What s your face on. Roskilde University 2. semester 2012 Supervisor: Smiljana Antonijevic

Transkript

1 What s your face on Roskilde University 2. semester 2012 Supervisor: Smiljana Antonijevic A project by group 6: Emilie Brøchner Nielsen, Kamilla Priess, Katrine DrachmannHansen, Shirley Nordenskiöld, Sif Lynge Bergdahl, Sofie Lystoft

2 1. ABSTRACT In the technological world of 2012, the social media Facebook has become a big part of most people s lives in the Western society. This project seeks to investigate how individuals create a profile on Facebook and how they might customize their personality on the screen. This project works with the sociologists Erving Goffman and Sherry Turkle, whose theories have been, applied in this case study. Moreover the theory autoethnography have been used to analyse each of the group members profile pictures and profile information on Facebook. The results from the investigation were used to confirm the projects hypothesis and problem statement. It is concluded that Facebook users have a Facebook identity and that Facebook can be used to explore different identities. 1

3 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS 16. CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS APPENDIX DANISH SUMMARY INTRODUCTION & MOTIVATION PROBLEM FIELD DELIMITATION CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DIMENSIONS CHOSEN DESCRIPTION OF THEORIES DESCRIPTION OF METHODOLOGY ACCOUNT OF FACEBOOK THEORY PART THEORY PART FACEBOOK & AUTOETHNOGRAPHY ANALYSIS OF PROFILE PICTURES DISCUSSION

4 3. INTRODUCTION & MOTIVATION In modern society the phrase I m trying to find myself has become more and more popular (Burkitt, Social Selves, 2008:1). We are all searching to find and create our own identity. Especially the last decade, social media online has become a must have for most people, since it has developed into an integrated part of the everyday life. Facebook has become more popular than any other social media online with one distinct difference from all the others. When using Facebook you do not need to create a nickname ergo, anonymity does not exist on Facebook in same way as it does on other social media s. Facebook had in the end of March 2012, 901 million monthly active users worldwide. 1 The concept of Facebook has become very interesting, hence to its increasing popularity worldwide and since we use Internet on a regular basis. It is fascinating to 1 study which effects this enhanced use of social media s has had on our identity development. Are we using Facebook to portray an ideal self? Moreover we got motivated by the fact that Facebook has changed the way individuals interact e.g. you can communicate with family and friends who live on the other side of the world via the Internet. Does the use of Internet alienate us from our social life, or does it improve it? Facebook has changed the way we interact with our social relations and this we find very fascinating. We believe that Facebook is a big part of youngster s everyday life, and in this project we have used ourselves as a case study on our use of Facebook. We use Facebook to stay connected with our social network, to create an ideal version of ourselves and to update our friends, acquaintances and family about our experiences in life and thoughts. In this project our aim is to analyze and investigate how the individual use Facebook to portray him or herself. 3

5 A widely held assumption is that people can show a different self via social platforms and this individual can be interpreted differently than in the everyday life. To begin with we all had the idea that people would always perform as if you were on a stage when having a profile on Facebook. According to this idealized virtual identity profile owners display idealized characteristics that do not reflect their actual personalities. All the members have, when creating a profile, selected their status, religion, favorite quote etc. and in addition to this a picture of the individual is being shaped. But is it even possible to portray yourself realistic on an Internet page as Facebook? We explored the concept of idealized virtual identity by researching Erving Goffman. It complemented this project by showing how the individual can act a different role than he/she would in front of e.g. parents or another authority. Keeping in mind that Goffman formulated his theory decades ago we furthermore chose to introduce Sherry Turkle whose theories are more recent. As method autoethnography will be an important part of this project. To gain reliable data we have kept a journal of our own activities on Facebook. This data will be taken directly from our social media source and will be included in the appendixes. In that way we will gain information that are correct. Of course different aspects will be taken into consideration when analyzing. In order to get a full understanding of the dilemmas connected to Facebook and identity there is a need to explain how it works. To begin with this assignment will introduce the content and problem field of the investigation. The used dimensions of this research are presented. Furthermore the method used in making this research is accounted of. In order to understand this research, the first chapter con- 4

6 sists of an account of Facebook and its features. Then the chosen theories are described. These theories are used to illustrate and explain how interact online happens. Via the chosen method data is collected and this data is analyzed and accounted of in the third part of this research. Finally, the results and theories are discussed and the investigation is concluded on. 4. PROBLEM FIELD Problem Formulation Can an individual by the use of activities on Facebook create an idealized self? As frequent Facebook users, this question is asked in relevance to our curiosity, as to how social interaction has become virtual and how this can possibly affect the thoughts and awareness on ones own persona. Research Questions What is Facebook? Since Facebook is an essential part of this project it is important to outline how the site is constructed and how one use it. Does the individual perform differently online than offline? The core of this project is to explore whether people shifts in social behavior depending on the environmental setting. What does ones profile pictures signify according to spectators? This question is asked in orders to investigate and discuss the relevance of profile pictures in coherence to the Facebook identity. 5

7 5. DELIMITATION Method One might argue that the use of autoethnography as method would make the analysis bias, since using project-members as subjects of study (used data is to be found in the appendix). Considering the use of method from a more critical perspective, this project is limited in the means that it only takes outcome in a small segment of the total amount of Facebook users. The attendance on Facebook covers a great age span and comes across various segment groups. To optimize this research it would be wise to use several subject persons from different age groups, across sexes and geographical places. With several subject persons the result of study might differ from our results and furthermore give a clearer view on whether Facebook users have a Facebook Identity. Due to a limitation of a 3-months exploration time an adequate assignment was too comprehensive. 6. CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS Identity Many sociologists have studied the concept of identity. Some focus on identity as the self in collective, some in a group. Other sociologists study how identity can be defined by behavior, while others on how identity is established in society. This project investigates how social media, in this case of Facebook, affects the individual s identity process. Therefore we find it important to shortly define what our own definition on identity is. When it comes to identity, there are two important facts explaining it. The first is how you look upon yourself: the subjective experience of continuity upon time and space. The second is how other people see you: the social identity, which shows other people how you act and 6

8 behave in other people s presence. Considering how identity comes from the Latin word idem, which means the same, it is only the norm to expect from a person to always be the same. 2 Though, according to Goffman, who got his inspiration from the dramaturgical world, we can choose our own identity depending on what kind of social context we are in. The individual can pick different roles just like an actor does it. One of the aspects of identity is social identity. In that sense a person perceive ones identity as seen as the member of a group. According to social identity theorists, social identity has three components: categorization, identification and comparison (Yan Chen (Sherry) Xin Li, 2006:2). When categorizing, one are putting others and them- 2 selves into categories. It can be important for one s selfimage to understand what group you belong to. Identification is when one is associating with a certain group. In groups are groups one identifies with, and out groups are groups one does not identify with. Comparison is when one is comparing their group to other groups in order to create a favorable bias towards the group they belong (Yan Chen (Sherry) Xin Li, 2006:2). On Facebook you have the option to be, not only social, but also divided into groups. For those who are not part of any groups on Facebook they can still consider their applied friends as a group. Here we can apply the theory of social identity to this social media. In this project identity is considered being fluid, meaning that you have different identities depending on the con-text you are situated in. The individual is not alone in determining the identity others have an impact too. Therefore it makes sense that if we act differently in 7

9 various situations, we are considered to have more than one identity. 7. DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DIMENSIONS CHOSEN Subjectivity and Learning Investigating Facebook and the construction of digital identities it became clear, already when reading the project proposal, that a fitted approach to the topic would be the use of the dimension Subjectivity and Learning. This dimension draws from fields of Sociology, Psychology and Anthropology. In our course the main focus has been on the relation between the self and society. In relation to this project the investigations will be looking at one of the trends of modern society being social networking were the project as mentioned focuses on Facebook. The project will also cover the dimension by the investigation of how the social network Facebook influences its users and also looking at each user s activities on Facebook. By the use of theory, the focus on relations and the use of qualitative methods this research mainly take the Subjectivity and Learning approach. Text and Sign Combined with Subjectivity and Learning this project will additionally be centered on the dimension of Text and Sign. The purpose of the dimension of Text and Sign is to present theories and methods within the field of textual and cultural studies and communication. This dimension deals with various concepts, theories and methods regarding the understanding of texts and signs by applying different analysis approaches. The tools offered by the dimension will be used to research and analyze the profile pictures significance on Facebook. Methods within visual methodologies and basic strategies for analyzing pictures will be applied to strategically analyzing the profile pictures. This project also deals with communication amongst people online, and how 8

10 technology has changed the way people interact and communicate with each other. In this way Text and Sign is also made relevant as to the regards of language depending on equal comprehension of signifiers. 8. DESCRIPTION OF THEORIES For this project we chose to focus on two theorists, used in order to explain the coherence between identity and technology. The project uses Sherry Turkle (1948) who is an American Professor in Social Studies of Science and Technology with a Ph.D. in Sociology and Personality Psychology from Harvard University. 3 Theories from her two books Life n the Screen (1997) and Alone Together (2011) will be included. She adds an understanding as a result to her investigation in online communities and modern technology and their impact on individual s 3 identity construction. This is important for the project in order to explain how Facebook, which is a social media and part of today s modern technology, has an impact on the individual regarding how they portray themselves, interact with other people and what it means for their sense of identity. She also notes in which individuals balance their virtual self and real self. Besides Sherry Turkle, this project also uses the theories from Erving Goffman, a Canadian sociologist and social anthropologist. His theories have been elaborated in his book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Self (1959). In Goffman s book there is a description of his theories, which explains how people act in social situations. He uses the theatre as a metaphor, which is explained in his concepts front stage and back stage. Even though Goffman published his theories many years before the creation of Facebook, his theories can still be applied in order to understand how people por- 9

11 tray themselves in different ways in social terms, which can be translated on to Facebook. 9. DESCRIPTION OF METHODOLOGY One of the methods used in researching a possible portraying of oneself through Facebook, is by the use of autoethnography. An autoethnography is a qualitative method where the researchers own personal precedent experiences are used in order to understand social and cultural experiences. Autoethnography is a blend of autobiography and ethnography. 4 An autobiography is usually a story the writer tells about himself or herself. Ethnography is a method used to understand cultural concepts; therefore this method is a social qualitative research. 5 From the 1 st of March to the 8 th, we kept a journal of our own activities on Facebook. This journal included how many times each group member made a status update, liked a friend s update or commented on a friend s activities. In this project we are using our own experiences with Facebook. This method is used in order to get a greater understanding of how Facebook can portray our identity. We used this method in order to investigate if Facebook users have a different identity on the site, or if an individual can have a different identity when being back stage, as Goffman states. Autoethnography requires the investigators to be their own research subjects. This method appeals to a wider audience since the use of the writer s personal experiences are presented, which is one of the main reasons why we chose this method. It will also provide us with more objective data as it is taken straight from Facebook s information on each user instead of using the method of interviewing, where the interviewee is not 10

12 necessarily being sincere. Several problems regarding interviews can arise. The interviewer can ask leading questions and therefore influence on the interviewee s answers etc. Therefore we found the method of autoethnography as being more accurate and providing relevant data. As mentioned earlier we will in this investigation use ourselves as subject persons and use the collected data to look at Facebook activities in a broader perspective. Autoethnography makes us able to use ourselves as subject persons in a cultural view. This is an important notion, since society today is highly influenced by technology. Computers and smart phones are common compared to just a few years back were smart phones did not even exist. Facebook is also available as an application on smart phones so we can constantly be online and able to follow our Facebook profile. It can be argued that Facebook has become a part of our culture and that individuals use Facebook in order to maintain or create social relations. 10. ACCOUNT OF FACEBOOK What is Facebook? Founded in 2004, Facebook s mission is to make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them (Facebook.com) Facebook is a social networking site and a social network is defined by making human relations through a connection and the support between and around a group of people. Facebook has become the largest networking site with currently in the end of March 2012 with 901 millions monthly active users 6 and with more than half

13 of them using it on their mobile phones 7. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, who was only 19 years old at the time Facebook was first launched, along with his college friends Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hugdes and Dustin Moskovitz. 8 Facebook was intentionally only a college-networking site restricted to students attending Harvard College, but gradually it was opened up for other Ivy League schools 9. On September 26 th 2006 it was opened for everyone who was of age 13 and up. The title of the yearbook inspired Facebook s name. This book was given to students at the start of their academic year Ibid 9 The Ivy League is an athletic conference, which consist of eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States Who can be a member of Facebook and how? Everyone older than 13-years old can become a member of Facebook. One has to register on the webpage Facebook.com and use a valid . When creating a Facebook account, the only information required is as shown above: First name, last name, address, chose password, choose sex and enter birth date. When the user has registered to the site, he or she can personalize their profile after their wishes. After the registration the user is able to use all the available features on the website. The registration and the design set-up are basic with the 12

14 blue logo and only the two most needed boxes: the login box and the sign up box. This simple set-up makes Facebook easy and user friendly. Facebook differentiates from other social medias by requiring one s own full name or part of it, whereas other various sites offers the user the possibility to be anonymous by choosing a username. However, it is still possible to create a fake account. Facebook features When one have created an account on Facebook, the user is ready to connect with people online; friends, family, coworkers etc. Above is an example of a Facebook users wall and this is what Facebook friends sees at first when visiting an account. The main function s on the profile is explained beneath. Those functions are numbered so the matching number is to be found with an explanation. 1. Whose profile are we looking at? First name and last name. 2. Information about the user. Birthday, workplace, education and partner status. 3. Profile picture: The user will here upload a picture of him or her. 13

15 4. Status: Here the user can make a status update. What are you thinking right know? 5. The wall: Status updates are uploaded; you can share photos, links and videos. This can be shared with friends on the wall. 6. Functions: Shift between seeing the profiles wall, information, pictures etc. 7. Homepage: Follow your Facebook friend s status updates, pictures, links etc. Functions Chat-system: All Facebook users have the choice to chat with their Facebook friends. The chat-system is connected to the message system, so you can also send a message if the person is not online. On the chat-system it is possible to see who is online and who is not. Even though you are online on Facebook, you can choose to be offline on the chat. All messages that have been written and sent will be saved in your inbox. What you write on the chat is secret for everyone else, but it is possible to invite other users to join the conversation. The chat function has just been slightly updated so that one can see when messages to friends have been read. It is also possible to have video chat on Facebook, which is a newer function. This function is in cooperation with Skype and thereby more or less function the same way, where you see each other from the webcam connected to the computer. Pictures: One of the most popular features on Facebook is the ability to upload and share pictures. When uploading pictures on your Facebook, it is possible to get profile pictures, create albums and post pictures on your own or your friend s Facebook page. You can tag yourself or your friends on pictures. If you tag a friend the picture will appear in the photos tab on their profile and their friends will now be able to see them too. If you are tagged on a picture you do not like, it is possible to untag yourself or report it to Facebook and get it deleted. 14

16 The user has the option to share the photos with everyone, only friends or even keep the album secret. Events: Events is a function, which allows users to get invited to dates/events. They can also make their own event and invite friends. It is possible to create private events, which is only seen by invited people, or open events, where everyone can sign up and see the information posted. Groups: A way to keep contact with your friends is to create a group. As the responsible/administrator of the group, you can choose who should be a part of the group, or if it should be open for everyone. Notifications: Notifications is the function, which tells us what happens on a profile. A notification will appear if someone would like or comment on a picture etc. Notification is a good way to keep track of what is happening on a profile. Check-in: This is a newer function on the site. It makes it possible to update friends on your current location. Friends can also tag you in their check-in and even add a photo of the location or the people surrounding. Timeline: The newest feature on Facebook with among other things give the Facebook account a slight different set-up. Newsfeed: Newsfeed is information about your friends on the front-page of your profile. It is here you can see a selection of your friend s new photos and status updates. This is a way to keep updated on what your friends are doing and what they have been uploading on Facebook. 15

17 Timeline is a collection of photos, stories, experiences from past etc. that tells the stories of the person which profile the timeline belongs from the very beginning they created an account. Along with the new timeline design, there are additional features as cover photo and this is yet another profile picture you can add to your profile and thereby personalizing your account even further. The activity log is additional new feature, which makes it possible for you to form a view of your activity on Facebook. Timeline makes it possible for the person s friends to seek information from your whole Facebook activity history. 10 Facebook and communication Source:Facebook.com In 2011 around 2.7 million Danish people had a profile on Facebook. The biggest group of these people was teenagers and young adults. Facebook is in Denmark a tool where young people communicate with their friends and acquaintances online. When children and teenagers use Facebook as a tool to socialize and communicate, it becomes a big part of their social development and defines how their identity will be in the future (Brejnrod, 2007)

18 The communication that takes place on Facebook can appear differently from person to person. Facebook is not an active communicator, but a frame for the user to communicate. When you have a Facebook profile, you can communicate user to user. This can be done with the chat system, by writing on someone s wall or sending a private message. It is also possible to send a message to all your Facebook friends, by making a status update or posting a picture. When using Facebook we also communicate our identity and lifestyle by posting things on our profile, choosing pictures to upload and share personal information. Facebook is often debated in the Danish media. In a case study by Ole Sejer Iversen of children s interaction with the computer, he explains how the Danish youth uses Facebook to create their own identity and orchestrate different roles. The teenagers and children use their Facebook profiles to construct and show their personality in various ways (Ole S. Iversen, 2011). Papacharassi claims that Facebook is a musthave for teenagers, just like cool clothing and mobile phones. She explains that the teenagers feel they don t have a choice, whether to join Facebook or not, since everyone else is a part of it. One of the social consequences of not having Facebook is not being able to interact and see news from your friend s profiles and this is also one of the main reasons to join the social network (Papacharassi, 2008). It is mentioned that Facebook is a very important interference in children s identity formation. In the article psychologist Kuno Sørensen states that Facebook gives the teenagers and children a change to experiment with their identity and self in the social media. It is a way to learn about themselves and who they want to become. In their Facebook profile they can choose to be funny, emo, dirty, etc. (Berlingeske Tidende, 2009). It is easier to create and be a character on Facebook than in the physical world. It will later on in the project be explained how we, via autoethnography, can see how it is possible to portray different emotions and signs via the 17

19 profile pictures. In the next chapters we will go deeper into how it is possible to use Facebook to form and portray ourselves in which way we desire. 11. THEORY PART 1 Erving Goffman Vårt Rollespill til Daglig (1992) All the world is a stage Erving Goffman. Working with Erving Goffman a certain understanding and respect for the following terminology is needed: 11 Part/role: the given person s role in social context. Audience: actors who are indirectly involved in the context or just the crowd Team: People who help the individual in performing a routine. Performance: there are two kinds of performances. 1, the actor takes the context into consid eration. 2, the actor doesn t take the context into consideration. Front stage: setting where the performance takes place. On scene. Back stage: setting where the performance is planned. Behind curtains. Front: a settled way to try to define the situation towards others, maintained and general expressions that consists of the setting and the personal front. Personal front: the features we expect from the actor. Setting/stage: decoration of the stage: furniture, ornament, arrangement, background etc. the social context. 18

20 Erving Goffman ( ) was a Canadian sociologist and social anthropologist. He was very interested in social aspects of everyday life and as a result he formulated a theory inspired by dramaturgy presented in the book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959). 12 Goffman uses the theater as a metaphor to understand how people act in social situations. His terminology is broad, and above listed one will find the most important terms used in this project. Even though Goffman s theory was formulated years before the creator of Facebook Mark Zukerberg was even born, Goffman s theory does have some qualities that will enlighten us in understanding how people can portray themselves differently than in everyday life. In the preface of Goffman s book it states: 12 vi kan lære hvor sammensatte vi selv er og hvor avhengige vi er av våre medmennesker for å realisere selv det som vi føler er vårt dypeste, egentlige jeg. Vi kan lære å se hva som er våre medmenneskers problem i selvpresentasjon (E. Goffman, 1992: 8). Especially relevant for this project is Goffman s discussion of the social world in terms of a performance on stage a performance you can also act on Facebook. Goffman s theory is made relevant since it deals with how social identity is lived, or performed, as he would say, and how the individual can play a part which is adapted to the roles performed by others; the audience. The individual can chose the different roles according to settings and use the space around him as a stage, filling it with props to support the performance. This is highly relevant for this project, since the actors on Facebook can present themselves in an idealized setting. The props/settings are also to be found on Facebook. When creating a profile on Facebook you are 19

21 asked to give a lot of information about yourself, like: political interests, favorite quotes, religious beliefs and you can choose to have a profile picture. All this can be manipulated to portray exactly the person you want to be or others to believe that you are. What we will be dealing with mostly is Goffman s interpretation of front stage and back stage. A short example of these two terms used in practice can be the pattern of a bust boy in a restaurant. (E. Goffman, 1992: ). The bust boy perform in a formal manner in front of the customers, since this is the front stage, but when returning to the kitchen, the back stage area, the bust boy immediately change his behavior and relax in his position. In this example the bust boy acts in a certain way when dealing with customers and acts a completely different way when being around his colleagues. In the case of Facebook, which can be seen as a scene, some people can use the site as both a front stage and a back stage, but we will return to this later in this chapter. Now, a deeper explanation of the two scenes; front stage is the official one, where you adapt socially, while back stage is private, where you rehearse. Front stage you can create different roles considering which social arena you are in. Maybe you act differently at work, than you would do in front of your closest friends. With the different roles, we can present ourselves exactly the way we want to, we can even improve them, so we present ourselves the best way possible. Goffman also works with two styles of communication/expressions. When trying to express you there are two different kinds of signals. The first one is when you give expression and the second one is when you give off expression. (E. Goffman, 1992: 12). When we give, it usually involves the things we say: our verbal signs. When we give off, it is the non-verbal signals, the ac- 20

22 tions we do that characterize us, such as gestures and physical behavior. When communicating with other people, in person or through Facebook, Goffman believes that we want to control the outcome of the conversation. Jeg forutsetter altså at når en person kommer sammen med andre, har han mange grunner for å forsøke å kontrollere det inntrykk de får av situasjonen. (E. Goffman, 1992: 22). Therefore the expressions you give off are very important. The same goes for Facebook. If one wants to show that they are a popular persona, the number of friends you have on your profile will portray that. Therefore, when controlling the amount of information we communicate about ourselves one hope that this can convince their audience about something they wish to show. In relation to Facebook and respective profile pages, the theory of Goffman seems to fit perfectly in a way that we decide how we want the audience to perceive us. In other words; the information we add to our profile such as photos, status-updates, check-ins, music taste, favorite movies and so on, are the mirror of our self and these are the expressions we give off. We are telling people this is how I am and by that we write our own story, our own play. We select the scenes and our personal team that consists of family, friends and colleagues. We might create a new self in a virtual world in which our photos make the best of ourselves and if we want to show a more clever or cultural side, this can be added too. When creating a certain self on a webpage like Facebook, it is important that you do not forget it when meeting the real world and that you appear genuine. Goffman states in his book: 21

23 And to the degree that the individual maintains a show before others that he himself does not believe, he can come to experience a special kind of alienation from self and a special kind of wariness of others. 13 This is also discussed in The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life where two extremes are being presented, because there is a different degree as to how much an individual believes that the expression one is putting up as social performance represents the true reality. At one extreme we see a performer who believes in the part he is playing. He is convinced that the portrayed reality is the actual reality. If he manage to convince his audience as well, then it can be very difficult to spot the act. At the other extreme we see a performer who may not be taken in at all by his own routine. This possibility is understandable, since no other than the person who plays a part is in quite as good an observational position 13 to see through it. Attached to this, the performer may be moved to steer the conviction of his audience, but only as a means to other ends. Goffman would call this a cynic - one who is deliberately seeking to mislead his audience. This does not necessarily include all cynics. Some may do it because they think it is for their audiences own good or maybe even society. (E. Goffman, 1992: 24). The audience often has an idea of what a given performance should look like and performers will try to carry out the performance according to this idea. That is why the actor has to make sure that he sends out the right signals (give expression off), so he won t get caught. Because what happens if we get caught in the act? Goffman calls this misrepresentation the danger of conveying the wrong message. The audience will always keep in mind that a perfor- 22

24 mance is either false or genuine and will therefore always be looking for clues in the act. On Facebook it can be difficult to portray an entirely different self, since we most likely are friends with someone who know us personally. Therefore it can be an open, flat or barefaced lie you can get caught in, e.g. manipulating with your picture to make it prettier, or write something in your status which may not be quite right. This is a lie that has been told knowing that it was not true. About little white lies, Goffman writes: De som blir avslørt I en slik utilslørt løgn taper ikke bare ansikt under interaksjonen, men kan få sitt ansikt helt ødelagt, for det er mange som mener at når en person kan få seg til å lyve på den måten, kan man aldri stole full tut på ham mer. (E. Goffman, 1992: 58). If one gets caught in a lie, he has to keep a playful tone, as if it was all just a joke, because if you cannot turn it around you may think that the audience will see in you what you were trying to hide in the first place not being popular (showed in how many friends you have on Facebook), be 40 years old and still single (change your marital status on Facebook), taking a vacation (write it in your status updates, yet you were at home the entire summer). On the Internet, our front is being presented to the entire world all time, and therefore individuals can never fully relax in their true persona. We also have to worry over the essential question of whether we can sustain our performance. In the physical world and on Facebook we try to maintain our face towards others. We react emotionally when we meet other people and we are concerned about the way they treat us. In a way, this is a cycle; we all want to maintain others faces. If this goes wrong, an embarrassing situation can occur, not only to oneself, but also to their audience. Embarrassment results due to 23

25 a failed performance. This embarrassment can in worstcase lead to social stigma - a controlling negative social label that can radically change an individual s undestanding of the identity. Losing face on Facebook can also occur. When portraying an idealized self on Facebook, someone will maybe discover this at one point. Back stage you do not need to be afraid of losing face. As mentioned previously in this chapter, you are alone back stage, meaning: You can loosen up and be exactly who you want to be, but if you can lose your face on Facebook, then Facebook is not a back stage, but a front stage? You are alone, in your private, but still interacting with other people. Does this mean that we can never let go the idea of a better self? We can definitely say that the line between front stage and back stage is blurred and issues such as anonymity and privacy on the Internet are slowly disappearing. This project is indeed linked with identity and technology, since technology keeps moving. In the society we live in today it can be argued that our virtual life is just as important as our real life. You can even say that we are hiding behind an avatar. This avatar is our physical representation in the virtual world; another world in which we can even invent ourselves a new self. Even though Goffman enlightened some features in this project, we have to keep in mind that Goffman s theory is from As to the fact that the Internet was not even invented at in that period time, one can justify their right to put forward a criticisms towards this theory as considered outdated. Therefore we will introduce Sherry Turkle s Life on the Screen and Alone Together in the next part. We believe that Sherry Turkle will give the notion of a different self on Facebook a more clear vision since her thesis are of a more recent date. 24

26 Concluding remarks If the world is a stage, Internet and Facebook is another world in which we are acting. On Facebook we play a permanent role; a role we have to maintain in order to keep the facade. We will end this chapter by a summering quote from Goffman: Her vil jeg derfor la scenens språk og masker falle. Stillaser er tross alt til å bygge andre ting med og bør reises med tanke på at de skal rives ned. (E. Goffman, 1992: 210). This is a metaphor wherein Goffman states his personal opinion how one needs to tear down scaffolds in order to uncover your true face. 12. THEORY PART 2 Sherry Turkle Life on the Screen (1997) In relation to the topic of consequences regarding social networking interaction, the main purpose was to correlate with a strong theory on such. Through discussions with the supervisor we have agreed on using Sherry Turkle, who has done multiple researches on psychoanalysis and human technology interaction. Furthermore Sherry Turkle has published several books focusing on how technology, e.g. computers and Internet, affect the way we think and see ourselves as humans and somehow have become platform to the construction of identity. In connection to the problem definition and research questions it makes great sense to us to apply her alongside with Goffman in this project. In general Turkle focuses on how the Internet and computers have become a modern way of generate closer 25

27 relationship between human interactions but also between man and machine. As many people all over the world have become users of the World Wide Web, it is the fluid link across boarders that make us feel safe and close and to some extent has begun to dictate the way we think and learn. Through numerous researches Turkle explores the ambivalent connecting-point between human interaction and technology and it is important to recognize her as both being positive to the development of the Internet but at the same time that she holds a critical attitude towards the possibilities it increasingly brings with it. In addition to concerning with two out of four important works done by Turkle in this assignment, we chose to include Erving Goffman, as exemplified in the previous chapter of the report. After working with Goffman and Turkle that indeed are two different persons, representing each gender and each formulated their theory in different decades one will quickly see quite similar results from both theorists. First discovered similarity lies within the link between identity and performance. People can portray themselves differently one might call it construction of an ideal of the self. Both Turkle and Goffman use the word performance/performing in coherence with staging a new me or improving life-style by using the material they have at hand - creating utopian worlds for others to believe they are living in. Sherry Turkle s Life on the Screen (1997) is presenting to us the effect of technology - moreover the machine, the computer. In 1997 the word Cyberspace was still a new phenomenon: To have everyday interactions on the computer (S. Turkle, 1997:9). Today, years later we do not even think about what keys we are pushing when making an appointment at the doctor or when we book our vacation online. The aim in the following section is 26

28 to elaborate on what Turkle is arguing in her research regarding identity of simulation on the Internet. Furthermore the intended is to compare it to the more recent work by same author Alone Together (2011) and give us the exciting opportunity to match up to the assumed results of 1997 to the way in which things have developed until today, the year of 2012 with Facebook. Turkle argues that as a reaction to rapidly expanding systems of networks human identity is changing due to the fading boundary between virtual worlds and reality (S. Turkle, 1997:10). One of the problems she discusses is the way we no longer have the eager to see people socalled face-to-face encounters. From children hood to adultness she has discovered a certain obsession to explore other sides of yourself and even sexualities (S. Turkle, 1997:10). We are learning to live in virtual worlds where everything is developed independently. The way in which Turkle made these observations was to participate in MUD (Multi-User Domain), which refers to multiuser computer games and took particular source in text-based computer games over the Internet (S. Turkle, 1997:11). Life on the Screen is based on what she experiences in the MUD-worlds bound by a virtual world of fictive individuals where in fact, a real person is sitting controlling every act of this figure behind the screen. She is comparing the constructed interaction which happen online with script writing or even performance art and street theater: As players/people participate (in text-based Cyberspace), they become authors, not only of text but of themselves, constructing new selves through social interaction. (S. Turkle, 1997:12). She also finds that this is fulfilling to a large age-span and that it to a greater extent is through Cyberspace people wish to create new relations. 27

29 She argues that it is a psychological aspect; some people do not have the confidence to put themselves out there, exposed to the world, and by interacting from behind a screen they become less vulnerable. Moreover she compares it to the explosion of subscribers within the field of Internet dating where people are hiding behind their screen, getting to know one another and then schedule a proper date (S. Turkle, 1997:14). Taking the year of publishing (1997) into consideration, we are still able to connect her thoughts to a certain addiction some people, especially students, utter concerning the use of Internet and indeed Facebook 14. Not only has the Internet overruled the encyclopedia s existence but it somehow provide us with company no matter where one goes. Turkle puts it: We are social being who seek communication with others. We are lonely beings as well. Despite the fear of having essential humanity reduced through comparison with a machine, we begin to relate to the computer whenever it appears to offer some company. (S. Turkle, 1997:102). One might argue that Facebook has become more than just a playground of interaction and interrelations but somehow a part of the everyday life, as taking a morning-shower for instance; if the hot water was cut off for days we would be confused and it would affect our behavior. Facebook has taking part of this categorization and as being in the core of the Facebook-addictedsegment 15, being cut off Internet access and thereby Facebook makes people anxious 16 - but why? As to a reac

30 tion of free and unlimited Internet Access, not only at home but now portable by the use of smart phones many forget all those other activities and concentrates only on one thing: Being online 17. The ability to control one s own surroundings and appearance are argued to be the prime movers for especially teenagers as mentioned in previous chapters. Having had Internet and now Facebook as a part of the development years as e.g. high-school mean that the social platform has become a certain need or addiction and has a comprehensive influence on the human psychological constructed thought of belongingness (L. Dencik, 1997). The tools available within social media platforms where interaction and exchanges of personal details are per- formed, it is hard not to be tempted to navigate between different personas: Through typed descriptions and typed commands, they create characters which gives people the chance to play with their identity and to try out new ones (S. Turkle, 1997:12). The following section briefly sum up on the tools to do so, and since Facebook is our subject of interest it will naturally be accordance to this particular social platform, even though analogous tools exists at other Internet platforms as well. Facebook is a social platform that each individual chooses to be a part of or not, independently. The different functions on Facebook are ways in which people act as mystery-shoppers behind the screen and keep updated in their Facebook-friends lives

31 A picture is worth a thousand words refers to the notion that a complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image 18. In the world of Facebook, pictures have a great importance to the individual appearance. Attending events through Facebook are for some a convenience to be updated on on-going happenings, but moreover with an increasing focus on public appearance this might also be seen as an opportunity to perform online a e.g. cool, trendy or fashionable you, as previously mentioned in this project. In the technological world we live in today, most people is somehow permanently connected to the Internet, and by far most Facebook, through their use of smart phones. Using the check-in factor one can easily throw light upon activities they wish others to know of as e.g. concerts, restaurants or nightclubs These functions, together with several others, are in fact features that helps the individual stage a new me or play with ones best qualities, in a mix-and-match game together with other one might desire to have. It is conceivable that the performance collects simulated information that in fact only is act upon in order to attain some sort of attention from a particular audience over a particular period of time. Facebook was launched in 2004, seven years after the publishing of Sherry Turkles thoughts on technologies influences of the human (social) being. Even though, she was on the track of an early finding: Cyberspace as a way of life (S. Turkle, 1997:231). The way one should think about this quotation is in one way positive and in some way negative exactly Turkle s approach: We can easily move through multiple identities, and we can embrace it or be trapped (S. Turkle, 1997:231). 30

32 Concluding remarks Summing up on Life on the Screen taking place where it all started; the Internet entering the everyday life of billions of people and as a prime mover for rethinking or renovating the self maybe more than once. Furthermore the term identity, which is a term that is indeed hard to grasp, became even more fluid as to the existing of the overlapping boundaries of the Internet. Being preliminary to the latest work Alone Together of Sherry Turkle, which has fundamental importance to this project, as to the fact of its contemporary discourses anno 2011, this chapter will deduce with a quote: Fifteen years ago in popular culture, people were just getting used to the idea that computers could project and extend a person s intellect. Today people are embracing the notion that computers may extend an individual s physical presence (S. Turkle, 1997:20). Sherry Turkle Alone Together (2011) Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, is written by Sherry Turkle in Her book describes people s relationship with different technologies in the modern society and how it affects their everyday life in various ways. From the title Alone Together, she also highlights those two words in the book. She explains that the notion of alone and together can be connected to the tendency of the expansion of modern technology and social medias today. It is the notion that people are alone, but still together. In addition to her other book Life On the Screen, which were written in 1997, she includes Facebook in her thesis. Facebook have now covered almost all of the perks of modern technology in one page. It is possible to text and chat with each other; send messages and even video chat. This is why, when writing about the impacts of modern technology, you can link almost everything to Facebook. 31