Markey Writes

I heard this interview this week with a musician who was commenting on the use of social media by young adults. There were two points that to his argument – first, he had noticed during the last couple of shows he did, that the audience, made up of mostly young adults between 18-25, were no longer using their cell phones during the concert. In the past many of them would be at the concert texting, or taking pictures or recording video. On the last tour, he said, this phenomenon was much less. The conclusion he came to was that social media had surpassed the hump of experience. That young adults were no longer as interested in experiencing what was in front of them through small phones or computers, but rather, were turning back to actually experiencing it through their own senses. 

The second point that he made was that this was a good thing and that it was time to move beyond this constant imaging of ourselves. That part of the appeal of social media is that we can control and shape how the world sees us at every moment of our day. We decide what to post or tweet; what to like or share. The digital interaction that we now have with others also establishes a basis upon which we are judged or from which others will determine their opinions of us. 

Is this true? Do we use social media (or even take this blog for example) to put on our virtual makeup? I remember when I first started using Instagram, it was amazing. All of a sudden I could make every picture that I took look incredible. I suddenly had this sense that I was showing the world what I looked like at my best (even if it was slightly digitally altered)… ok so not at my actual best, but perhaps my potential? How can something like this work to alter our understandings of ourselves? Do we start to shape our own identities through these alternate realities?

Returning to the interview, I also went to a concert about a year and a half ago where I witnessed this obsession in the audience with their digital devices. I went to support a friend’s band who I hadn’t seen play live in a couple of years. I had forgotten how pop-y their music was and how young the audience would be. Most of the people who came out to see the show were probably between 18-25, and most spent 75% of the time at the show on their phones. It was absolutely remarkable as a point for social commentary. Why would you come out to a live show, only to spend the entire time on your digital phone? Although only slightly older than the audience, I suddenly felt like I had grown up in the dark ages of enjoying music sans facebook. 

Perhaps it would be interesting to take off some of the hypothetical makeup the next time we partake in social media. Lets try it and see what happens.