Our Online Self(es)

Posted by on Sunday, December 27, 2009 · 5 Comments 

Last week, the New York Times ran an article on high school students who deactivated their Facebook accounts as a way to improve their performance in homework, college applications, and other essential education-related tasks. The article presented anecdotes of teens who struggled with overuse of Facebook, with their grades and ability to concentrate in school taking hits. Most of the piece was pretty straight-forward; however, one paragraph in particular caught my attention:

For one 18-year-old boy completing a college application, Professor Turkle said, “Facebook wasn’t merely a distraction, but it was really confusing him about who he was,” and he opted to spend his senior year off the service. He was burned out, she said, trying to live up to his own descriptions of himself.

Burned out trying to live up to his own descriptions of himself. Very interesting. Rather than serving as an outlet of self-expression, this makes me ask: are online social networking and professional sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook damaging the ability of high-achieving or particularly impressionable students to forge their own personal identities, away from the online identity they have crafted for others to see?

Does Facebook – with its public news feed and profile visibility – reinforce behavioral expectations among high school students?

We know that our online selves are not our real selves, or at least not our “complete” selves (if our potential connections discovered the weird way we hold our fork or found out that we lost a class election in fifth grade to a girl whose campaign slogan was “elect me and we’ll have more fun than a barrel of monkeys,” why would they ever accept our friend requests?). We know that sites like Facebook provide a platform for us to selectively share bits and pieces of our personality, aspirations, and accomplishments. And, as any recent graduate or college senior can attest to, we know that monitoring our online identity is very important in today’s professional world.

But for high school students – at a point in life of intense pressures and general uncertainties – could Facebook be dangerous? Do social sites encourage adoption of ready-made attributes, pulsing for popular trends, and conformity regarding their collegiate and professional aspirations? Can Facebook set unrealistically high expectations for success / attainment, leaving its younger users more confused than ever about who they are, and who they want to become?

Lots of questions. Few answers here. For what it’s worth, I think high school career centers need to be well-versed in social and professional sites online, and would be very well-advised to hold open forums with students about these sites, their merits, and questions to consider. I’m sure this sort of thing could be quite popular among students. I would love to hear what everyone thinks, especially college students, young professionals, parents, educators, and, of course, high school students. Please post comments below!

Category: Issues in Education · Tags:

  • Kate

    You raise good questions, but I think the argument that students feel pressure to conform to online identities gives Facebook too much credit. It is a procrastination tool, no different than television or video games. To use an SAT analogy, Facebook is to this generation of high schoolers what AIM was to this generation of college students. The only difference is that the communication is one-directional when students post status updates to no one in particular. I agree that career centers should discuss the implications of social networking sites, but in my opinion, they should focus on teaching time management, effective communication, and professional, not “social,” networking instead.

  • http://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    I think you make some excellent points, Kate. For most high school users – and most users in general – Facebook is for keeping up with your friends' movements and sharing your own updates, in a sense recreating your off-line social sphere (perhaps idealized) onto the WWW. I doubt that most FBers are overly-intimidated by the possibility of creating an online identity that they cannot live up to, or that is not authentic.

    Still, I would venture to say that there is a process of reflection and projection on Facebook that could cause particular uncertainty and anxiety for high school students which merits some discussion.

    The analogy to AIM is the right one to think about. As a former AIM user in high school (who wasn't?), I remember feeling that AIM provided a secure, fun link to my friends. Those 1 AM school-night banters – “I AM SOO BOREDD LOL” – were outlets for expression and interactivity, however pointless or important. They were seen by two people, and when 2 AM rolled around, they rolled into oblivion, their residues visible only on the knowing smirk between students the next day at school.

    With Facebook profiles, wall posts, and news feeds, those conversations and responses are stored and visible to everyone. This, of course, supports the call for high school students to think about effective communication and their professional identity when using the site.

    In addition, I do believe there are certain types of norms and expectations on Facebook that students become aware of and respond to, self-consciously or not, that can cause extensive pressure and anxiety. In the NY Times article I quoted, the student felt pressured to conform to the overly-ambitious behaviors he attributed to himself on Facebook. I can certainly see how our well-intentioned short lunchtime Career Center seminar on “Creating a Professional Identity Online” could cause major anxiety for the especially-driven student. Facebook provides a forum for students to express themselves to others. It encourages students to create an online persona that mirrors their own persona, which (the pressure is) should mirror what others expect to see, what prevailing norms dictate.

    As a 14-18 year old who is just starting to discover themselves in terms of who they want to be and how their actions will reinforce their personality and aspirations, the online pressure from Facebook leads to a mighty tall order: to declare yourself and follow suit, whether or not you Know Thyself.

  • http://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    I think you make some excellent points, Kate. For most high school users – and most users in general – Facebook is for keeping up with your friends' movements and sharing your own updates, in a sense recreating your off-line social sphere (perhaps idealized) onto the WWW. I doubt that most FBers are overly-intimidated by the possibility of creating an online identity that they cannot live up to, or that is not authentic.

    Still, I would venture to say that there is a process of reflection and projection on Facebook that could cause particular uncertainty and anxiety for high school students which merits some discussion.

    The analogy to AIM is the right one to think about. As a former AIM user in high school (who wasn't?), I remember feeling that AIM provided a secure, fun link to my friends. Those 1 AM school-night banters – “I AM SOO BOREDD LOL” – were outlets for expression and interactivity, however pointless or important. They were seen by two people, and when 2 AM rolled around, they rolled into oblivion, their residues visible only on the knowing smirk between students the next day at school.

    With Facebook profiles, wall posts, and news feeds, those conversations and responses are stored and visible to everyone. This, of course, supports the call for high school students to think about effective communication and their professional identity when using the site.

    In addition, I do believe there are certain types of norms and expectations on Facebook that students become aware of and respond to, self-consciously or not, that can cause extensive pressure and anxiety. In the NY Times article I quoted, the student felt pressured to conform to the overly-ambitious behaviors he attributed to himself on Facebook. I can certainly see how our well-intentioned short lunchtime Career Center seminar on “Creating a Professional Identity Online” could cause major anxiety for the especially-driven student. Facebook provides a forum for students to express themselves to others. It encourages students to create an online persona that mirrors their own persona, which (the pressure is) should mirror what others expect to see, what prevailing norms dictate.

    As a 14-18 year old who is just starting to discover themselves in terms of who they want to be and how their actions will reinforce their personality and aspirations, the online pressure from Facebook leads to a mighty tall order: to declare yourself and follow suit, whether or not you Know Thyself.

  • Kate

    You raise good questions, but I think the argument that students feel pressure to conform to online identities gives Facebook too much credit. It is a procrastination tool, no different than television or video games. To use an SAT analogy, Facebook is to this generation of high schoolers what AIM was to this generation of college students. The only difference is that the communication is one-directional when students post status updates to no one in particular. I agree that career centers should discuss the implications of social networking sites, but in my opinion, they should focus on teaching time management, effective communication, and professional, not “social,” networking instead.

  • http://www.kevinfadler.com Kevin Adler

    I think you make some excellent points, Kate. For most high school users – and most users in general – Facebook is for keeping up with your friends' movements and sharing your own updates, in a sense recreating your off-line social sphere (perhaps idealized) onto the WWW. I doubt that most FBers are overly-intimidated by the possibility of creating an online identity that they cannot live up to, or that is not authentic.

    Still, I would venture to say that there is a process of reflection and projection on Facebook that could cause particular uncertainty and anxiety for high school students which merits some discussion.

    The analogy to AIM is the right one to think about. As a former AIM user in high school (who wasn't?), I remember feeling that AIM provided a secure, fun link to my friends. Those 1 AM school-night banters – “I AM SOO BOREDD LOL” – were outlets for expression and interactivity, however pointless or important. They were seen by two people, and when 2 AM rolled around, they rolled into oblivion, their residues visible only on the knowing smirk between students the next day at school.

    With Facebook profiles, wall posts, and news feeds, those conversations and responses are stored and visible to everyone. This, of course, supports the call for high school students to think about effective communication and their professional identity when using the site.

    In addition, I do believe there are certain types of norms and expectations on Facebook that students become aware of and respond to, self-consciously or not, that can cause extensive pressure and anxiety. In the NY Times article I quoted, the student felt pressured to conform to the overly-ambitious behaviors he attributed to himself on Facebook. I can certainly see how our well-intentioned short lunchtime Career Center seminar on “Creating a Professional Identity Online” could cause major anxiety for the especially-driven student. Facebook provides a forum for students to express themselves to others. It encourages students to create an online persona that mirrors their own persona, which (the pressure is) should mirror what others expect to see, what prevailing norms dictate.

    As a 14-18 year old who is just starting to discover themselves in terms of who they want to be and how their actions will reinforce their personality and aspirations, the online pressure from Facebook leads to a mighty tall order: to declare yourself and follow suit, whether or not you Know Thyself.

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