The Power of Sharing
Foucault talks about ‘subjectivation’, in which I believe he
means the relationships which form us to who we are. Because my definition is
of subjectivation is so broad, let me use social media as an example to clarify
what I mean by this. When you log onto Facebook, you either go on to check your
newsfeed, or to post something… maybe even both. Regardless of what you do on Facebook,
it will always have to do with the relationships you have with your Facebook
“friends.
Everything you see on Facebook is circulated
or generated by the people you accepted or added as your “friend”. For example,
when you go down your newsfeed you can go from watching a police shooting video
to a video of a puppy taking a nap. If you scroll even more, you can go from
reading a cooking recipe to a photo album of a friend’s birthday in Mexico
City. However, all these diverse content comes from your friends, and your
friends only with the power of sharing.
What Foucault tries to make a point
at is the fact that users share content in order to build themselves an image. Before
reading about Foucault and social media, I never thought of “sharing “ as anything more than your
friends trying to share the news or entertainment. However, now that I think
about it, I see a pattern in the content I personally share as well. I don’t
just share anything; I share certain things that I find interesting or
appealing to me. If you go down my Facebook wall you will see a pattern of
dogs, cosmetics, food or funny memes. I share these things because I don’t mind
people knowing a few of the things I am interested in.
Because of what I decided
to share, I built a specific image of myself. My Facebook page makes most
people think that I only like dogs, food and makeup. However, what they don’t know
is that I am actually interested in a lot of other things as well, I just don’t
share it ALL.
Here are two links that I would share on my Facebook wall:
One article is related to skin care, while the other article
talks about the beauty industry and retailers. These are both topics I don’t
mind discussing with others about. I work for a beauty retailer, and I am
really into skin care myself, therefore I don’t mind sharing that with others.
Here are two links that I would not share on my Facebook wall,
however I still find interesting.
The first article breaks down the Muslim ban that Trump is
supporting. Although I find this interesting and informative, I would not share
it because I don’t feel comfortable talking about politics. If I were to share
this, I would then receive
different comments that I would not want to respond to, so why put myself in
that situation. The second article talks about tips on ways to save money. Even though I find this article to be
really useful and educational, I would not share it because I wouldn’t want
others to think I have a spending problem or any other assumptions.
According to Tim Rayner, author of “Foucault and social
media: life in a virtual panopticon“ We share things knowing other people will
see it. Rayner states, “Mostly, when we share content on social media services,
we do it transparently, visibly, that is in the presence of a crowd. The act of
sharing is a performance, to an extent". We carry out what Foucault knows as 'subjectivation' in social media everyday. On social media we share things and
build the relationships which form us to who we are.
Sources:
Rayner, Tim. "Foucault and Social Media: Life in a Virtual Panopticon." Philosophy for Change. N.p., 11 Nov. 2012. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
Adams, Rebecca. "The 8 Skincare Secrets You Need To Know Now, According To Dr. Perricone." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
Halzack, Sarah. "The Sephora Effect: How the Cosmetics Retailer Transformed the Beauty Industry." The Washington Post. WP Company, 09 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
Krol, James Rothwell; Charlotte. "Everything You Need to Know about Donald Trump's 'Muslim Ban' ." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 29 Jan. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.
"8 Simple Ways to save Money." Bank Of America, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2017.
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