21st Century Communication

21st Century Communication

by Tayla Dale

Pinterest communication is that of an art centred world. There is the chance for the networks within the virtual space to communicate on what seems to be the same level. Pinterest has incorporated an aspect to individually communicate, an inbox. When selecting the inbox, the following message is displayed; “Send massages to plan projects, swap ideas and share your best discoveries”. An though this is a legitimate application within the forum of those who do associate with the art world, for others it is not quite the same.

The public sphere, as defined by Hauser, “a discursive space in which individuals and groups associate to discuss matters of mutual interest…” (1999, p. 61).  Some use this concept quite literally and are using the forum for its designed purpose, allowing their minds to flourish in the surrounds. Yet for other it is an excuse, or simply just a way and a means for them to stay within the ‘trends’. They have created this profile and developed a following though sharing what they think their profile should be, which is more often then not a complete opposite to what it were to be if done genuinely. There is a common trend for users to have more than one social media account, some operate up to five accounts at a constant rate. Each of these accounts produce a different side of a person. The provide a different persona in each forum even though we are seeing the acts of a single character. With reference to Hayles in McNeill’s reading, these collectives of forums related to one person becomes posthuman. As they “becomes a very useful way to account for the subjects of digital life narratives” (p.3), with each forum accounting to different narratives.

"Forum Overload"    iMore

With post humanism in account do all these users become a fake concept? They conscript themselves to certain internet persona, but is this truly them? Or should they be considered fake? Zuckerberg is spoken about within McNeill’s reading as an essence of defence to user stating their authenticity, whereas McNeill states that these are the different roles there are to play within different social circles. With all these forums the roles of any user must be consuming, with the uses of things such as different communication it must be a struggle to keep up with what forum displays what aspect. There is a change in the communication of online accounts and with this the user must conform to a certain language within the space. Such communication can be filtered to divide the users further is to shared spaces (Kuttainen, 2017). So even within these forums there are distinctive areas for individuals. But what if you were to fake your way into such areas?

Are we cyborgs in creating one’s self a technology identity? Is the new identify the reason we are connected to technology? Are we more acclaimed to our networked self than our real self? The Pinterest network is that of such an ‘artsy’ environment, and while a sanction for some it is simply another forum to others. 

Artist unknown. (2016). iMore. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.imore.com/best-free-social-networking-apps-iphone

Hauser, Gerard A. (1999). Vernacular Voices: The Rhetoric of Publics and Public Spheres. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. p. 61

Hashtages.org. Infographic: Today's Social Media User Has Multiple Accounts. [Hyperlink]. Retrieved from https://www.hashtags.org/platforms/infographic-todays-social-media-user-has-multiple-accounts/

Hayles, N. Katherine. How We Became Posthuman. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1999. Print

Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 6: Networked Narratives. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman 

Auto/Biography Biography, Volume 35, Number 1. pp. 65-82. Published by University of Hawai'i Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2012.0009