Who Are We? Internet and Identity

Ive been doing a bit of research about social media and how it might help shape our identity or if we all use social media in some way to create a ficticious identity, always putting your best self forward, carefully choosing which selfies to put online, sharing pictures of holidays and special moments with a side of humble bragging.

Looking at social media i use, i found instagram pretty interesting seeing as its focused more on images than anything else. Looking at the top 10 followed instagram accounts there are 4 members of the Kardashian/Jenner family. A few weeks ago i read an article in a magazine by an art critic comparing Kim Kardashians instagram photos to classical art, it was really interesting but more than anything it made me wonder just how controlled and manufactured her social media is. Like is it really a coincidence that comparisons can be made between her photos and the old masters?

While i was researching this project something else came up on my social media Molly Soda posted on Tumblr about her project selfiexposure created on NewHive, this is all about how she picks and chooses which images of herself to upload onto different websites and when she releases this control how people react to images across different platforms.

Image by Molly Soda

Another thing i have been looking at is the idea of 'catfishing' this is when someone creates a fake profile using images of another person to communicate with someone online. Im pretty sure the term was coined after the film catfish which was then turned into a tv show and I've been watching a few episodes, you know, for research. For this project i want to look at the way one person can create a web of identities across the internet and whether this gives someone a sense of freedom not being judged on looks but personality, being able to tailor how they are perceived by bending the truth as much or as little as they want. Is this a positive influence in someones life? Is living a fantasy on the internet freeing or just leaving you more unhappy and constrained feeling in your own life?