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| Facebook as a panopticon by Joelle, L (2014) Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilifeinicity/13048344414 |
The internet and the subsequent product of social media has
completely changed the way people communicate. Allowing for instantaneous communication,
social media has removed the restrictions of distance and time zones. Like many
others, I have chosen Facebook as my primary social media platform, and have
been using it for the last 5 years.
Using social media, one has their own personal, somewhat private space. They can control what is displayed and to whom it is displayed. At the same token however, this is also a very public space, and even though there is definitely a degree of control, whatever information that one decides to post is (in the case of facebook) instantly the property of Facebook, even if deleted. (Facebook,2015) Most profile settings, based on what I have seen also appear to be somewhat open, with some photos and statuses being view able without any permission needing to be granted, so much like Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, there is always the possibility that someone is watching.(Turkle, 1995, Pg 247)
Because most people filter themselves for social media, the question could be raised as to the legitimacy of a social media account. A highlights reel of one’s life, rather than a life story, building an identity that may not be truly accurate. This is primarily how I use Facebook. I prefer not to think of it as a modern diary, as I have been long aware of how public the internet really is. Instead, I use it as a communication tool and a place to satisfy my ego and sense of worth when I feel I have something worth sharing.
People get to choose who they want to be, or who they would like to be. This power is possibly at the expensive of personal privacy, as by signing up for that power, one must submit to the power of the creators of these social networks, often by surrendering personal information (By agreeing to terms and conditions)
Social media networks like Facebook give users the power to project a perfected identity online, but this power comes at a cost to personal privacy, as ‘by definition power is never distributed evenly’.
Jeffrey Archer
References
Using social media, one has their own personal, somewhat private space. They can control what is displayed and to whom it is displayed. At the same token however, this is also a very public space, and even though there is definitely a degree of control, whatever information that one decides to post is (in the case of facebook) instantly the property of Facebook, even if deleted. (Facebook,2015) Most profile settings, based on what I have seen also appear to be somewhat open, with some photos and statuses being view able without any permission needing to be granted, so much like Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, there is always the possibility that someone is watching.(Turkle, 1995, Pg 247)
Because most people filter themselves for social media, the question could be raised as to the legitimacy of a social media account. A highlights reel of one’s life, rather than a life story, building an identity that may not be truly accurate. This is primarily how I use Facebook. I prefer not to think of it as a modern diary, as I have been long aware of how public the internet really is. Instead, I use it as a communication tool and a place to satisfy my ego and sense of worth when I feel I have something worth sharing.
People get to choose who they want to be, or who they would like to be. This power is possibly at the expensive of personal privacy, as by signing up for that power, one must submit to the power of the creators of these social networks, often by surrendering personal information (By agreeing to terms and conditions)
Social media networks like Facebook give users the power to project a perfected identity online, but this power comes at a cost to personal privacy, as ‘by definition power is never distributed evenly’.
Jeffrey Archer
References
Charles,M. (2014) Social media attracts people who need an
ego boost. Retrieved from http://socialnewsdaily.com/27352/social-media-attracts-people-who-need-an-ego-boost/
Facebook. (2015). Terms of Service. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms.
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002: Space: Networks, Narratives,
and the Making of Place, Lecture 2: Power: The Panopticon [PowerPoint slides].
Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Turkle, S. (1995). ‘Panopticon’. In Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of
the Internet
Your analyses about the concept of online privacy is an interesting one, however your idea that Facebook should not be considered a type of modern diary is something that could have been elaborated on a bit more. As McNeill (2009) discusses, the diary began as a public means of keeping loved ones updated with the writer's life and experiences. It could be argued that Facebook is a return to this tradition in an updated form. The concept of a locked diary is new, and yet this stereotype caught on relatively quickly so that it seems unnatural to us that a diary could be a shared thing (McNeill, 2009). As such, it could be argued that Facebook, and similar social media sites, are simply a return to a previous tradition.
ReplyDeleteReference: McNeill, L. (2009). Diary 2.0? A genre moves from page to screen. Rowe, C. & Wyss, E. L. (eds.). Language and New Media: Linguistic, Cultural Practice and Technological Evolutions
Anonymity is the price we pay for Facebook, more like it. Isn't it funny how we filter our own identities to our family and friends on Facebook, yet so many of us will happily share our deepest thought's anonymously to 17,000 people on other social media platforms such as Tumblr? I find your analysis of the personal privacies afforded to you by Facebook interesting, as I have noticed minimal security to many accounts also. I know that if you search your own name on google, photos of you will appear in images even with the most private account settings you can have, which can be a jarring thought for a lot of people. By simple interactions on social media networks, one can go from totally anonymity on the web to being in a similar position to an inmate in Jeremy Benthem's Panopticon Prison (Turkle, 1995, Pg 247). This makes it easier to understand why so many want to filter their lives online. However, I also feel as though people filter their lives online to make themselves seem more interesting. It is common that many feel that their lives need to be as extravagant as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian who documents her whole life through social media; but what many fail to understand is they filter their lives too. In the end, we are all filtered and fake, as insecurities derived from envy have moulded our online façades. And that online insecurity of not being as good or popular as the next person is the price we pay for the freedom to be ourselves completely on our beloved social networks.
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