WK 5 Identity

 

As the ancient Greeks would have it: “Know thyself”. This is one of the fundamental goals in life, however it is by no means self-evident whether we can truly know ourselves, just as it is difficult to pursue truth and have the humility to understand one`s own ignorance about who they are but also who they could be. This is not least because we are constantly changing our goals and perspectives, at least we can become more aware of some of our underlying principles, aspirations and traits and by doing so predict our orientation in life. In this way I would extract the following notions about myself: curious, seeking to establish balance, interested to see what my capacity is for both good and evil and knowing how much truth I can take.

Living a life between the online and offline world is becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do for young millennials. According to “Straddling Online and Offline Profiles, Millennials Search for Identity” by Rachel Lowry, nearly 25% of all millennials feel authentic only when they are alone and not using social media. There is a proclivity to self-promote and indulge in social media nowadays just for the sake of finding a job. In certain cases, it is extremely difficult to get a job when one doesn’t have a social media account or LinkedIn page. In a study 4,056 people between the ages 15-25 were asked when they felt authentic both online and offline. Most of them would accentuate their “value” online and make themselves appear even cooler than they think they are. Only half of them believe that they are authentic and genuine. One way to combat this according to Katie Greer, a nation-wide Internet and technology safety trainer, is to spend less time using our screens and actually trying to achieve the life we are presenting as having online. A good way to know who someone is, is to look at their actions rather than words and their persona projections online. Only if used genuinely could social media become a powerful tool .