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Sharie McNeil

Paul Shovlin

English 1510

20 April 2020

The Reflection of Awareness

As the days and years move along my attraction to seek knowledge continues to grow.

Although I prefer to research, read about and receive education regarding something that sparks

my interest, I’ll take any knowledge that expands literacy, knowledge and skills. As I expand my

horizons on this journey I call life, new information is received and processed every day. I’ve

learned over the last few weeks that literacy is far more than the basic ability to read and write

and that the power it holds has the ability to change lives in more ways to one. Social media is

one newer form of literacy recently introduced to society that has a major impact on the lives of

the user. Just about every aspect of technology and social media can be regarded in a negative

way, outweighing any positive aspect one can offer or argue and several other writers agree.

In the beginning weeks of my college English class, I was introduced to different styles

and ways for a writer to deliver or discuss their point of view and perspective on a specific topic.

Before I was given a selected set of readings it was asked that I define literacy, in my own

words, basically from my understanding and dictionary definitions could not be used. I thought,

simple and easy, who needs a dictionary to define that. Therefore, literacy to me was defined as

the ability to read, write and understand. Introduced to Richard Ohmann, writer of an article

titled “Literacy, Technology, and Monopoly Capital”, had me second guessing my definition of

the term. He brought it to my intention how literacy can come in many forms and one form is a

direct relation to technology and use of social media. Literacy in its relation to social media is a
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social activity that requires a skill and understanding for communication and interaction to

successfully occur with society. Knowledge of literacy was not new to me at the time yet the

views and perspectives presented to me were.

Although I am pretty computer literate and quite the social butterfly, I have never been a

big fan of social media or the internet access available to its users, especially for teens. Back

when I was coming up we had type writing class, using the old school ding, ting typewriter. My

senior year of high school technology was just taking off and society was introduced to the

internet and the connection to America Online (AOL). AOL was a web server that connected

millions of Americans that offered internet web search, instant messaging and emails through

dial-up phone services. AOL was a new gateway, entering and taking over the all the homes with

home phone service, a computer and a free trial offer disc of AOL services.

I had no idea or thought until my English class that computers and technology are

powerful forms of knowledge and that literacy actually began many years ago back in

elementary school, for me, with large IBM computers and floppy disc. My point in describing

AOL is that, users back almost twenty-five years ago were then able to connect, communicate,

create and adjust user profiles. I remember a friend of mine who would log into AOL and engage

in chat conversations with other users a lot of the time joking, not being serious, and faking who

she was on the other end. She would change her age so older guys would chat with her, act like a

boy just to see what the girl users say or just play around. As the user, she was manipulating her

identity and changing her intentions in the digital world as easy as one, two, three. There were a

lot of positives AOL had to offer yet the reality I was presented with, in regards to my friend

‘playing on the internet’, didn’t sit well with me and I believe it was then that my real internet

social media issues began. I didn’t realize this until after reading “Personal Identity in the Age of
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the App” by Gardner and Davis. The writing was an elaboration on social media and the effects

it has on the youth.

Gardner and Davis discuss how social media gives people, especially the youth, time and

tools to create an attractive, accepted identity or profile as well as an audience to perform for.

Same as for my friend using AOL years ago, that freedom and audience platform was part of her

driving force and I don’t see where much has changed today. That kind of engagement plays a

role on one’s self-identity especially for teens and the youth who are still growing and

developing. Self-identity to me is a person’s reflection of their self and how one identifies with

personality, skills, groups and things like culture. As Gardner and Davis mentions in their

writing, social media helps portray this perfect life to others, creating competition and pressure

for users, especially the youth. Users seem to have a weight riding on their shoulder to have this

perfect life that social media portrays others to have.

For most kids, that stage of self- identity usually starts during adolescence about the age

of twelve, in which teens explore into independence and start to develop a sense of their self.

Therefore, as an adult user, I can see how social media by giving the freedom and power to

create and manipulate a peer reflected identity could have a negative effect on a user’s reality of

self-identity in the real world. This is why I worry for my children and I always try to bring them

to a reality check. My youngest son, twelve years old, is what I like to call the biggest stunt

artist. I say that because he has to stage pictures just to make a point or statement without using

so many words. Just to impress his friends or try to show off and make it look like his character

is this portrayed image mimicking rap artist and other peers, he took a one-hundred dollar bill,

changed it for one-hundred ones and took pictures flashing different poses by nice cars, all for
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Instagram post. He doesn’t live the lifestyle his pictures are portraying but yet all his other

friends take nice, ‘beasty’ pictures with chains in flashy clothes so he wants to do the same thing.

I remind both of my kids to be mindful of social media and the lies or deceit possibility

delivered to them. Pointing out that if they can create, stunt and pose for their audience then it’s

quite possible your audience is putting on a show for you as well. Therefore, keeping it real and

understanding the reality of what it is will guide you on a more positive, secure, successful life.

Otherwise, they will struggle with reality and the real world because they are so use to creating

these false identities that they won’t even know their real self. I made my kids read the article

titled “Instagram ranked worst for young people’s mental health: Young people back RSPH call

for pop-up heavy usage warning on social media in a new report” by RSPH and The Young

Health Movement. I wanted them to be aware of how powerful, how influencing and damaging

social media could be. The article pointed out how the constant engagement, peer influence and

use of social media can cause teens to carry this ‘image’ if they want to be accepted or approved.

Depression, anxiety and identity issues have affected many users of Instagram due to a lack of

expected number of likes, comments or social emoji’s, mean or negative comments and bullying.

Overall, I really enjoyed the readings presented in my college English class this semester.

It was more than interesting reads with different perspectives and good topics to reflect on, it

became knowledge and awareness that I could share and pass along. Technology and literacy are

two powerful tools and when paired with the use of social media it could be a bad thing. By

being more aware of the power of literacy and the use of social media I am able to be more

mindful, more cautious and more in control with the digital world. My kids will also benefit as

they are now aware and can share with friends about the literacy, power and influence of social

media.
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Work Cited

Gardner and Davis. “Personal Identity in the Age of the App.” The App Generation Book: How

Today's Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World, (pp. 60-

91). 2013, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Ohmann, Richard. “Literacy, Technology, and Monopoly Capital.” College English, 1985, pp.

22-33.

RSPH and The Young Health Movement. “Instagram ranked worst for young people’s mental

health: Young people back RSPH call for pop-up heavy usage warning on social media in

a new report.” Younger People. 2017.