MODULE 3, Entry 2 of 2.
My Online/Offline Identities
This may seem very unlikely in this day and age, but I have no self-created social media posts on SNS! But we will continue to dissect what exactly I have on all my active SNS accounts (i.e. Tumblr, Pinterest and Facebook), and discuss my overall lack of self-created posts.
These two posts are the only things I’ve added to my timeline in the last half year. They’re posted by my Mom and my older sister, respectively, who are more active on Facebook than I am. I don’t really use Facebook so much for anything. I haven’t updated my profile picture or cover photo in over a year! :( But I do use Messenger a lot, mostly for school-related communication or with friends.
Tumblr
My real-life Tumblr account mirrors the same findings. I don’t create my own posts, and only reblog those that I find funny or interesting. I usually use Tumblr as a source for fandom meta-analysis, in-depth astrology updates, and obscure linguistics and Roman history posts. I feel like my account is very disorganized, which is uncharacteristic of me, a person who labels everything and plans out things to a tee. Tumblr gives me an avenue to be in the moment, to like what I like and post whatever. Tumblr is also an excellent source for a wide variety of esoteric topics, a huge factor in my constant use.
To get a more organized understanding of my online interests (as Tumblr posts are numerous and not very organized), we will look at my Pinterest boards.
Pinterest also allows for a diverse slew of topics of interest, except without Tumblr’s user input. But Pinterest is more organized because it provides boards. And I think, with 374 followers, I am able to relate my ideas more with the community without really interacting with them. My interest are mostly fandom-centered (e.g. Game of Thrones, Maze Runner, Harry Potter, Les Mis, etc.). I have a few boards on KPOP, but they stopped being active after I lost interest. I have my girly boards with clothes and make-up and aesthetics. My most popular and extensive board is the one on humor!
Discussion
I believe several things have contributed to my lack of self-created posts:
I didn’t grow up with social media. My mother in particular didn’t allow me an email or a Facebook account until I was 16. So most of my life was not centered around chatting or online life. In fact, I don’t like chat-messaging for hours on end! This explains a lot about my inactivity on Facebook, for example. Updating people about everything going on in my life seems a bit tedious and somewhat narcissistic unnecessary for someone who was only exposed to the culture for two years. In this sense, I am more of an offline entity than an online one.
My offline shyness translates into my online persona too. I avoid allowing posts that show unflattering angles or shots on my timeline, and I (like in real life) feel that I’d be a little self-absorbed if I started doing that.
I only really stick with sites that hold my interest. I believe I mentioned in my other blog entry that I love information. I can spend hours looking up the most obscure topics because they make me happy. Online too. This is why my accounts on Snapchat and Twitter started becoming inactive after a few weeks.
The sense of community is enough for me. Knowing that other people are interested in my pins, or seeing my friends on my timeline from time to time is enough for me to feel “at home” in my virtual world. Sometimes I leave comments or reacts on Facebook. I leave likes on Pinterest. On Tumblr, I leave anonymous comments on my the page of my mutual, Sydney Clark (@trulymadlysydney), who’s been like a sister to me in the year I’ve been on Tumblr, telling her how I’ve been or congratulating her on her latest achievement.
In all, my virtual persona is very, very similar to my actual personality. I believe it is the product of a restricted upbringing, in the sense that online life was never really part of my life until recently. I carry a lot of myself into my virtual world (my shyness, my punny humor, etc), whilst exploring the topics that interest me in real life (fandoms, Roman history, French language, and so on).










