Media and collective identity
1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'
5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?
I personally try to put the best image of myself on the internet without invading my privacy; for example I don't put selfies or any pictures of my face on the internet because I like the sense of mystery and it keeps me more private.
6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?
Yes I don't mind companies advertising products to me based on my social media presence and online search terms because I don't want to see things I'm not interested in. No it's not an invasion of privacy because they are only advertising things you said you are interested in, not random products.
How we perceived ourselves and how we presented ourselves was based on the social constructs that defined the interpersonal relationships within the groups we found ourselves in. Our identity would have been based around aspects of our lives that were constructed outside of our selves; class, religion, gender and the predetermined roles that were part of the accident of the family we were born into.
The idea that identity could be constructed in terms of an externalised image came in the post-industrial consumer boom of the early 20th century where there was a deliberate move to encourage people to adopt an identity that Edward Bernays (arguably the originator of modern notions of Public Relations and propaganda) said was based not on behaving as ‘active citizens but as passive consumers’.
The 70s and 80s saw the rise of lifestyle marketing and the importance of brands. Branding is the association of a ‘personality’ with a product. Advertisers sell the personality rather than the product, so that people will choose products that match their own self-image. The product is seen to help create and be part of that image. Lifestyle marketing works on connotations. Products are linked to certain individuality types of lifestyle. These lifestyles in turn are linked to a range of values, and so an individual would be drawn to products which reflect the lifestyle they have or, perhaps more frequently, those they want.
2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.
Apple - they reflect my sense of identity because they promote vibrancy, youth and creativity.
The 70s and 80s saw the rise of lifestyle marketing and the importance of brands. Branding is the association of a ‘personality’ with a product. Advertisers sell the personality rather than the product, so that people will choose products that match their own self-image. The product is seen to help create and be part of that image. Lifestyle marketing works on connotations. Products are linked to certain individuality types of lifestyle. These lifestyles in turn are linked to a range of values, and so an individual would be drawn to products which reflect the lifestyle they have or, perhaps more frequently, those they want.
2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.
Apple - they reflect my sense of identity because they promote vibrancy, youth and creativity.
Adidas - style and comfort.
Mercedes Benz - creativity, style and luxury.
Dsquared2 - Unique, high end and quality
Sony - innovative, quality and creativity.
3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
It means the appereance of the brand and it's publicity is more important than the actual quality. I believe that's true and it occurs regularly because it's cost-effective for brands and companies however I personally make sure I get the best quality whenever I purchase or consume something.
4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.
French theorist Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) was one of the foremost intellectual figures of the present age whose work combines philosophy, social theory, and an idiosyncratic cultural metaphysics that reflects on key events of phenomena of the epoch. In a similar fashion, Baudrillard claims that in the media and consumer society, people are caught up in the play of images, spectacles, and simulacra, that have less and less relationship to an outside, to an external “reality,” to such an extent that the very concepts of the social, political, or even “reality” no longer seem to have any meaning. And the narcotised and mesmeriser media-saturated consciousness is in such a state of fascination with image and spectacle that the concept of meaning itself dissolves.
Mercedes Benz - creativity, style and luxury.
Dsquared2 - Unique, high end and quality
Sony - innovative, quality and creativity.
3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
It means the appereance of the brand and it's publicity is more important than the actual quality. I believe that's true and it occurs regularly because it's cost-effective for brands and companies however I personally make sure I get the best quality whenever I purchase or consume something.
4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.
French theorist Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) was one of the foremost intellectual figures of the present age whose work combines philosophy, social theory, and an idiosyncratic cultural metaphysics that reflects on key events of phenomena of the epoch. In a similar fashion, Baudrillard claims that in the media and consumer society, people are caught up in the play of images, spectacles, and simulacra, that have less and less relationship to an outside, to an external “reality,” to such an extent that the very concepts of the social, political, or even “reality” no longer seem to have any meaning. And the narcotised and mesmeriser media-saturated consciousness is in such a state of fascination with image and spectacle that the concept of meaning itself dissolves.
5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?
I personally try to put the best image of myself on the internet without invading my privacy; for example I don't put selfies or any pictures of my face on the internet because I like the sense of mystery and it keeps me more private.
6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?
Yes I don't mind companies advertising products to me based on my social media presence and online search terms because I don't want to see things I'm not interested in. No it's not an invasion of privacy because they are only advertising things you said you are interested in, not random products.
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