The  Online  Persona:    How  Your  Social  Media  Self    

Can  Harm  YouBy  Erika  Weir

Image:  “Selfie”  by  Hsuanya  Tsai  via  Flickr  CC

“These  days  there’s  no  question  that  if  you’ve  got  something  to  say,  you  log  on.  The  Internet  and  social  media  are  where  many  of  us  go  to  express  our  thoughts  and  plans,  hopes  and  dreams,  to  friends,  acquaintances,  even  strangers.”  -­‐  Caryl  M.  Stern  (1)

Image:  “Keyboard”  by  Isriya  Paireepairit  via  Flickr  CC

71%  of  millennials  visit  the  internet  to  discuss  what  is  on  their  minds.  (1)  How  does  one  get  

noticed?Image:  “Smartphone  rituals”  by  Nicolas  Nova  via  Flickr  CC

“Self-­‐branding  is  about  being  a  signal  in  the  noise  of  human  capital.  

We  are  all  individuals,  but  unless  we  are  also  a  brand,  our  individuality  will  be  invisible.  Being  a  brand  means  showcasing  that  which  makes  you  special,  in  a  way  that  is  distinctive  (recognizable),  

predictable  (consistent),  and  meaningful  (it  allows  others  to  understand  what  you  do  and  why).”    

-­‐Tomas  Chamorro-­‐Premuzic  (2)  

Image:  “Reputation”  by  Thomas  Hawk  via  Flickr  CC

Does  one  want  to  be  noticed?    

What  happens  when  they  are  not?

Image:  “Mirror”  by  The  Silent  Infinite  via  Flickr  CC

In  2015,  the  Guardian  interviewed  young  women  

who  used  Instagram:  

 

“If  [a  photo]  doesn’t  get  enough  likes,  I  will  

take  it  down.”  -­‐Summer  Andrews,  18  

(3)

“I  like  that  I  can  show  the  parts  that  I  want  them  to  see  and  make  them  think  I  have  a  cooler  life  than  I  do”  -­‐Lindsay  Correia,  22

Image:  “Selfie”  by  CincinnatiPhoto  via  Flickr  CC

“This  year  I  discovered  that  only  36  out  of  my  600+  Facebook  friends  sent  me  birthday  wishes.  The  sheer  grief,  the  magnitude  of  self-­‐

hatred  I  felt  in  that  moment  sent  me  spiralling.  It  didn’t  matter  that  all  of  the  most  important  people  in  my  world  called  me.”    

-­‐  Lorne  Jaffe,  a  Stay-­‐at  home  Dad  and  Blogger  who  suffers  from  depression  (4)

Image:  “Birthday”  by  Luca  Diggelmann  via  Flickr  CC

We  are  becoming  concerned  with  arbitrary  numbers,  such  as  how  many  likes  we  got  on  our  last  selfie  on  Instagram,  or  how  many  people  wished  us  a  Happy  Birthday  on  Facebook.  Our  obsession  with  our  social  media  selves  and  online  personas  can  be  harmful.

Image:  “Purposeful  Social  Media  Engagement”  by  Kris  Olin  via  Flickr  CC

Their  study  determined  that  “the  more  time  young  adults  use  social  media,  the  more  likely  they  are  to  be  depressed”  (5)

Can  Social  Media  cause  depression?  A  study  conducted  by  the  University  of  Pittsburgh  School  of  Medicine  says  so

Image:  “Ego”  by  Aftab  Uzzaman  via  Flickr  CC

This  is  due  to  the  exposure  to  “highly  idealized  

representations  of  peers  on  social  media  elicits  feelings  of  envy  and  the  distorted  belief  that  others  lead  happier,  more  

successful  lives”  (5)

Image:  “Selfie”  by  Jonna  Ylilehto  via  Flickr  CC

These  side  effects  of  the  pressure  to  brand  yourself  online  and  the  need  to  receive  positive  

feedback  is  not  just  something  that  has  rubbed  off  on  adults,  children  are  also  feeling  the  effects.

Image:  “Selfie”  by  Giuseppe  Milo  via  Flickr  CC

The  UK  Telephone  Helpline,  ChildLine,  has  seen  a  change  in  the  concerns  reported  by  

children  in  the  last  few  decades.  Children  are  now  

concerned  about  their  online  image,  online  friends,  and  their  desire  for  a  “perfect”  

body.  (6)

Image:  “phone”  by  Takuya  Goro  via  Flickr  CC

“I  hate  myself.  When  I  look  at  other  girls  online  posting  photos  of  themselves  it  makes  me  feel  really  worthless  and  ugly.”    

-­‐  A  13-­‐year-­‐old  girl  who    contacted  ChildLine  (6)

Image:  “Vanity  2”  by  Marcelo  Acosta  via  Flickr  CC

What  happens  when  one  does  get  a  lot  of  likes  on  their  

photos?  

18  year-­‐old  Instagram  celebrity  Essena  O’Neill  used  to,  before  she  quit  that  is.  

Before  her  departure  and  deactivation  of  accounts,  she  had  a  message  to  tell  her  

followers:  

“SOCIAL  MEDIA  IS    NOT  REAL  LIFE”    

(7)

Image:  “Selfie…..”  by  Attila  Siha  via  Flickr  CC

Are  our  social  media  selves  really  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  our  real  selves?  Or  should  we  edit  them?  

Image:  “Selfie”  by  bluesummer55  via  Flickr  CC

“‘If  you  plan  to  have  real  life  interactions  with  the  people  you  chat  with  online  then  yes,’  you  should  be  the  same  online  and  in  real  life.”  -­‐  @geekigirl  on  Twitter  via  Kate  Carraway  (8)

Image:  “personas?  números?”  by  littlepixer  via  Flickr  CC

However,  one  must  still  be  careful  not  to  post  anything  too  personal  or  too  

inappropriate,  or  fear  potential  backlash  in  their  lives  offline.

Image:  “The  Architectural  Office”  by  Steven  Mileham  via  Flickr  CC

“In  2010,    Microsoft  released    

a  survey  that  showed  that    80%  of  HR  professionals  use  online    

reputation  information  as  part  of  their    hiring  process,  and  that  70%  had  rejected  a  job  candidate  due  to  what  they  found  online.”    

-­‐  Dan  Schawbel  (9)

Image:  “Board  Room”  by  Jesse  Garrison  via  Flickr  CC

Even  people  already  employed  with  a  company  

must  watch  what  they  say,  or  they  could  lose  their  job.  

Take  Stacy  Snyder,  for  example.  She  was  a  teacher  in  training  when  she  posted  a  picture  of  herself  drinking  online,  only  to  have  her  

supervisor  at  her  job  tell  her  it  was  “unprofessional”  and  the  

university  to  deny  her  a  teaching  degree.  (10)

Image:  “Beerkeh”  by  KayVee.INC  via  Flickr  CC

“We  could  say  that  Facebook  status  updates  have  taken  the  place  of  water-­‐cooler  chat,  which  employers  were  never  

supposed  to  overhear,  and  we  could  pass  a  prohibition  on  the  sorts  of  information  employers  can  and  can’t  consider  when  

they  hire  someone.”  -­‐  Paul  Olm  (10)

Image:  “Water  dispenser.”  by  Gonzalo  Viera  Azpiroz  via  Flickr  CC

It’s  not  just  prospective  jobs  that  an  online  reputation  can  effect.  Of  381  college  admissions  officers  asked  in  a  questionnaire  by  Kaplan,  31%  said  they  had  visited  an  applicant’s  personal  social  media  page.    (11)

Image:  “Rosemont  College”  by  Tom  Ipri  via  Flickr  CC

“Students'  social  media  and  digital  footprint  can  sometimes  play  a  role  in  the  admissions  process.  It’s  something  that  is  becoming  more  ubiquitous  

and  less  looked  down  upon.’’  -­‐Christine  Brown,  executive  director  of  K-­‐12  and  college  prep  programs  at  Kaplan  Test  Prep.  (11)

Image:  “Footprints”  by  Daryl  Clark  via  Flickr  CC

So,  what  is  the  takeaway  here?  In  this  new  world  overrun  by  the  internet  and  social  media,  it  seems  inevitable  that  everyone  must  create  some  sort  of  

online  persona  or  reputation  for  themselves.  However,  there  must  be  a  balance.  Too  little  attention  can  be  harmful  to  one’s  health,  but  too  much  could  be  harmful  to  one’s  job  or  future.

We  must  be  conscious  and  monitor  what  we  post  online.  We  must  be  noticed,  but  not  too  noticed.

Image:  “The  privacy  files”  by  Marina  Noordegraaf  via  Flickr  CC

WORKS CITED *All images used were altered for the purpose of this assignment*

(1) Stern, Caryl M. "In Praise of Clicktivism." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 May 2015. Web. 05 June 2016.

(2) Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas. "The Future of You." Harvard Business Review. Harvard Business Review, 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 5 June 2016.

(3) Gajanan, Mahita. "Young Women on Instagram and Self-esteem: 'I Absolutely Feel Insecure'" The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 04 Nov. 2015. Web. 05 June 2016.

(4) Jaffe, Lorne. "5 Reasons Why Facebook Can Be Dangerous for People With Depression." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 May 2016. Web. 05 June 2016.

(5) Chowdhry, Amit. "Research Links Heavy Facebook And Social Media Usage To Depression." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 05 June 2016.

(6) Harding, Eleanor. "Generation of Sad and Lonely Children: Social Media 'triggering Plague of Low Self-esteem'" Daily Mail Online. The Daily Mail, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 5 June 2016.

(7) Lindsey, Daryl. "Social Media Is Not Real Life, But That's Not the Problem." The Everygirl. The Everygirl, n.d. Web. 5 June 2016.

(8) Carraway, Kate. "How Does Your Online Persona Match with ‘real’ Life?" The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 5 June 2016.

(9) Schawbel, Dan. "The Reputation Economy Is Coming - Are You Prepared?" Forbes. Forbes, 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 5 June 2016.

(10) Rosen, Jeffrey. "The Web Means the End of Forgetting." NYTimes.com. The New York Times, 21 July 2010. Web. 5 June 2016.

(11) Singer, Natasha. "They loved your G.P.A. then they saw your tweets." New York Times 10 Nov. 2013: 3(L). Academic OneFile. Web. 5 June 2016.