Is Digital Media Changing Our Identities?
When you think about the ever changing media platforms many questions arise. The question I find most important is do we change our identities? These platforms allow us to present ourselves anyway we want. Whether that’s posting photoshopped versions of yourself or using misleading information to represent you. All is possible when it comes to these platforms. While I find it fascinating we have these capabilities, it’s also anxiety provoking. When we think about society today we are always talking about mental health and how we view ourselves through social media. Being able to create a new version of yourself truly is detrimental to not only your mental health but also your personal connections .
The mental health crisis is propionate because of the rise of social media, dating apps and the media in general. Dating apps are the center of catfishing and misleading who we are. People put down information such as attending ivy league schools, being D1 athletes or even using pictures from 10 years earlier. All of these either being lies or exaggerations. While there are people who don’t partake in this, there are many others that do. Which personally is quite scary especially with dating apps. You could match with someone who you think is so perfect, your type to a t. But when you meet up, you're met with the complete opposite. I don’t think this issue is caused by us but by social media. Were hyper fixated on perfection by the high standards were shown and expected to uphold. With that our insecurities heighten leaving us feeling we need to change ourselves to fit in. And the internet makes it possible and very easy. You can download a numerous number of apps to morph your face. With dating apps and social media platforms not having any verification for if it’s you or if the information you’re displaying is factual, falling into the catfishing category is easy.
Many people my age are on platforms like social media, dating apps and follow blogs. Sometimes it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s not. With dating apps people hope for attention and affection. Making them willing to go as far as presenting themselves in the way they get these results. With social media everyone wants to get the most likes, comments and reposts. Once again making them take measures of transforming their looks to receive a big outcome. While I understand why individuals do this and being guilty of using face tune apps, it’s a scary new reality. By having the ability to change ourselves and have a new identity online it affects how we truly see ourselves and how genuine our relationships with people really are.
As society is changing everyday and adding new tools and apps that will alter our future, it’s worth understanding why. I don’t agree with changing our identities and perceiving ourselves as someone we're not. I understand everyone wants to feel beautiful, smart and adventures. But I think everyone is all these qualities in their own way. It needs to be embraced. But social media has changed our perception of this. I think this issue will only get worse. We need to stop allowing ourselves to feed into it. We need to delete these detrimental apps and start being happy with who we are.
