Analysis:
Self-representation is becoming a hugely prevalent part of today’s society. You can see it everywhere! Social media, wearable devices, the clothing we wear, even the vehicles we drive represent ourselves in some way or another. Whether we know it or not, we are always “broadcasting” ourselves to those around us. The use of social media in our daily lives has vastly expanded our ability to express thoughts, emotions, and ideas with each other. This is, however, not a new phenomena. For hundreds of years, people have kept journals, written autobiographies, or painted pictures of themselves. Some of these have been shared with the public to varying degrees, while much of it has been kept secret, allowing us to reflect on our own thoughts.
Toward the end of the chapter, the author writes about how our representations may not always be conveyed clearly. She also brings up the willingness of some people to use the anonymous nature of the internet to bully or judge others. Her examples include using derogatory words toward bloggers or Twitter users. But, it doesn’t stop there, nor is it explicitly toward women. This happens on forum sites, in video games, or just about any time people converse online. Some of these instances could be due to misunderstandings among users, others may simply to be demeaning toward others with little fear of punishment. In any case, one way we may be able to help reduce those incidents is to try remembering that there is another living being on the other side of the text we read.
Key Terms and Main Ideas:
- Self-Representation: How we share our personal thoughts or experience with others, reflects how we wish to be viewed by others.
- 3 “Modes” of Self-representation
- Written: Through the use of diaries, blogs, journals, or books.
- Visual: Through the use of pictures, selfies, or drawings.
- Quantitative: Through the use of graphs, activity trackers, budgets, or log books.
- Filter: Picking and choosing what or how we represent ourselves, to best convey how we wish depicted.
One of the most important concepts of this chapter is that even though technology and education has made self representation more common than ever before, it’s existence has been around for a very, very long time. Jill Walker Rettberg, the author, also details many good and bad aspects of the internet regarding our self-representations.
Summary:
The first chapter of Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, provides us with a background story of how self-representation has evolved over time. Jill Walker Rettberg, discusses, in detail, how three ways of self expression have changed and what that means in today’s society.
Writing has been around for thousands of years, and with that a way of expressing our thoughts. Written personal reflections and autobiographies were not always as accessible as they are now. Barriers such as the expense of paper or the illiteracy of the population were often difficult to overcome in the early seventeenth century. With increased literacy and more accessible materials, personal diaries were common in the late eighteenth century. Early diaries were often religious in nature. Many religions used the diaries to help participants keep track of their sins and spiritual exercises. Nowadays, a great number of people keep daily reflections either on paper or online.
Visual self-representation has had many forms over the years. Paintings, carvings, drawings, or photographs all fall into this category. Before cameras, artists would often use their own likeness in the characters they drew. Some such items became collectibles in their time. With the invention of the camera, self portraits became increasingly common. The first cameras were large, obstructive objects that often obscured the photographer. Today, we have cameras built into our smart phones, with front facing lenses. This has given rise to the “selfie.”
Quantitative self- representation is harder to explain, but no less important. The use of accounting records, time logs, and shopping lists are covered in this category. Benjamin Franklin explained, in his autobiography, how he used a daily chart of the values he wanted to improve in. On his chart he placed a mark next the any value that he considered poorly completed that day. Through this manner he was able to improve his self-image and become the man he wanted to be. A similar thing is done by parents and teachers today. Star charts can be used to indicate when a child has done their chores or been particularly good. Activity trackers also help us quantify ourselves. They show us how far we have run, or how much sleep we got. This can be shared with others, or kept for ourselves, and used for personal improvement.
The final section discussed how we view others online. In it she describes how, by just reading and observing what others are saying, we become detached from each other and take on the views of a more traditional text. However, if we reply and become a part of the conversation, we are more likely to view the text as a person’s thoughts.
Cranial Notations 