Identity according to Social Media -by Madeline Simpson

Image 1. Tumblr. Common Symbols and Words. 2009.

This week, our discussion on the social media site Tumblr will be explained in relation to community and self-identity and how the site creates such concepts. As considered in previous blogs, there are many factors that can influence a space into becoming a place with meaning. One factor that has not yet been examined is that of Language and Naming. Just as people see landscapes and chasms that make up a physical place, language has the ability to convey narrative and create understanding or feelings. As expressed in Dr Victoria Kuttainen’s most recent lecture, narrative is fundamentally orienting and essential in understanding self & community identity as well as space and place.

In the physical world, human beings create both self-identity and community identities through personal experiences, morals and-perhaps even more importantly- outside influences such as friends and family. A narrative is simply a story, in the case of Tumblr, the space originated from the creator who invented the narrative of Tumblr. Language was and is invaluable when creating a place and holds very important when defining ones’ identity. In the virtual world, it is the written word that holds the influence. As Tuan explains “the written text, which is both more private and more public than the spoken word, has its own unique powers of transforming reality” (1991, p.690). By this logic, even written language on social media sites has the capacity to influence the real world and the people in it.

The way in which language on Tumblr influences identity is as follows. Common language used on Tumblr includes: ‘Upload, ‘Reblog’ and ‘Tagging’. To the modern human, words such as these immediately conjure images of Social media sites. By creating its own specific language with commonly used words, Tumblr users are in, so to speak, their own virtual community. As in the real world, the language along with iconography of Tumblr has created a Space in which users can express themselves as they see fit. “Naming is power-the create power to call something into being, to render the invisible visible, to impart a certain character to things” (Tuan, Y. 1991, p.688). For example, giving your personal Tumblr blog a title or a ‘name’ that is reflective of yourself as a person, will in turn bring people of similar personalities into your virtual world. As we make these connections it is possible to form smaller communities within the whole community of Tumblr. These communities will constantly grow and change as people give their opinions and post what they like.

Through Language in the world of Tumblr it is obvious that social media can and does influence our lives and our identities in the real world.

References:

Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines: Australian Aborigines-Social Life and Customs. The Spartan Press. 1(1), file:///Users/madelinejae/Downloads/getitem.jsp-11.html

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563430


Tumblr. (2009). Tumblr symbols and words. Retrieved from http://thelovewhisperer.me/post/22937495733/6-tumblr-shortcut-keys-you-might-not-know