By Marina Douglas
To shape this country, the ancestors left Songlines. To
shape our realities, we follow virtual narratives. Although it may not seem
likely, there is much in common between these two concepts. Have you ever
considered where all of our perceptions come from? How do people make
decisions? How do they navigate through social networks and relationships? I
believe that people use virtual narrative as an essential way of perceiving and
navigating the real world.
“Narrative is fundamentally orienting.” (Kuttainen, 2015) We
know it today, and generations of Aboriginal people have known it through their
belief in Songlines. Songlines are paths that the ancestors left in their journey
across the land, and these paths are still used today in communication,
navigation and organisation. Groups and kinships are denoted through the land
on which certain Songlines run, and these groups use that land as a “way” of
communication (Chatwin, 1987). Songlines are also ways of perceiving the world;
one who knows where a Songline exists may sing the land into existence around
them, as it has first been perceived in their mind.
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| Image from theodyssey.com facebook-profile-vs-tagged-photos-5741.jpg |
Modern social networks operate in a similar way. On
Facebook, kinship is denoted not only by who is “friends” with who, but through
the posts, pages and opinions that certain people share. You might decide to
become “friends” with an acquaintance after finding that they possess several
ideas and interests suited to your own purposes – on the other hand, you might
harbour doubts about becoming “friends” with someone you perceive, merely
judging by their online profile, as unfavourable. In this way, we automatically
organise ourselves into groups and friendship circles. Observing people in such
a way, it is easy to form a mental map by which social navigation can be
achieved. Our view of society rests firmly on these organisations, and this
shows that virtual narrative plays a key role in our perception of other people
and the world.
References
Kuttainen, V. (2015). BA1002:
Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Week 5: Stories and
Places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/
Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape
Ltd.
Streetz. (2011). Perception vs. Reality: How online personas
define real life people. Retrieved from http://www.singleblackmale.org/2011/03/16/perception-vs-reality-how-online-personas-define-real-life-people/
Image Credits
Koppenhaver, L. (2015). Profile picture vs. Tagged photo.
Retrieved from theodysseyonline.com facebook-profile-vs-tagged-photos-5741.jpg
Modern social networks are most definitely the 'songlines' of our generation - a media orientated songline. However, I like the idea of the 'song' being the influential people that we interact with to move our message to larger groups of people (the country). This is how we utilise networks and narrative to interact within the social world.
ReplyDeleteAs Chatwain noted, 'to exist is to be perceived' - as soon as we have made this post in the social media of our choice, it can be considered permanent as someone has heard us. We have left our mark in the social media world. People can use this to map who you are, create an identity of who you are - like how you have noted about perceptions of others through their social media accounts.
Chatwain, B. (1987). The Songlines. London: Jonathon Cape Ltd.