Lyrcis from the chorus of "The Lines Begin to Blur"
by Nine Inch Nails
“The
more I stay in here
The
more it's not so clear
The
more I stay in here
The
more I disappear
As
far as I have gone
I
knew what side I'm on
But
now I'm not so sure
The
line begins to blur”
This week’s
Strategic Communication and Emerging Media graduate course topics included
blogging, citizen journalism, and digital democracy. We were charged with reading all of the required
articles, scholarly publications, and watching a number of applicable
TedTalks. After analyzing that
information we were to select one topic and build a case to support our opinion. Sounds much easier than it turned out to be
for me. After reading a couple of
articles and watching a few TedTalks I was pretty sure I had the direction for
this blog. Then after a few more
readings I changed course. It was with
great happiness that on the third pass I decidedly knew what I wanted to cover
this week. I want to look closer at when,
“the lines begin to blur”. More
specifically I want to cover the “I” in blogging. No, not the actual letter between the “g” and
the “n”, but rather the blogger as an individual, and more specifically the
self-identification of the blogger.
In her
(2001) TedTalk Mena Trott, considered by many to be one of the founders of the
Blog Revolution, shared what her blogging experiences had meant to her over the
years. One point that she made specifically
jumped out at me. She said that blogs
are a “record of who you are”. This is a
point where “the lines begin to blur”.
The lines between our private selves and our public selves, and the
lines between our authentic self and our presented self.
Another TedTalk
that spoke to the blurred lines of self was Dr. Sherry Turkle’s “Connected, But
Alone?” (2012). Dr. Turkle received a
joint doctorate in Personality Psychology and Sociology from Harvard
University, and is often called “the Margaret Mead of digital culture." As the director, and founder, of MIT’s
Initiative on Technology and Self she has even been referred to as the “conscience
for the tech world” by novelist Jonathan Franzen. Her list of credentials is as deep as her
research studies are wide. In her viral
TedTalk she shares that, “we’re finding so much of our identity lies in
“connecting” with others using a gadget, but we are afraid to be alone; we
don’t know who we really are because we can’t enjoy the solitude that comes
with learning and developing our self-identity.” It is precisely this paradox, this blurring
of lines between private and public self, authentic and simulated self, self-awareness
and self-promotion that I find most disheartening in the blogosphere of today’s
digital culture.
Dr. Turkle
adds, “these little devices in our pockets are so psychologically powerful they
change what we do and who we are.” Our
basic humanistic drive for social connection has been matched by technology’s
speed and ease in delivering those quick digital connections. Turkle argues and I share her perspective
that constant connections never allow us to develop the “capacity for solitude,
the ability to separate, to gather yourself.”
She goes on to add that “solitude is where you find yourself...”. Solitude is all about self-knowledge,
self-exploration, and learning the true identity of self. So how does one go about incorporating
solitude back into our lives? Turkle
doesn’t leave us wondering how to do it.
She shares some “first steps”.
She says, “start thinking of solitude as a good thing. Make room for it. Create sacred spaces at home…and at work.” So it would seem:
Dr. Turkle also
discusses the online mentality of, “I share, therefore I am”. Think about that for a moment…self-reflect on
what that means to you. Are we sharing
because we need the validation of our online-self? Does the online-self equate to our real-world
self? I fear it is here that the most
blurring of the earlier-mentioned lines are occurring. Discussing the blogger and online identity I’m
reminded of the 1950s sociologist Erving Goffman’s Social Interaction Theory. He introduced the human interaction approach
that basically proposes we are living as if in a theatrical performance. In our performance, our lives, we are presenting
self. This presentation is a person's
efforts to create some specific impressions in the minds of others. This
process is sometimes called "impression management", and it would
appear to be demonstrated daily in the digital world.
Take for
instance an excerpt from a blog post entitled, “When the “Struggle” Becomes
Your Identity” by Danielle Racey of the Tiny Buddha blog:
“Many people
have either defined themselves—or been defined by others—from day one. Some
people live their entire lives this way, without ever feeling the desire or a
reason to change. But you? You’re a blank canvas now, in a world full of paint.
This is your chance to start creating a version of you that feels right.”
At first
glance I think to myself, “Wow, this is inspirational and motivating.” Then I take a pause and think “but wait,
where is the call for self-awareness and to turn inward to create that “version
of you that feels right.”
Don’t get me
wrong, I love blogging, micro-blogging, uploading, connecting, and all of the
other benefits provided by the digital world. In fact, I can clearly see how blogging can have
real therapeutic benefits. What I’m not
so fond of are the negative effects on self-awareness. This personal journey of self-discovery
called life is ours and ours alone.
In the words
of Sherry Turkle, “there's plenty of time for us to reconsider how we use it,
how we build it. I'm not suggesting that we turn way from our devices, just
that we develop a more self-aware relationship with them, with each other and
with ourselves”. She also notes that, “digital
technology is still in its infancy, and there is ample time for us to reshape
how we build it and use it.”
Strategically Yours,
Autumn
Works
Cited:
Gurak,
L. and Antonijevic, S. (2008).
“The Psychology of Blogging: You, Me, and Everyone in
Between.” Retrieved on 8 February
2017 from https://smiljanaa.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/blogging1.pdf.
Holloway,
M. (1998). “Profile: An Ethnologist in Cyberspace”. Retrieved on 8 February 2017 from
Jang, C.-Y.
and Stephanone, M. (2008). “Writing for Friends and Family: The
Interpersonal Nature
of Blogs”. Retrieved on 7 February
2017 from
Racey,
D. (2016). “When the Struggle Becomes Your Identity”. Retrieved on 8 February 2017 from
Trott, M.
(2001). “Meet the Founder of the Blog
Revolution”. Retrieved on 7 February
2017 from
Turkle, S.
(2012). “Connected, But Alone?” Retrieved on 6 February 2017 from
