Media and Collective Identity

1) Read the article and summarize each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you?

• Whatever, we use we are all involved in constructing an image to communicate our identity whether that be fashion statements, hairstyles or something else.

• We have complex ideas about ourselves; there is a difference between the person we think we are, the person we want to be and the person we want to be seen to be.

• Our ideas of our image is significantly based on what is around us.

• Cultural values, role models and the way the media informs us about lifestyle significantly alters our image. 

I think, therefore I am?

• Not that long ago, identity was said to be firm, fixed and predetermined.

• How we presented ourselves & perceived ourselves was based on social constructs that defined the groups we found ourselves in.

• Identity used to be based on aspects outside ourselves; class, religion, gender and predetermined roles that were part of the accident of family we were born into. This was a time when the notion of individualism was less central than now. 

• We were part of collectives and image was based on meeting the predetermined expectations of the roles so identity was easily defined. MEN = HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD & WOMEN = SUBJECT TO PATRIARCHAL POWER (DOMESTIC ROLE)

From citizen to consumer

• The idea that identity could be constructed in terms of an externalized image came in the post-industrial consumer boom of early 20th century.

• At this time, there was a deliberate move to encourage people to adopt identity that Edward Bernays said 'was not based on behaving as active citizens but as passive consumers'. 

• This consumer boom was based on convincing people that you couldn't just buy what you needed to survive anymore. 

• Advertising and marketing persuaded people to consider what they wanted.

• Consumer goods were about creating and then satisfying desires. This idea was influenced by 'Sigmund Freud'. He argued that part of the human psyche was pleasure of desires being met. 

The rise of the individual

• Dominant values help shape how we see ourselves.

• In the late 60's & 70's the notion of 'individualism' began to stick; reacting to what can be seen as conformist values of the past.

• In the second half of the 20th-century people began defining themselves as individuals & wanted to express their 'difference' and 'uniqueness'. They were empowered by being encouraged to be themselves.

• Freud;s ideas seemed to imply that beneath the surface there was a core which defined who we actually are. However, Lacan said it not so simple; suggesting that identity changes based on external circumstances.

Branding & Lifestyle

• The 70's & 80's saw importance of brands (association of personality with product).

• Advertisers sell personality rather than the product so people will choose a product to suit the self-image that they have created.

• Lifestyle marketing works on connotations. Products are linked to certain lifestyles and in turn linked to a range of values.

• True individualism is overwhelmed by desire to conform to self-images that large corporations provide.

• Lifestyle magazines, blogs, TV programs, Newspaper features often advise us who we ought to be and how we ought to live our lives.

Who will we be?

• Through the anonymity of the internet we have more control over public image than ever before. For example, Little Mix singer Jesy Nelson faced a lot of negative talk about her weight when Little Mix first won the X Factor; but due to the anonymity of the internet she was able to control her public image more than see would have ever been able to before.  

Jesy Nelson has had more control over her public image thanks to the developments of the internet

• Chandler said that creating a homepage shaped materials and ones identity.

• Another big technical development is that of 'data mining' which allows corporations to meet our needs through the information that we reveal online. 

2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

I chose car brands because I feel that I am adventurous like with cars you can go anywhere you want to go. 

I chose social media brands and a digital marketing brand because I feel that I have a good understanding of the digital world and it defines who I am because I want to be a social media and digital marketing apprentice.

I think outside the box with my ideas rather than just following the trends.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

• Style over substance refers to identity through media representations as being shallow leading to a culture that values 'style over substance'. I personally, agree with this view. We construct our identities so firmly based on media representations that we forget our own individual substance our own properties (attributes). For example, somebody tries so hard to construct an identity that fits the Apple brand that they forget their own attribute of being an appreciative & aspiring individual. 

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

• The media has an increasing dominance over us that Baudrillard refers to as 'media saturation'. This dominance of the mass media is said to result in higher cultural values being placed on external factors like a person's physical beauty in comparision with internal traits of the individual like compassion.  

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

• I think my presence is more or less an accurate reflection; I like, follow and share a lot of scenic pictures that celebrities post and that my friends post as well as posting a few myself. I think that this says I am a keen photographer. However,  once I have posted something I haven't ever deleted it purely because of what it says about the type of person I am. 

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

• Personally, I do not like the idea of data mining and companies trying to sell me products based on my online search terms and to an extent, I think it is an invasion of privacy. However, I am not swayed into purchasing something just because a company advertises it on the side of regular websites that I visit. At the same time, in this age, with the amount of time that we all spend living immersed in the digital world maybe data mining is the only way for companies to get our attention and spend our money with them as less of us are physically wanting to visit stores or their direct websites.