Sunday, 15 February 2015

Module 7: #Selfies



Module 7: Identity, Representation & #Selfies (two weeks)

Monday, Feb. 16, 2015 - Sunday, March 1, 2015

  • Feb. 18: As practise for your Selfie Assignment, tweet two #selfies (in two separate tweets) and include a short critique using the remainder of your character count
  • Feb. 23: As practise on weaving theory alongside your critique for your Selfie Assignment, read Lauren Katz’s “Say it with a Selfie: Protesting in the Age of Social Media” article and Crisia Miriou’s “The Selfies: Social Identities in the Digital Age” paper ALONGSIDE at least the first page of selfies on “Which Picture Would they Use?” at http://iftheygunnedmedown.tumblr.com/. How do you interpet the selfies and how does the representation fit alongside the two articles and the theories of identity raised? Post your findings in a 2-3 paragraph response as a COMMENT on my Module post on the class blog
  • Feb. 27: Tweet your thoughts/reflections/questions about any of this module’s readings


Theory of the Selfie Assignment DUE by 23:59 March 1

7 comments:

  1. With the conscious, intentional act of sharing, “the selfie is also defined by the social purpose it was captured for” (Miriou, 2014, p. 9). Miriou types this effort as “construction of the social self” (2014, p. 3), a reflection of one’s need to be recognized as a being worthy of positive social attention, the impetus for the “Which Picture Would They Use?” Tumblr. Protesting via digital technology is based on applying social and political pressure to incite change reflective of a more just society: “people are standing up for what they believe in” (Katz, 2014, para. 1). This Tumblr is the essence of the effective image-and-sign protest as it shows both the selfie and the complementary commentary, “personalizing a campaign…show[ing] a strong commitment from individuals” (Katz, 2014, para. 14). Contributing to this Tumblr and/or using its hashtag is a reflection of people’s belief “that they’re useful, and they probably are” (para. 15). It is an extrapolation of the Long Tail theory, wherein many users make small contributions to maximize impact (Anderson, 2008).

    Miriou also notes, however, that a good deal of editing and filtering is involved in the selfie production and distribution process in order for individuals to exercise as much control as possible over their self-image. The question “Which Picture Would They Use?” is an archetype for the mashing of one’s social and personal identities via SM, deconstructing the paradox Venn-style. Yet, when one posts pics of oneself, does one share WITH or TO others? And to what end does this serve? With selfies, one’s sense of social identity manifests as a product: as Miriou argues, selfie-takers are intent on garnering social currency in the form of SM “positive comments, ‘likes,’ [and] shares” (2014, p. 12). As such, selfie-takers are both a product OF and TO society. The irony here is that the selfie-taker’s desire to control his/her sense of self-identity is in itself depersonalizing: once the image is shared, the selfie-taker becomes a product.

    In the case of this Tumblr, the media is the “they” to whom the question refers. The media is also a product of society: they also distribute to garner currency, both social and fiscal. As such, their answer to the question would not be the picture that would garner the selfie-taker the best social currency. Based on the same logic, it would be the one that garners the media their desired currency. However, the appeal that protest makes is not logical, it is moral: protest itself is the appeal for change based on moral reflection. “Which Picture Would They Use?” selfie-takers incite the media to do that which is right and just: to do more than apply self-serving logic, to do more than redistribute and fortify outdated stereotypes.

    REFERENCE

    Anderson, C. (2008). The three forces of the long tail. In The long tail: Why the future of business is selling less of more (Rev. Upd. Ed., pp. 52-57). New York, NY: Hyperion.

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  2. Examining the selfie as a form of self-identity construction extends the understanding of this social media phenomenon beyond the artifact. The concept of self as it relates to psychology, encompasses a wide range of psychological theories that have played a major role in my understanding. Self-definition varies between cultures and undergoes continual change and development. At its essence, the study of self is “the primary organizing structure through which humans experience life and the nature of reality,” (Gackenbach, 2006, p. 16). The ability to interpret values, norms and symbols in a systematic way allows for the creation of a lense by which to view the world on an internal level and exert self-expression on an external level.

    Miriou’s paper further solidified the idea that selfies are about forming ideas and presenting the self and that self is created through the interaction with others. The three elements of the construction of self as outlined by Miriou include:
    • the way the individual thinks he appears to the others
    • the way the individual thinks he is judged by the others
    • the way in which the individual feels about himself

    It is interesting to consider how all three elements are at work, to varying degrees, in an individual’s representation through the selfie and how the ability to be selective in this representation can lead to non-productive self construction and behaviour. “Creating an online identity and choosing the way of presenting the self becomes a matter of clicking and screen touching,” (Miriou, 2014, p. 10).

    Katz’s emphasis on the effectiveness of the selfie in relation to the power of the individual as opposed to anonymity was a profound segue into the “Which Picture Would They Use” Tumblr. This is a powerful commentary on media in general but also on the idea of self-representation and interpretation. Of the material we have examined in this course to date – this impacted me the most. On one hand, the narcissistic behavior associated with the selfie, or attaining the perfect selfie can have a negative effect on the individual. On the other hand, sadly, there is perceived value in only allowing the best version of oneself to be interpreted. How as society, do we strike a more honest balance?

    Gackenbach, J. (2006). Being Online. Athabasca, AB: Athabasca University.

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    Replies
    1. Jaylene, Lisa and Adela and I were talking about this in our live chat. Here's what I said in reference to your interesting comment: in your penultimate paragraph, "that it is interesting to consider.... "and then you add a quote from Miriou, you could of course, tell us exactly what it is interesting, with an example. you could also pick apart what Miriou says, about clicking and screen touching, that idea that a virtual self becomes and embodied corporeal self through the physical clicking of an "other"

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    2. Thanks for this feedback. What was in fact interesting to me in Miriou's three elements of construction is the lack of 'what is'. It is almost anchored in a sense of 'what if'. The idea that self can be created by what one's own perception of what others think is not a new phenomenon. The fact that this perception, is far from authentic, based on the ability to stage, edit, and control the representation of self by which others 'think' of you is a fundamental shift in the power of digital communication that has been made more prevalent with tools that enable this behaviour. The selfie is a powerful example of this.

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  3. The Semiotics of a Selfie

    "The presence of signs and posters has remained prominent in the ever-growing digital world." (Katz, 2014)

    We get a better understanding of the reason why selfies are so popular these days when we start breaking down the elements of an image. The key point is not the image itself, but the message that is transmitted through it. The semiotic science explains this idea through the concepts of signifier and signified (Craig & Muller, 2007, p. 165). These two are notions that are also relevant in the case of the selfie. The signifier is the physical form of the sign, such as the image, the selfie, the picture itself; the signified is the concept, the meaning of the picture (or selfie). Thus, if we consider that selfie is a way of transmitting messages about oneself, it becomes clear why everybody tries to publicise on the internet their best picture. Thanks to the internet, the idea of “do it yourself” is in high trend, and it is no surprise that selfie was named by Oxford Dictionaries, the Word of the Year in 2013 (Katz, 2014).
    Returning to semiotics, signifier and signified are in close relation with the concepts of denotation and connotation (Craig & Muller, 2007, p. 196). Denotation is the description of the sign (i.e. digital pictures), while the connotation, in the case of Tumblr pictures is represented, or example, by two instances of a young girl: first - informal, a bit aggressive; second – positive, educated, smiling at her graduation event. However, when looking at the pictures together, the connotation changes dramatically: The author has less control over the viewers’ preconceived ideas (racism?).
    Seeing these pictures from the semiotics perspective, the message of the Tumblr images is an oldie but goodie cliche: the beauty (or the ugly) will always be in the eye of the beholder even if these days everybody can use “new technologies and new media . . . for identity representation and construction” (Miriou, 2014, p. 1).

    References:
    Craig, R., & Muller, H. (2007). Theorizing communication. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
    Katz, L. (2014). Say It With A Selfie: Protesting In The Age Of Social Media. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/05/10/311143584/say-it-with-a-selfie-protesting-in-the-age-of-social-media
    Miriou, C. (2014). The Selfies: Social Identities in the Digital Age. In Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference. Victoria: Swinburne University. Retrieved from http://www.anzca.net/documents/2014-conf-papers/796-the-selfies-social-identities-in-the-digital-age/file.html



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  4. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Scott. Though I agree with much of what you say I am still sitting here mulling it over...I think the issue, for me, is that subjects may create the images and might well (at least at some point) want us to see different images to portray different character traits but, that is the luxury of the creator...not the "curator." The curator, in this case the media, the police, etc... pick and choose the images they think support they case they are trying to make. The biggest lesson we can learn and teach, is NOT to have any images online that construe something we don't wish to imply. This, of course, is very tricky but it plays into our heightened transliteracy skills - only publish what we want the world to see.

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  5. First, my apologies for the late post. I’ve been reading your comments and find them very interesting. Previous to the readings this week I had not thought of the significance of the selfie much in terms of narratives of representation.

    While reading Miriou, one of her statements struck me and led to further reading around the concept of narcissism and the selfie. She said the selfie “fosters self-absorption and ultimately supports the inwards-looking cult of narcissism.” Freud described narcissism as a type of attachment to the self rather than the other (Baranger, 1991), which would certainly meet the criteria outlined by Miriou. Campbell and Foster (2007) claim narcissists ‘spend a good deal of effort to make themselves look and feel positive, special, successful, and important.’ The control that the selfie offers one in terms of how or what they project in terms of image to the public also meets the narcissist criteria. Levin argued that the selfie ‘may evince a certain callousness and indifference to behavioral norms, they also reveal an associative realignment.’ Again the narcissist tendencies are all over the selfie.

    But while narcissism can be the down side I also think the selfie has a positive side in terms of agency. Agency is defined as ‘the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices. By contrast, structure is those factors of influence (such as social class, religion, gender, ethnicity, customs, etc.) that determine or limit an agent and his or her decisions.’ The selfie allows us to escape the confines of what Bordieu calls social capital. Indeed the practice of posting online gives a person control over their image.

    Of course it does not mean we have full control such as the example given in ‘Which Picture Would They Use?’ It reminded me of the meme that was associated with #IamJada, a young woman who was allegedly raped and images of here were posted online. And incredibly people began to mock her and post pictures of themselves imitating her while unconscious. However, Jada chose to take control of the conversation and posted a photo of herself which was quickly taken up by many to support her. In this case she was able to exercise agency and use her selfie to empower.

    While selfies can promote narcissist behaviour they also provide the user to increase agency which can be a powerful tool.


    Baranger, W. (1991). Narcissism in Freud. In J. Sandler, E. S. Person, & P. Fogany (Eds.), Freud’s “On narcissism: An introduction” (pp. 108–130). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Campbell, K. & Foster, J. (2207) The Narcissistic Self: Background, an Extended Agency Model, and Ongoing Controversies, Psychology Press New York, NY.

    Levin, A. (2014). “The Selfie in the Age of Digital Recursion,” Invisible Culture, http://ivc.lib.rochester.edu/portfolio/the-selfie-in-the-age-of-digital-recursion/

    Miriou, C. (2014). “The Selfies: Social Identities in the Digital Age,” Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Communication Association Annual Conference, Swinburne University, Victoria 9-11 July, 2014, http://www.anzca.net/documents/2014-conf-papers/771-anzca14-miriou/file.html

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