to uses feeling jealous or insecure. Identity is then evaluated through the number of likes, followers or subscribers that have been received. As a result, teenagers spend a lot of time online to modify or create new identities that will be appealing. It is therefore really important to recognize the power of social media pertaining to how it can alter identities amongst teens and that it should not be allowed to define who we are.
Blbliography
Asano, E. (2017, January 4). 1. Retrieved from socialmediatoday.com: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/marketing/how-much-time-do-people-spend-social-media-infographic
Baron, C. (2017). The Statistics Portal. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/250176/social-network-usage-of-us-teens-and-young-adults-by-age-group/
Boyd, D. (2007). Why Youth (Heart) Social Networking Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning- Youth, Identity And Digital Media Volume. Cambridge, MA. MIT Press.
Donath, J. S. (n.d.). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. Retrieved from MIT Media Lab: http://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html
Gordon, K. (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/topics/1882/instagram/
Gordon, K. (n.d.). Youtube. Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/topics/2019/youtube/
Hynes, N. and Wilson, J. 2016. I do it, but don’t tell anyone! Personal values, personal and social norms: Can social media play a role in changing pro-environmental behaviours. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 111: pp. 349-359
Pearson, E. (2009). The Performance of Identity in Online Social Networks. All The World Wide Web’s A stage.
UAE Court convicts Eight over “Spoof Documentary Video”. (2013, December 23). Retrieved from BBC : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25495256
Walrave, M., Ponnet, K., Vanderhoven, E., & Haers, J. (2016). Youth 2.0: Social Media and Adolescence. Springer International Publishing.
Hi Kevissen,
Great paper! I found you point about teenagers using social media to revise or improve their online identity really interesting. Teenagers are at a stage in their lives where they are no longer children, and yet still not part of the adult world. Teenagers are in between those two stages of life, and therefore are still in the process of figuring out what they want to do with their lives, and who they are.
What’s so great about social media, is that it allows these teenagers to explore different personas and identities in a relatively safe space. You pointed out that envy and other negative emotions can result because of this, however I believe this would still happen in the physical world. Social media cannot be fully to blame for teenagers feeling these negative emotions because it is also through social media that they can share their good experiences and happy emotions. I completely agree that we should be wary of the power of social media, but I believe it all depends on how we, as individuals, use social media.
I’m curious to know if you think future teenagers will be more wary of the identities they present online?
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Cat.
Hey Cat,
Thanks for taking a look at my paper. Teenagers are at a point in their lives where they tend to expose all aspects of their lives and without a doubt they spend a lot of time on it as well. The issue of online privacy have come up recently in terms of how photos and videos can be quickly circulated online. Moreover, more and more companies are profiling candidates before recruiting them for jobs. This profiling includes a social networking check. In a way, teenagers should be more wary of their online behaviors and presence as it may hurt potential job prospects.
Hi Kevissen,
Yeah that’s a really good point! I wasn’t even considering how this would effect future job opportunities for teenagers, because it feels as though that is an issue for my generation of young adults rather than teens. Teenagers are obviously not as wary as they should be, but do you think that future employers will have a different way to vet possible employees when it comes to that time in their lives? Or will the ‘social media vetting’ still be apart of hiring and firing of employees like it is right now?
Hi Kevissen,
I enjoyed reading your paper, good work!
I found some crossovers between your paper and mine which was good to see! The part where you talk about the younger generation using these SNS was particularly interesting. High school does seem to be a period where gaining likes and attention from their peers is crucial. However, it can do more harm than good. My paper discusses how young people can be so desperate for likes they will post images of themselves almost completely exposed or resort to sexting. This has lead to some serious outcomes such as cyber bullying between peers. It can then lead to even more serious consequences such as suicide. Do you agree with this? Would love to hear your thoughts. Please have a look at my paper if you get a chance and we can discuss this further.
Once again, great work!
Jack
Hey Jack, thanks for reading my paper and sharing your views. I do agree with your point saying that SNS can lead to consequences such as suicide in extreme cases. Social networking sites have become a place where teenagers tend to expose a lot of their lives. It can unfortunately lead to consequences such as cyber bullying or suicide among teens. I will definitely check out your paper and hopefully we can discuss it further.
Hey Kevissen, good job! It is true that teenagers are being more and more exposed on social media, that is they post their daily lives. They are influenced by their peers. These young adults tend to portray themselves as being another person. They kind of show off or fake themselves. This faking of identity can lead to serious problems such as depression and bullying. They are trying to get the attention of audiences. In some school, competitions are present that is who is getting more likes, who is getting famous. Parents should keep an eye on their kids. Well, check out my paper and leave a comment, thank you! https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2018Bentley/2018/05/20/are-muslim-women-challenging-stereotypes-on-online-communities-2/
Hello Kevissen,
I really enjoyed your paper. You pointed out all the aspects of how teenagers are now being exposed in a sense to social media platforms. I agree with the fact that now teenagers are seen posting pictures or videos on a daily basis. Somewhere you mentioned that they have a sense of freedom online. Yes I completely agree with this statement of yours, young adults tend to be someone else online and hence do anything they want online. These young adults don’t really realise the consequence of faking an identity. That is they may face several problems such as deception, depression and so on. One thing I should point out is that nowadays, young adults would like to get an online identity that is being famous online and also getting the attention of others. They don’t want to lack behind. Overall, your paper is great.
Hi Kevissen
I was initially attracted to your paper, as I saw a correlation between your paper and mine. I feel like both of our papers discussed the concept of performance identity online, and I’d like to discuss whether you think that performance identity is helping or hindering the behaviours of the youth today.
Unfortunately, I was confused with the rest of your paper as I felt that discussing both YouTube and Instagram diluted your overall argument, so maybe focusing on one and undertaking a more in-depth analysis to form a stronger argument.
Kind Regards
Alex
Hi Kevissen,
You did a great job in analyzing the current phenomenon amongst the people. It is true that there are more people using social media to expose themselves. Most of the people will even take a picture of the food before they eat in order to upload to the social media for the other followers to look at their “daily life”. Sometimes this behavior happens to me as well, whereas I posted it on Snapchat rather than Instagram. I found that it is difficult to trust an individual’s online presence as they can act differently through an online or offline identity. However, we could try to question ourselves what motivates us to post online? To receive the likes or compliments from the others? What do you think about this? Also, feel free to have a look at my paper!
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2018Bentley/2018/05/04/celebrities-online-self-disclosure-of-information-reinforces-the-parasocial-relationship/
Thanks,
Joanne
Hi Kevissen,
great read, I thought including both Instagram and YouTube was interesting, it helps in showing how comparison and self-esteem issues are a problem across most, if not all social media sites!
My paper argues a different side from yours, as I discuss how social media sites can be freeing and an important tool in self-development and self-love, however I do so referencing anonymity tools. What do you think about YouTubers and Instagrammers who’s aesthetic or brand is based off of not showing their faces? Visual identity seems to be a big focus in your paper, so do you think removing this aspect from the physical body changes your arguments? And in the case of those who use fake names? I think anonymity can sometimes what is the selling point about a person’s brand, as was the case for me with @hellomissmay, an Instagrammer who never used to show her face (she does now though), but used fun ways to conceal her identity and made the focus her aesthetic. Do you think the pressure to conform visually and gain likes from this aspect is the same as someone whose brand revolves around their face and body, like many Instagram models?