As we learned in this week's lecture, "Greeks understood that the way we tell a story shapes the way we see the world" (Kuttainen, 2015). This has carried over into today's day and age with many people telling their stories in a way that they can interpret it into a story they wish others to view. With many people altering their narratives into a different style, they can also alter the way their narrative is viewed, leading to the way the world is shaped.
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| Retrieved From: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/facebook-launches-new-facebook-stories-website-video-03-08-2012/ |
An argument can be made that Facebook can tell a person's story. Facebook has a mass number of posts being uploaded daily, a mix of a user's statuses, their photos, as well as posts by news programs and other sources uploading information they believe is relevant. People help shape the way the world is viewed by how they express themselves. Social media is a huge space for expression to form and Facebook is a perfect example of this. "Neglected is the explicit recognition of the crucial role
of language" (Tuan, 1991). Words have such a crucial role in portraying the perception of narratives and the language and writing styles are sometimes not appreciated in their truest form. The words used within one's story can dictate the overall opinion a reader may have.
Stories may be slightly or extremely altered, however if the words used are persuading or interesting, many can believe it is true. With options such as typing on Facebook, no one can tell if the narrator is telling the whole truth, or if the way they wrote their story is their normal writing style, it may just be a way of expression that can alter one's views. With the option to post basically whatever and whenever, Facebook becomes a big narrative that can be transformed in any way we wish possible.
References:
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and Places (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Tuan, Y. (1991). Annals of the Association of American Geographers [Adobe Digital Editions version]. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2563430.pdf
Image Credits:
Horsey, J. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/facebook-launches-new-facebook-stories-website-video-03-08-2012/
You have made an interesting point in terms of how what we say can be considered truthful, if they are deemed "persuading or interesting". If we use this in the example of news reporters, law enforcement and politicians we assume that what they say (majority of the time) is truthful; not only because of their position, but also because it is of social interest and is based on facts. As described by Tuan (1991) words are both valuable and have the "power" to change our view of both people and places. As you have mentioned, “Facebook can tell a person’s story” and that can ultimately change our view of them and their life and it has been suggested that with forms of non-verbal communication, we will generally notice those that’s behaviour is of interest to us; generally without considering the meaning (Patterson, n.d).
ReplyDeleteReferences:
Tuan, Y. (1991). Annals of the Association of American Geographers [Adobe Editions version]. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2563430.
Patterson, M.L (n.d) Psychology of Nonverbal communication and interpersonal interaction. Psychology, Vol 3. Retrieved from http://www.eolss.net/sample-chapters/c04/e6-27-06-07.pdf