Week 15

 My Not So Social, Social Media

Ever since I started using the internet, my parents have instilled the values in me to be cautious of what I put online, since it will be out there forever. Obviously, being a 10 year old kid when I started a Facebook account, I was extremely worried about the things I said and liked because of my parent's influence. Thus, I generally only played awful Facebook games to pass the time. Now, I can't thank my parents enough for making me afraid because of the collecting of data Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. conducts on their consumers. I remember how terrifying it was the first time I got a targeted ad: it was for an Xbox controller after just looking up on amazon the price of one. After this event, I have been extremely careful about using a VPN, what browser I use, and what search engine I use.

How Large is my Online Footprint?

Today, I own a Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and a LinkedIn. However, I hardly ever use any of these services for their intended purposes. My main use for Facebook is to tell people thank you for wishing my a happy birthday and that is it. For Instagram, I only look for tattoo artists around my area who can tattoo in the art style I prefer, as well as looking at meme accounts that pop up in my feed every now and then. Snapchat is the social media outlet I use the most, which I use to converse with friends and team members. Yet, I keep the find friends feature off since I hate the idea of having my friends see exactly where I am in real-time. My friends do not need to know my business to that degree. Finally, LinkedIn I use for its intended purpose of finding a job. In the game design major, we must update our account at the end of each semester in order to keep our portfolio fresh and our resume updated. 

What Private Information Have I Given Out?

Despite my lack of social media presence, I do have my own personal website. Now, this site is my portfolio for game development so potential employers can see my work and reach out to me with a job opportunity. The site gives out my full name, cell-phone number, email, and LinkedIn page. When I google my name, it is the first site that comes up for me, as well as a link to my published Gamasutra article. Even though I am not fond of having this much information about me out on the web, I know that it is necessary in order to apply for jobs online and to create a name for myself. With sites like Instagram and Facebook, the only information you will find about me is my name, birthday, high school, and personal interests, such as the games I like or the movies I watch. 

What is on my Social Media?

As I said above, I do not put much on social media. On my Instagram are five photos: One is a sushi dish, one is the Peruvian dish of beef tongue, another is Peruvian art, and the last one is my most recent tattoo. That is it. When it comes to posting online, I try to be as conscious as I can be in order to not expose too much about my personal life. In addition, my profile is also private so no random person on the internet can click on my account and see the things I have posted. Similarly, I never post to my snapchat story, not because of privacy concerns, I simply do not care enough to. I hardly spend time on the application anyway, since I only use it to keep in touch with friends. 

Does Social Media Make People Lonely?

According to this article by The Atlantic, Stephen Marche draws the question of does social media (Facebook) make us more lonely? In my opinion, the quote, "loneliness is certainly not something that Facebook or Twitter or any of the lesser forms of social media is doing to us. We are doing it to ourselves. Casting technology as some vague, impersonal spirit of history forcing our actions is a weak excuse," perfectly encapsulates the whole idea of whether or not social media makes one lonely. It all depends on how one uses social media. Lets say that subject A uses social media every single day and is in constant contact with another human being. Subject B uses it from time to time in their day, but not to the extreme that A does. Obviously, A is going to feel lonely because of their use since they have not spent any time alone. In accordance, B is less likely to feel lonely since they are able to put their phone down and enjoy something that isn't posting a status update. I absolutely believe that social media is correlated with people feeling lonely. It allows for immediate access to another person or friend group with a tap of a button. Yet, it is not the cause of loneliness. If one is to argue that Facebook is causing people to be lonely, then one would have to say the exact same thing for calling and texting. Is texting making us any lonelier? We use texting as a means to get into contact with another person for any reason, how is that any different than messaging a person on Facebook? In the end, people are addicted to social media, and addiction is a disease. These feelings of loneliness are a side effect of their addiction, meaning that these people need help for how much they use social media.