Kennedy: Beyond Anonymity

We briefly discussed Kennedy's article after we viewed MTV's show True Life: I live another life on the web and found connections between the two. I found this new media topic very intriguing. We discussed Radway's article on the theory of gratification and how media is used as a tool for power within society. It was interesting to see how each of the three girls from MTV's True Life show made use of different social media platforms, such as Second Life, to achieve and maintain power socially and culturally. Media both finds ways to contain and resist hegemony-the control by content. It was interesting to see Judy's case pan out when she felt comfortable on the internet because she sensed she had control...but when in reality did her website control her? It helped pay her rent, filled her with confidence and made her feel important. Her social disorder, anxiety, depression and insecurities may be where the issue stems from. Kennedy article on anonymity or personal identity makes an interesting point. It brought up the question if you are a continuation of your online self in the real world or if your online identity is separate than the real world. After thought, I really do think we are the same person, we just spread pieces of ourselves all around. We fragment ourselves and act in different ways on different social media sites. I don't think that a social media site can ever reveal your TRUE self.