Virtual Self Narratives: Construction & Control
By Meg Tallis
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| Image 1: Identity Management |
Hayden White was said to have believed that the real world is "inherently random and meaningless, and humans confer meaning by imposing narrative structure" (Van Luyn, 2013). After hearing this, I attempted to establish how this theory might apply in relation to the way self-narratives are told within the confines of facebook. How and why does Facebook facilitate the ordering of our life events in narrative form? Is it to help us find meaning? And if so, what might their agenda be in assisting us with our meaning making?
McNeill (2012, p.104) gives insight into the ways in which Facebook establishes and reinforces Facebook community norms. For example, when I created my Profile there were numerous personal details I was requested to give via a selection from drop down menus. None of the menus have "other" as an option; therefore, it was a case of choose a social norm that you fit into or chose nothing at all. At many stages of my profile construction I found myself thinking "but none of those options are me... ". I can now see how this is Facebook dictating which aspects of my life are deemed important and worth sharing, and I'm not sure I like it!
I thought next about what Van Luyn (2013) had said about self narratives being "constructs for a particular purpose and context". I wondered what purpose Facebook might have in encouraging the networked construction of my self narrative. The fact that my facebook friends have the option to encourage or criticize certain posts by way of comments or the "like button" shows that this collaborative construction of self is important on facebook. This could have something to do with the concept associated with Australian Aboriginal Songlines, that "to exist is to be perceived" (Chatwin, 1987, p. 14). How exactly we are perceived on Facebook by other users is another matter that I aim to look into in weeks to come.
Reference List
Chatwin, B. (1987). Songlines. London, England: Jonathan Cape.
McNeill, L. (2012). There is no "I" in network: Social networking sites and posthuman auto-
biography. Biography, 35(1), 101-118.
Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place,
Lecture 4: Networked narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from
Image Credits
Image 1: Fresh Element Interactive, (2011). Identity Management. Retrieved from
http://www.freshelement.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Identity-
management_24682463_XS.jpg
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