Philosophy of Social Media - Should you stay or should you go?

The Philosophy of Social Media.

Cast your mind back. It's the 14th of February.

Stephen Fry takes to the stage as Bafta host, and in his unique and wonderful fashion, made jokes at the expense of some participants - think Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes, with considerably less controversy. Except, while news outlets perhaps did not pick on Fry to the same extent, on Twitter, criticism that night was rife after a joke was poorly received by a large part of the social network.


Fry has, for now at least, deleted his account and labelled Twitter as "A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended – worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know". This got us thinking. We're a social media company, who couldn't exist without it. But what about us as individuals? Could we realistically step away from social media in our personal lives? And if so, should we, and would we?

download (3)

Social media can be a daunting place. High profile figures from Hollywood such as Penelope Cruz have labelled it "frightening and unnatural", while LeBron James has been named the NBA No.1 Social Media Ambassador - and it's important to remember that James is as good a businessman as he is a basketball player. For those who take a moment to truly think about what social media entails, it does sound fairly scary - you're sharing your personal information and data with your friends, but also a company that you may know very little about. Your words and thoughts, if retweeted or shared, can easily go viral overnight and have everyone from the general public, to journalists or the police at your door. Conversely, it can serve as a platform for good - Facebook's implementation of the Safety Check during a disaster can be a priceless tool for families and friends who are cut off from each other but are worried. It shows, in one small way, that social media is more than just content. And yet, content is what powers social media.

h-more-sources
Without enough users inputting data on a regular basis, the news feed runs dry, and the network isn't used. With this in mind, let's consider the positives and negatives of you sharing data. On one hand, it can be a brilliant way to keep your network (personal and professional) fully up to date with what's happening in your life. For everything from job seeking to celebrating important occasions, social media allows people to bridge geographical distance and involve everyone who is remotely important to them. However, while the content you share will reach your friends, there also remains the chance that your data will go beyond your friend circle. Not everyone feels comfortable sharing close and intimate family occasions, and if you're one of these people, social media may indeed not be the place for you.

22407f01

There's also a certain degree of comfort that comes from curating and managing your social media, and indeed, observing that of others. It allows the user to "blank out" parts that they don't want to share, and project the best version of themselves to the world - even for those who don't use extensive filters etc, it can be argued that they are presenting the form of themselves they feel is most appealing. Russell Belk famously wrote on the concept of the self, that we purchase and interact with things in order to move us closer to our aspirational self(pictured above), and become the person we want to be. Social media provides a cost effective way to fulfill our ambitions. However, in doing so and showing a wonderful life, it can create feelings of envy or jealousy among the readers of your content. This can make it a difficult balance, whereby your comfort from social media is arguably achieved through creating discomfort for others.







team-386673_640

Perhaps, therefore, the conclusion is to engage in social media in a way that is giving. Through sharing, liking, or retweeting content, you get to interact by sharing content relevant to you and "own" a piece of it, while the original poster feels the benefit of having their content appreciated. Of course, this can't work in practice as content must always come from somewhere. However, it does highlight the importance of truly reading and understanding someone's social persona - and above all, remembering there's a real person on the keyboard at the other side. If we remain respectful and understanding of each other's perspectives online, the same can be achieved offline - to the benefit of all.

Images From:

www.stephenfry.com
www.facebook.com
www.acrwebsite.org
www.sodash.com