Mark Poster
Postmodern Virtualities
As I read through the initial part of this text I was immediately drawing connections to some of the most recent articles that I read for another course I am enrolled in. Discussing specifically how this new postmodern way of virtual life, commerce, and communication affect the way we perceive and form our ideas of identity. This is interesting to me on many levels, as a communications and public relations student, I am intrigued to understand the intricacies of how this digital form of interactive communication and message affects the way people see themselves within it.
I tried to apply this to my own understanding by thinking of how elusive an online identity can be, and specifically how endlessly malleable it has become in this era of social media communications. A persona or “vibe” of a social media account reflects a user’s “avatar” but that is no longer definitive nor concrete. A reputation is built on observations and is culturally constructed, but an online persona or identity is built and maintained by the individual. You can change your expressed identity freely now, and this causes me to ask the question of what happens to the user’s perceived identity in this era?
On this same thread the article titled: “How Disney magic and the corporate media shape youth identity in the digital age” author, Henry Giroux talks about the effect that Disney in their marketing campaigns have on the formation of identity in the youths of America. In unison with some of the other theorists, we discuss in class this article critics the way Disney makes its fortune. Although I don’t entirely agree with the core argument of Disney’s corruption of youth, I think it is a relevant and thought-provoking critic of this multi-billion dollar empire. Specifically referencing how the digital push of Disney media into the hands of children has shifted the identity formation of children to solely that of a functioning consumer. Emphasizing the child’s role as a consumer rather than a curious thinker or purely a child.
Given that I have been raised in a media-saturated culture, and my childhood experience was largely shaped by Disney media and "magic" I wonder how much of the ideas I have of myself were constructed by the marketing campaigns of this empire.
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