Like the spaces we frequent in the physical world, each social app serves a different and fairly obvious purpose. If LinkedIn is a job fair of sorts, Instagram is a playground or a party. Both are bright, noisy and exhausting at the same time. The differences between these platforms are well known.
But these are the places we go to every day, with shifts in each. We flip through several apps every day, the most famous of which are without a doubt TikTok, Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. In some, our tone may be casual. Another, indignant. These are emotions expressed every day, sometimes at the same time, with different interfaces that display alternate views, moods, and even personas.
Tweet may have been deleted
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new window)
How much are we really shape-shifting across social media? After all, there are many.
Samara Madhvani, who runs a boutique social media consultancy(opens in new window)says what she shares on TikTok is very different from what she posts on Instagram.
“Most of my friends don’t use it. [TikTok]So I feel like I can post more freely without being criticized,” she told Mashable.
On TikTok, everyone is on their TV show
Similarly, brand management and development specialist MaryKate told Mashable that Snapchat is the only way she shows her “complete authentic self.”
“Snapchat [my] Meanwhile, she uses Instagram to post “pictures of things, travels and the occasional selfie.” TikTok is for more niche interests that post “drone footage and animal footage.” Twitter is a point of conflict. , she feels more filtered.
“Each social media platform feels like a part of me,” she says.
Essentially, these apps are meant to be presented in curated forms that users want. Apps like BeReal have attempted to offer a different facet to social media on the premise that users can be their most authentic selves. But really, it’s another platform that’s asking the user something. So who are you in this moment? What do you show?
“Looking at our behavior across social media, our personality on the platform depends on how we perceive its use.”
Leah Chopra(opens in new window)Writer and journalist says he is careful about his personal life and is selective when it comes to posting on all platforms.
“The aspects of my personality that I choose to show are different on each platform,” she says. , depends on how you perceive its use.LinkedIn is perceived as a professional space for me, so I’m a professional there.Instagram is for personal connections. So I’m more likely to post birthday posts there, and Twitter is more of a stream of consciousness.
Tweet may have been deleted
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new window)
Being human means that we must change daily, both situationally and socially. This is not news for adults. At work, you may be a far cry from you at home.What you show your close friends can deviate from who you are with your siblings.(opens in new window)especially in workplaces with prejudice based on factors such as speech(opens in new window) It’s been a bad influence for a long time. These very subtle changes that occur are almost always instinctive. But if this also applies to the Internet, identities are in constant flux.
For many users, this is a natural aspect of having multiple social media accounts.It’s almost a given: building and curating exercises(opens in new window)for many reasons.
For example, being a woman and being marginalized on social media has its problems. These are things that can greatly discourage people from choosing to share or talk about them on public platforms. Say autumn(opens in new window)the author of How to stay safe online(opens in new window), covered this extensively in her guidebook to the Internet. “The idea of online platforms being neutral is a fairy tale. It is not a few bad apples that ruin the rest of our experience. The very DNA of these platforms is the best interests and It’s a contradiction,” writes Akiwowo. “Women and girls around the world are walking on eggshells for fear of online abuse.”
2017 Plan International research(opens in new window)Akiwowo, citing 43% of girls aged 11 to 18, admitted to withholding their opinions on social media for fear of being criticized. Self-censorship is obviously an issue with all of her social apps, but it’s heightened when it comes to young girls doing so for their own safety online.
“Women can post on almost any topic, including animal rights, climate change, and health care, but abuse usually follows,” Akiwowo wrote.
Then there are important factors that everyone faces, such as who your followers are and whether your account is private. They also play a natural role in choosing how to behave on a particular platform. This is probably what led to the proliferation of ‘finsta’ a few years ago and now seemingly nearly extinct. , is now an outdated concept, overshadowed by integrated features such as Instagram’s Close Friends and Twitter Circles. These demands imply a greater desire to post and interact in a variety of ways, even within the space of a single app.
Madhvani believes that complete and complete authenticity is difficult to achieve on any platform. “Even comments and likes on other people’s content leave a digital footprint,” she says. “Today, everything people post is curated to some degree. After all, people post and share it for a purpose, like looking a certain way, getting more followers, or selling a product. increase.”
Tweet may have been deleted
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new window)
Alex Quicho, Head of Futures at trend agency Canvas8(opens in new window)suggests that there is a positive side to the changes we experience in apps, saying that social media can play a role in “trying out different aspects of one’s persona.”
“Today’s users are less concerned with projecting a stable image or personal brand,” says Quicho. “I see a lot of his Gen Z have exploratory attitudes about how they appear on social platforms. I regard it as.”
In this way, having different types of social media can provide avenues to cross identities and explore different interests. The possible problem is not utilizing these purpose-driven platforms.You can burn out in these spaces instead(opens in new window)which is already a possibility hanging(opens in new window) For everyone using social media.
Tweet may have been deleted
(opens in new tab)
(opens in new window)
Chopra is increasingly “cross-posting” between platforms in order to consolidate content and present her comprehensive self.
“It’s unconscious, but maybe it’s my bid to be more ‘me’ everywhere. Everywhere reflects a more holistic sense of my personality,” she explains.
Let’s be honest, credibility and social media have little to do with each other. Some social media users are increasingly pursuing this concept, trying to be themselves on platforms designed to allow the opposite. But living in a digital age with an influx of apps at your disposal means having multiple public faces.
