Honey, I Shrunk Myself!
My bitmoji is, in my opinion, a pretty good representation of me, a way to show off “me” when I cannot physically be seen, and it is one I greatly prefer to the cardboard cutout of me that my family had made when I left for college that I really wish I was joking about.
It stands to reason that I would like a representation of me that I’ve cultivated myself, rather than one that is created for me (or in this case, printed on and cut from cardboard as a party decoration), in the same manner that I prefer selfies I’ve taken, to pictures someone else takes of me. I like being able to control the image of myself that I have in the eyes of others, so I like the carefully controlled image of a bitmoji. I get to make the best version of me to share with others, whenever I feel the need to emphasize my point with an image.
Now I’m not saying that my bitmoji looks exactly like me, even though I own that exact same shirt, as shown on the right. It doesn’t. It’s an idealized image of me. However, for all the differences digital-me and real-life-me have, there obviously have to be some similarities. Digi-me and I both have the same need for caffeine, and the same fashion sense, I put my bitmoji in an outfit I found that I’m pretty certain I’ve actually worn in real life more than once. Digi-me is also wearing my real-life favorite lipstick, a nude shade that I accidentally stole from my little sister when I left for this semester. My bitmoji also notably lacks glasses, which reflects that I almost never wear mine, opting instead for the ease of contact lenses, and wears a necklace, which, while it is very different, is reflective of the necklace real-life-me never takes off.
Then there are the differences. I obviously do not look exactly like a digital artistic rendering of myself. Digi-me has a complexion I only really match in the summer, always has perfectly styled hair, can wear the same thing everyday. Most importantly, I can’t represent my tattoos in a digital representation of myself like this, and my tattoos are a very important part of the way I present myself for others to see, so my lack of ability to show them off in something like a bitmoji that I use so frequently is a little sad.
Still, despite our differences, digital-me is a fairly good, easily recognizable representation of me that I have carefully cultivated to share with others (and is far less strange than cardboard-cutout-me-who-lives-in-the-closet).
