File:ReeyaShah Facebook.png

Growing up, I always listened to my parents and obeyed their rules. I was shy and innocent and was too scared to do anything wrong. I always wanted a Facebook growing up, but naturally, my parents said no each time I would ask. It wasn’t until I was 14 years old when my parents finally said yes to creating an account.  

In the beginning, I mainly used my Facebook to connect with friends from summer camps and close family members. The first few days of using the social media site, I was overwhelmed by all the features and tabs that allowed me to customize the page to my liking. I quickly found myself spending hours a day messing around on Facebook, trying to add pictures and comments that would make me seem most sociable and appealing other users.

Looking back on my first times of using Facebook, it has become evident that I wanted to portray my best self to the world, regardless if that person was really who I was. From editing pictures to adding captions that would make me seem ‘cooler’ to my middle school friends, I knew that I was portraying a fake side, yet I still did it.

My Facebook progression has been gradual, yet the changes to my page have been evident. My online identity has progressed from someone who was not herself to an accurate representation of who I am.

After reflecting on how I have matured in life and grown as a person, I understood that my online identity grew with me. I can confidently answer Marya Schechtman’s question of “Who am I really?” and respond as the person I truly am, online and offline [1].

Cover Photo

To highlight the most important aspects of my Facebook profile, let’s start with the cover photo. The cover photo is positioned above one’s profile picture and normally contains a photo that people want everyone to see but not be the center of attention of the page. Most people use this space to promote an organization or themselves, show scenery pictures, or provide something that enhances their profile. Although a viewer would have to navigate to your page to view your cover photo, it is a feature on Facebook that is public to others and represents a part of one’s online identity.  

During the first few years of having an active Facebook account, my cover photo was blank. I just had no idea what to put in it.I wanted to show off a ‘cool’ identity to those who saw my profile so immediately after a One Direction concert, I changed my cover photo to a picture of Zayn Malik, a former band member. At that time, this was a part of my identity and something that I wanted to be displayed to the world.

As I grew older, I realized there are more important aspects of my life that I would rather show people than a silly band I was once obsessed with. That’s when I changed my cover photo to picture of my siblings and I at the beach. This switch was the first part of my transition of portraying myself from someone that I wasn't to someone that truly represented me. My family is an important part of my life, and my online identity displayed that. Changing my cover photo aligns well with my personal dimension of my social identity. One’s personal dimension includes the intersection of important social properties that don't compromise an individual's social category [1]. Portraying a part of my identity of being family-oriented through my cover photo aligns well with this concept and offers a real representation of my online social identity online.

After I joined clubs in college, I wanted to show others what I am part of and how my interests are a direct reflection of my identity. I began changing my cover photo to informational photos that explained what organizations I am part of and how others can join. I identify myself with these clubs and they fit well into my social identity. I would say that the transition of my cover photos correlates to my life transition and growing as a college student.

Profile Picture

A profile picture is arguably one of the most important parts of one’s Facebook page. It highlights the present self of someone and their interests. Most importantly, it is visible without being on someone’s page. The purpose of a profile picture is to create an image of yourself that you want everyone on Facebook to see. Some people make their profile picture of just themselves, and others choose a picture that includes their friends and family. This feature of Facebook allows one to represent themselves the way they want to and does not require an individual photo.

Two key features of profile pictures are that people have the opportunity to like and comment on your photo. When people comment and like your photos, it adds to the social importance of your identity. The affirmation that your profile picture is “cute” or “a great picture of you” feeds into the social importance of your identity. A large reason for why people and others keep changing their pictures is to find affirmation of their identity and show others that they can view them in a positive light.

I update my profile picture every so often and each time i upload a picture that best represents my current state. I update my profile picture when I think something significant about myself changes and I want to show others. Below, I have provided a few examples of my previous profile pictures to demonstrate my progression.

Profile Picture 1

This is a picture of me in Beijing, China. I went on this trip when I was a sophomore in high school. I chose this as my profile picture because this was a significant time in my life where I had the opportunity to explore a different country without my family. I wanted people to know that I was independent and more mature than before. I also think I look different than my previous profile picture and wanted to show that to my friend’s on Facebook.              

Profile Picture 2

This is one of my senior pictures. I decided to make this my profile picture because graduating from high school was a big accomplishment for me. I wanted to share with my family and friends that I was almost done with high school, and I was able to do that by adding this picture. I also look very different in this picture than my previous profile picture, so I also changed it to show a different look.

Tagged Photos

Another important feature on Facebook is tagged photos These pictures come up on my timeline that other people have posted about me or where I am present in the picture. The important thing to note about tagged photos is that it gives you the option to hide them from your timeline. People do not have to see that I am tagged in something if I do not want them to. This feature allows me to narrow my online identity because I can decide what people see and don’t see about me. If there is a picture that I don’t like or I don’t want my friends on Facebook to see, I will simply click “Hide from timeline” to prevent others from seeing the post. I have control over my online self-identity and show my core self while answering who I am [1]

Some of the tagged posts on my Facebook timeline includes:

This tagged photo is of me and my friend after we got ice cream over the summer in Ann Arbor. I chose to keep this photo on my Facebook timeline because it shows that I enjoy spending time with my friends and adds value to my online self-identity.

I also wanted to keep this tagged photo on my timeline because I went to MSU football game with friends and wanted to share this experience with everyone. This was the first away Michigan Football game I attended, and I deemed it an important event for others to know about.

Keeping It Private

Compared to other active Facebook users, I do not post as frequently. I prefer to keep my online activity to a minimum because I don’t see the importance of sharing everything about my life to thousands of people. I am not worried about people knowing everything about my life, I just don’t feel like they need to know. I value the in-person relationships I have more than the virtual ones, and that is a big reason why I am not an avid social media user.

References

1. Shoemaker, David. "Self-exposure and exposure of the self: informational privacy and the presentation of identity ". 2009.