Social Media; Real or Fake?

One of the best things about social media, is having complete control of what people see. You can make yourself appear how you want, whether it be taking photos from different angles, changing your body type and shape, or changing your personality. This is great for creators, but as a viewer you need to be careful.

Photo by Luca Sammarco from Pexels

A lot of young people see models or influencers online and compare their appearances to those they see. Often being hard on themselves for not having the “ideal” face or body, but what they do not consider, is that a lot of what they see is fake. Influencers spend time changing their appearances to make themselves look the best they can. “Hours of make-up, flattering poses and all kinds of editing take place before the ‘everyday’ shot is uploaded onto social media.” (Caunt, 2019)

Photo by Kasumi Loffler from Pexels

You also must take this into consideration when dealing with businesses as well. Companies can change what they really look like for their online presence, by sharing photos and information that may not be the reality. The food industry is the worst for sharing inaccurate images. Often making their food look like better quality than the actual product. Companies can use cardboard spacers to create height or shaving cream as whipped cream, so it does not melt. (Zhang, 2018)

Social media is a useful tool for a lot of people. Influencers and companies can use it to easily share their brands, and people can use it to learn and discover different things. You just need to be vigilant and remember that not everything you see will be accurate.

Have you ever found yourself falling for something misleading online?

References:

https://petapixel.com/2018/11/30/tricks-food-photographers-use-to-make-food-look-delicious/

https://www.boredpanda.com/instagram-vs-reality-truth-behind-pictures/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

Facebook: Have you ever found yourself falling for something misleading online? https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/?p=109963

Twitter: Is social media misleading? https://bit.ly/3gGMVu4

What Would Grandma Think?

When posting on social media, sometimes you can forget about reality. Everyone is a little braver when they are behind a screen, whether they post more vulnerable pictures of themselves, or take advantage of the space between them and the other person to be a bully. Social media comes with different faces for people. A lot of the time, this is great, you can let yourself be a little more vulnerable. Maybe you will be able to work up the courage to share your art online before you would be able to in person. Maybe you can direct message your crush that you have been too scared to talk to in person. The possibilities are practically endless. However, this can be dangerous. You might feel unstoppable behind a screen, but you need to remember, once it is online, anyone can see it. Potential employers, future friends, partners, coworkers. Whoever has an online presence has the chance and opportunity to gain access to whatever you put out into the online world.

Let me set the scene, you are freshly 19. You can finally legally drink, and you are so excited. You and your friends go out to the bar, get drunk, have a blast. You are taking pictures and videos, posting them to all your social media accounts. In one of the videos, you are seen chugging a bottle of alcohol before yelling profanities. After your birthday you forget about these images and videos, moving on with your life. Now you are 21, you apply for a good job at a well-known company with a high reputation. Your resume looks great, so the interviewer decides to google your name. There are pictures of you with your younger brother at his soccer tournament, there you are at your graduation. Oh, there you are, drunk, covered in alcohol, yelling profanities. This is a company with a remarkably high reputation that they have worked hard to earn. Your interviewer does not want to risk damaging it so, your resume is promptly dropped in the no pile as she moves on to the next candidate. Kevin Hart lost a chance to host the 2019 Oscars because of a tweet he made in 2011. He tried deleting the tweet, but at that point it was to late. (Newton, 2018)

When I was job hunting as a teenager, I did a class through Career Edge. The woman teaching the class spent some time discussing our online presence. It seemed pointless to me at the time, but at one point she told us “When you are making a post online, stop yourself and ask, ‘What would Grandma Think?’”. Granted, everyone’s Grandma has different views and opinions, some people have “cool” Grandmas, but the point still stands. You need to think about what you are posting and remember that anyone will be able to see this.

Do you have a question you ask yourself before posting to keep your online presence in check?

Reference;

https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/8/18131221/kevin-hart-oscar-hosting-homophobia-twitter-tweets

Facebook: What Would Grandma Think? Are you thinking about what you are posting and who will see it? https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/?p=109737

Twitter: #whatwouldgrandmathink https://bit.ly/2TXrZpG

Personal Branding: Who Am I?

How does one discover what their personal brand is? Especially when they were taught to see the negatives in themselves at a young age, now they must discover who they are and how to promote themselves in a way that people will want them. To me, that almost seems impossible. Although I know that is not the case.

I had a job interview a couple of weeks ago, a chance to grow. I was so excited and felt confident in myself, I had experience, I have good people skills…. well, decent ones anyways. I could do this. I answered all the questions quickly and with ease. I had prepared for this; I was going to make sure I got this job. Then the dreaded question, “tell me about yourself? Who is Becka?”. If only you could hear the dialog that went on inside my head, I am so grateful interviewers do not have telepathic powers.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels

“You want me to tell you about myself? Who am I? I do not know the answers to these questions. What answers do I give this guy that make me sound like I have myself together? Okay, lets see, positives. I can do this. Well, I am a homeowner. No, he does not care about that. I was born and raised in this County. No, that makes me sound sheltered. I am as stubborn as a bull. No, he does not want to hear that, no one wants someone who is hard to work with on their team. Wait, can I change that to make it more positive? I am determined. Yes, there we go, that is a bit better. I like to paint. That is not a skill I need for this job though. How about, I am creative. Okay I think we are getting on to something here. It is all about wording, right?”

I managed to come up with a couple more details about myself that I was able to put a positive spin on. My interviewer also thought it was great that I was born and raised here, he did not see me as sheltered, he saw me as aware of the area. To him, it made me a good candidate to communicate with customers and be familiar with what people in this area need. Spoiler alert, I got the job.

Photo by Valeria Ushakova from Pexels

In my Instagram Bio, I describe myself as, County Grown, a phrase a lot of the locals here use to separate us from the short- and long-term tourists. Marketing Student, what I am currently attempting to do with my life. Dog and Frog Mom, who currently have my heart. Pretend artist, what I like to do any chance I get, although I am not good by any means. So, this is how I describe myself on a personal page, but I am not convinced this would be ideal for a professional one. How do I make it professional? This is something I do not have a clue on.

I made a post on my Facebook account, asking my friends and family to leave a few characteristics they think of when they think of me. I received so many responses from people, they were all so kind and a lot of people said things I would not have even thought of. A couple people commented artistic, I stuck to that. Art is something I love to do, one of my passions. I thought of the ways I can use this to create my personal brand, eventually coming up with enough ideas to finally get a start on my assignment.

The truth is, I do not know who I am yet. I am not sure if you ever really know, you are always growing and changing. So, for now, I am just artistic Becka. What is your brand?

Facebook; Personal Branding: Who Am I? https://bit.ly/34KRcFS

Twitter; Personal Branding: Who Am I? https://bit.ly/34KRcFS

The Digital World; Bringing Us Closer, or Breaking Us Apart?

I remember back in the mid 2000s my Aunt in England made a Facebook account. My whole family was so excited, we would be able to talk and share pictures with her now. She could also connect us with my Great Grandma who we all loved dearly despite only seeing once every couple of years. I had always seen social media as a great thing to bring us closer to the ones we loved from a distance, but as time went on, I became more and more skeptical of social media. I had started to see it in a different light, rather than seeing it bring us closer to those farther away, I saw it separating us from the people sitting right in front of us.

Photo by Roman Odintsov from Pexels

Before the digital world really took off, you would go to the park and see parents talking with other parents. There would be parents playing on the jungle gyms with the kids, or just watching them play. There would be a few pictures snapped here and there. Everyone was just living in the moment. Now if you go to the park, you will probably see a lot of parents sitting away from each other, completely unaware of the world around them while they focus on whatever funny meme or gif is on their phone. When teenagers have sleepovers, their time is no longer spent doing silly makeovers while they talk about boys. It is spent online, almost as if they were alone.

By the time I graduated high school I was beginning to hate social media. I felt I had been robbed of genuine time with the people I cared about, so much of the time shared together had been spent liking and sharing posts made by people we barely even knew. Why were strangers from behind a screen getting the attention that the people right in front of us used to get? What was so interesting online that real experiences were suddenly boring? I struggled with these questions for quite some time, I even deleted my social media accounts for a few months.

Photo by Los Muertos Crew from Pexels

However, once the pandemic hit, I began to find a new love for social media. It has helped me to stay connected with so many people I would have otherwise lost contact with. I have been able to maintain friendships and stay up to date on their lives despite it being over a year since I have seen many of them. I have been able to watch my cousins baby grow through pictures and videos. I have never met this sweet babe, but because of social media I still feel like I know him. I was even able to see his first steps thanks to the power of Facebook and his Moms quick camera skills. I find myself becoming more grateful for social media as time goes on.

This blog breaks it down and discusses both sides very well. https://gunnar.com/blog/effects-of-social-media/

Where do you stand on social media? Do you believe it separates you from real life, or do you think it just enhances it?

Facebook; The Digital World; Bringing Us Closer, or Breaking Us Apart? https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/?p=108595

Twitter; Digital World, Good or Bad? https://bit.ly/2QNknVK