In todays class, we saw the documentary titled "Generation Like", which explored the role of social media in shaping advertainment. It tries to answer the question:
Due to the boom of social media today, people have started to try and construct their identities through their profiles.
Your 'Profile Pictures' and 'About you' along with the pages you have 'followed' or 'liked' are supposed to structure your identity. People have started taking this idea seriously, and begun carefully maintaining and 'spring-cleaning' their social networking profiles. This is no surprise considering the steepness of the slope of success social media has had over the past 5 years. Due to this extensive use of social media by consumers, producers along with marketing agencies have started to build advertising profiles. This ensures that advertisements are targeted toward specific people.
But the fact that digital citizens' identity is constructed through their profiles is frightening. If people continue doing this, it will lead to an eventual loss of human values that we today abide by. Sure, social media is a good medium to spread awareness. But when you start describing yourself by the value of a material good, service or initiative, it just takes away all humane values.
Loss of cultural values may also take place. When teens are supposed too be praying, celebrating festivals or doing an activity that relates to their culture, they may be on social media, 'constructing' their identity, being exposed to multiple advertisements and pop culture. Techniques such as product placement are used in songs or movies to promote their use.As these advertisements and pop culture slowly become a part of life, there may be cultural loss.
Such a construction of identity may also lead us to not having a specific identity. Due to the vastness of the advertisements we are exposed to in a day, we may become confused. In the end, we become really clueless as who we are or what we want to buy and this proves to be a real menace in some societies.
But this change is inevitable. Advertainment has become a part of our daily life. There are billboards everywhere, and advertisements on radio and the television. This paired with the boom in social media has further accelerated the advertising industry. There is bound to be a change in our lifestyle and identity eventually, if it continues to grow at the same rate. Even though it is not visible as much now, it is happening, slowly but surely.
"Thanks to social media, teens are able to directly interact with their culture -- celebrities, movies, brands -- in ways never before possible. But is that real empowerment? Or do marketers hold the upper hand?"To convey my thoughts on the answer to this question, I will try and evaluate the possible consequences of people structuring their identity around commercial products and initiatives.
Due to the boom of social media today, people have started to try and construct their identities through their profiles.
Your 'Profile Pictures' and 'About you' along with the pages you have 'followed' or 'liked' are supposed to structure your identity. People have started taking this idea seriously, and begun carefully maintaining and 'spring-cleaning' their social networking profiles. This is no surprise considering the steepness of the slope of success social media has had over the past 5 years. Due to this extensive use of social media by consumers, producers along with marketing agencies have started to build advertising profiles. This ensures that advertisements are targeted toward specific people.
But the fact that digital citizens' identity is constructed through their profiles is frightening. If people continue doing this, it will lead to an eventual loss of human values that we today abide by. Sure, social media is a good medium to spread awareness. But when you start describing yourself by the value of a material good, service or initiative, it just takes away all humane values.
Loss of cultural values may also take place. When teens are supposed too be praying, celebrating festivals or doing an activity that relates to their culture, they may be on social media, 'constructing' their identity, being exposed to multiple advertisements and pop culture. Techniques such as product placement are used in songs or movies to promote their use.As these advertisements and pop culture slowly become a part of life, there may be cultural loss.
Such a construction of identity may also lead us to not having a specific identity. Due to the vastness of the advertisements we are exposed to in a day, we may become confused. In the end, we become really clueless as who we are or what we want to buy and this proves to be a real menace in some societies.
But this change is inevitable. Advertainment has become a part of our daily life. There are billboards everywhere, and advertisements on radio and the television. This paired with the boom in social media has further accelerated the advertising industry. There is bound to be a change in our lifestyle and identity eventually, if it continues to grow at the same rate. Even though it is not visible as much now, it is happening, slowly but surely.
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