Developing an Online Identity
The Internet is something I have been raised around. As the Internet and technology devices grew and changed, so did I. In class this week, we discussed attention structures and our identity on the Internet.
Digital Identities
In her article “The I in the Internet,” Jia Tolentino said “you had to register yourself digitally to exist,” which I think is an interesting point. If someone mentions a person, my first thought is to look up their Instagram and see how they represent themselves online. The way that they share their life online is a peek into how I might come to know them or form opinions about a person. Of course, I understand that a person is more than their social media but I think that goes back to Tolentino’s point. If I can’t find someone online, it’s almost like they don’t exist. I don’t mean that in a morbid way but in a practical way. One of my friends has no digital presence — no Instagram, no Snapchat, no TikTok, nothing. With this, she isn’t aware of trends or a lot of popular culture references that the rest of us make.
Honestly, I applaud her for making the decision to stay off social media and sticking true to it. I imagine it may be hard or lonely either having to constantly explain herself or possibly feeling a step behind others. When learning about attention structures, we discussed how FOMO or the fear of missing out can cause a person to switch their attention between apps or websites. I wonder if people without an online presence are constantly in a state of FOMO or if there is none. Personally, I think I would have FOMO if I didn’t have an online presence because I would have to rely on alternative means to be made aware of trends and current events; however, by the time I would learn about it, I imagine it would be old news.
Online Representation
Tolentino also refers to the Internet as a place for people to represent themselves. I think this is true from both a social media perspective as well as on the website. My family recently moved to High Point, so we have been looking for doctors to go to now. Since we don’t know many people to be “in the know”, we have resorted to getting to know doctors exclusively by their online presence, especially their biographies and reviews on the health provider site. It has been difficult for us to be able to identify with and place trust in doctors without anything more than their presence on the Internet.
This is also relevant to businesses. As a Junior in high school, I worked with a local elder daycare organization where I created a website for them as my Gold Award project through Girl Scouts. When creating their website, it was important that I represent the organization how would truly want to be represented. Their website would be the first thing someone sees and looks at to get to know an organization. It was important that it have the most important ideas like price, services, schedule, and reviews. These allowed users to understand the company in its most authentic version without being present in person. One of my classmates remarked on how most people don’t know code or have the ability to individualize their online experience. I thought this was an interesting point because with creating this website, I had to learn how to code for parts of it. This allowed me to create a more individualized experience with color, maps, and more. I now know that I have the ability to individualize how I use the Internet, but I don’t feel confident enough with coding to return to using it.
The experience of creating a website also reminds me of how websites are one means of an attention economy. Websites like the one I created provided the value of learning about the organization and what they do in exchange for the attention of the viewer. It would be the hope that the viewer then turns their attention to the status as a customer. The Internet becomes an intermediary between the attention of a viewer and the money and opportunities that come with becoming a customer.
