I Tweet

I Tweet, Therefore I Am As technology advances, the way we communicate with others also advance. One main form of communication today is Social Media. Peggy Orenstein speaks about how Twitter and other social media networks have affected her and the society in general. Sociologist Erving Goffman argued that all of life is performance, and Orenstein made an addition stating that "Twitter has extended that metaphor" (645, P5). The main points that Orenstein brings up are: Does social media make me who I am, or just what I want to present myself as? Is social media separating us from reality? The first point Orenstein brings up she asks herself, "Was I shaping my Twitter feed, and how much was Twitter shaping me?" When one makes a profile and adds information about themselves, it is how that person wants others to see them as and how they would react to them (P4). We all belong to social groups, it is part of our culture, status, and role to how we represent ourselves. Those representations can be authentic and false. If one is trying to fit into a certain group or class, they will misrepresent themselves in order to fit in. A research was conducted my a Professor at M.I.T. Sherry Turkle that "you find yourself imaging and playing to your audience more and more," and "your psychology becomes your performance." (P6) The next point that Orenstein mentions is the "packaged self...alienates us from our own humanity." She is trying to say that social media has interfered with public contact between individuals. People now would rather connect at the comfort of their home rather than meeting up at a local coffee shop. Orenstein also tells her readers that "friends become fans." Those friends become fans because whatever is posted is for the satisfaction of the viewers, rather than yourself. Looking back on "Yet the final decision...others to react to them" (P4), the person who makes the post, imagines a positive result for their friends. When you are trying to