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Posted by Millennials of New York on Wednesday, 27 January 2016
Affect and Narcissism on Social Media.
There’s something to be said about that little red square that pops up on your Facebook page, altering you that someone has “liked” something. It's that immediate need to know; to know what was liked? Who liked it? Regardless of your stance on social media, everyone likes to be liked.
Although the above video posted by the Facebook page Millenials of New York is intentionally satirical, mocking our current cultures’ obsession and apparent dependance on social media likes, it reveals an interesting question regarding the affective aspect of social media.
Throughout the term we have been extremely critical of social media and its role in our everyday lives. From critiquing social media for its exploitive labour practices, to concerns over privacy and big data, there appears to be an overwhelming consensus amongst the class, including myself, that social media is problematic. Yet, although critical of the platforms, each and every one of us utilizes these platforms almost every day. So the question becomes, why do we continue to utilize the social media platforms we so eagerly criticize? In addition to claims regarding the networking capabilities of social media platforms, as Nagy and Neff state, there is something intangible, some feeling or emotional attachment associated with the platform that we cannot fully understand.
Regardless of its superficial and trivial nature, likes on social media provide users with a seemingly unquantifiable sense of affect. Each user on each social media platform has a very different lived experience and affective attachment with what the platform’s affordances are. It is difficult to truly understand this affective attachment especially because it is largely constructed by the platform itself. Individuals become dependent upon Facebook likes as a means of bolstering their self-image, as the girl in the video had, because it is naturalized by the platform itself, in addition to social and cultural norms.
Thus the question becomes, how do we account for affect when critiquing social media? Should it be dismissed due to its narcissistic and ephemeral nature, or is there something truly meaningful and valuable about the affective nature of likes on social media?
Great post, Haley!
ReplyDeleteI was watching an episode of the television show “Younger”, which is situated around the lives of young millennials. Social media is always a huge component of the show as the characters on the show use it as the primary source for spreading information to large groups of people, a call for action; and this particular episode was especially relevant to your post. I must note that this episode aired a few days ago and I really can not find the video clip that I am looking for (I know #epicfail), but I will just provide a brief excerpt instead. Basically, the main character recently posted her engagement announcement on Facebook but was incredibly disappointed at the lack of “likes” received on her post. She states “I can’t believe it! Even the picture I posted of the avocado bread got more likes!”. According to the Psychology Today article The Power of “Like”: We Like Being Liked… On Facebook “somehow, mysteriously, that innocuous button labeled “Like” seems to carry with it a solid feeling of caring and kindness from friends, be they offline ones or solely people you know online” (Rosen, 2012). Evidently, just like the video posted above, the “like” button has become a psychological indicator that has been associated with what Rosen calls “virtual empathy”. Maybe, the benefit is that some people who do not receive support or empathy through real-life interactions can receive this via. Facebook “likes” or double tapping of Instagram photos or retweeting statuses, etc. However, I also believe that this need or desire to receive “likes” can perpetuate a somewhat narcissistic society. In addition, this may become problematic for those who do not receive a lot of “likes” on something they posted. If “likes” on Facebook hold some psychological and affective significance, those who do not receive “likes” on a photo they posted may take this lack of support personally, as if the number of “likes” somehow equates to how much you are personally liked… What are your thoughts?
Note: I am unable to hyperlink in the comment section, so below is the link to the full Psychology Today article:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/rewired-the-psychology-technology/201207/the-power
I'd like to answer your specific question: "why do we continue to utilize the social media platforms we so eagerly criticize?" by looking at Jarrett. I think she addresses this question well in "Who Says Facebook Friends Are Not Your Real Friends" by pointing out that "all commodities have a use-value and an exchange-value" (p. 91). Something with use-value are "objects of appropriation and consumption, things to be used to satisfy ... needs" (91). Jarrett reminds us that Facebook can be exploitive (the exchange-value "includes the surplus-value associated with labour exploitation" (92)) at the same time it provides us with "socially embedded rewards" (97) such as meaningful social relationships, pleasure and, yes, feeling the glow of acceptance that comes with having your posts "liked". Although students of CS640 have come to acknowledge the exploitative and alienating nature of Facebook, we also enjoy the socially meaningful use-values.
ReplyDeleteWhether dependance on having your posts "liked" by others is psychologically healthy is another question entirely, and one best answered by the folks at Psychology Today.
Ohh this video made me mad! The assumptions made about the “millennials” are ridiculous. And so what if we are the main users of these social media sites? I don’t see this being a bad thing! It is simply a different way to experience life and supplement our everyday activities with the aid of new technology.
ReplyDeleteJust because we have become more engaged online, it does not necessarily mean that we have become more withdrawn in ‘real life’ activities. This was an issue brought up in our readings this past week on locomotive media.
These new technologies make us have lifestyles different from the generation before us -- I am sure our parents have had different lifestyles than our grandparents with the invention of the radio and television.
New technology does change our way of living, and does not equate to a ‘lesser’ way of living – it simply becomes a different way to live. As I mentioned in my comment to Karly on my post about Facebook stalkers, online behaviour is not limited to social media sites alone. Online behaviour can extend to ‘real life’ behaviour and ‘real life’ behaviour can supplement online behaviour. These experiences are not exclusive to one another; however this video is important to point out the social norms and values constructed with the development of these social media sites in Western society.
The importance of “likes” for example becomes a way of gaining social capital, and becoming a micro celebrity online.
I also found it quite funny how strange it looked that the Instagram photo was printed off and framed. The page of the photo itself, with the likes were shown in the frame and it made me question how and why certain images are not “allowed” to be posted on certain platforms, or duplicated. I made the mistake of posting the same picture of a past event on my Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter and was called out for repeating the image everywhere. I was also told that this would cause me to get less likes, because they would be distributed throughout the different platforms I posted it on. There are many social norms surrounding the use of these different platforms, and I believe millennials have the POWER not the BURDEN of being quite familiar with what is most appropriate to post and how to behave on these sites – if we are to group this age group as the most active users on these sites. Active users have the privilege and acquired knowledge of how to interact appropriately and effectively to communicate with others on this site, and yes we can be extremists and post quite framed and posed images to garner more likes, but does staging images and framing posts in a particular way to gain likes and comments and garner attention any less honest than a McDonald’s advertisement of a big mac that never lives up to expectations in reality? Advertisements continue to dominate and infiltrate our everyday lives and communication; however, I believe those users with the most likes have proven to successfully and strategically use these social media platforms to gain attention and send a message about themselves (whether or not it is true). So garnering likes and showcasing a high number of comments and likes are not something to be ashamed of – nor should we be shamed of being proud of it. Yes, it can be seen as another high school popularity contest, but on the flip side, it can also be seen as an interesting way of showcasing how well someone can communicate on these social media platforms.
I think the ideas raised in this post are very interesting and pertinent. Social media certainly brings a level of affect that should not be discounted. When using social media we are engaging in an exchange in the form of submission to comprehensive surveillance and in return we receive access to resources (Andrejevic, 2013, 9). Although discussion of these resources are typically tied to human capital, I argue that affect can also be viewed as a resource that is traded. We have affective experiences with our devices and applications which have now become articulated to a number of complex layers of the self. However, in agreeance with Jodi Dean (2010), the affective aspect of social media can be used as a mechanism for corporations capitalize on. That is, the drive to use social media is closely related to the user's affective relationship they have with their devices. Therefore, affect can be viewed as synonymous with a “marketing tactic” in the sense that it entices people to use the platform, so they can therefore produce data that can be turned into profit.
ReplyDeleteAn interesting dialogue is price comment. I feel that it is best to write more on this matter, it may not be a taboo topic however usually individuals are not enough to talk on such topics. To the next. Cheers.
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