The Construction of Self

A hot topic today is self. Simply put, you are the sole beneficiary of your self. In essence, you reap what you sow. We create the self in numerous ways, and as much as it is concrete, it is fluid and ever changing. Today we construct the self with different tools and systems such as networks; including friends, family, and institutions we are a part of.

Much of today’s self-construction comes from social networking. Focus on identity is aided greatly- both simplified and confusing- by this system. It’s a process that is largely decided by the ideas constructed through social networking.

Identity is silly today; a matter to be joked about as we see and identify among new trends from day to day. For example: deactivating Facebook, of which largely played a part in the creation of my own self, and re-establishing my identity played a huge role in the identification of this experience (self creation and self identity establishment). Pychology of the self today is, in contrast to the past, much more of something that is personally reflected and decided alone. Ritual is less of a deciding factor in the maturation processes.

There’s an odd creation of self that exists in the cyber arena, causing confusion in the construct that is self. Many people claim that selfrealization is a process that comes as a natural occurrence as well as a cyber realization. Such as “Nixie Felis” aka Tiffany Williams, VCU Undergrad student that like many today decided to change her Facebook name as an assertion of a changed identity.

“I’m a different person now,” says Nixie on her changed self. She that Facebook allows you to create a character for your self, “building” who you are. Nixie says she wants a fresh start, and that she has “taken advantage of [construction of self], the power to be who I really want, and to alter who people see me as.”

Facebook lends more freedom to create our self, as well as possibility

“Identity is silly today; a matter to be joked about as we see and identify among new trends from day to day.”

for more experimentation, such as changing your name. The information you reveal in the “about me” on Facebook may be filtered because of many social, cognitive, and/or emotional reasoning. All of which can play a large part in constructing identity. In essence, meta-analysis regarding self and its construction occurs as a product of social network.

“I can be whoever I want, “ says Nixie.

Freedom from self or escape from a constant, unchanging self is a goal for many. We spend most of our lives discovering a solid idea of what our self is; it seems exhausting and possibly insignificant to being what we are. Creation of self is a natural, healthy occurrence, but also to break it down, and let go- being trapped in one’s self may be more uncomfortable that not knowing your self, or caring.