By Dino Sossi, Updated November 25, 2020
https://dinosossi.wordpress.com/2019/01/02/why-do-we-socialize-online-4-theories/
Figure #1 – If you can’t make it for cocktails, I’ll see you on Facebook (Senior & Co., n.d.)
The number of people online is staggering.
It was estimated that there are 4.66 billion active internet users, which is about 59% of the world’s population (Clement, 2020a).
As you would imagine, the amount of people on social media is slightly less, but equally noteworthy–approximately 3.81 billion (Dean, 2020). This number has been projected to grow to an astonishing 4.41 billion by 2025 (Clement, 2020b).
That sure is a lot of eyeballs.
This large number of users begs a simple, but somewhat more profound, question…
Why are we online?
Social Media Participation: Four Theories
Below are four different theories that help explain why we spend so much of our free time on the web.
Wait Til They Get a Load of Me! Goffman’s Presentation of Self:
Figure #2 – Can’t get enough of me face-to-face? I present myself online too (Spencer, 2020)
One theory explaining why we go online is based on Erving Goffman’s classic book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959). People use social media to present themselves in forms that are better than they are on a daily basis (Qi et al., 2018, p. 96). Flip through your selfies to find just the right shot anyone?
From this type of presentation, users can create their own brand. This is done by presenting our various interests, whether they are social, cultural, or even political (Qi et al., 2018, p. 96). Our brand consists of all of the photos, videos, and text-based factoids we post to our accounts.
From all of this, social media is an ideal avenue for people to present themselves. Platforms have become the digital Fifth Avenue where we sell our own unique brand to others.
We are what we post.
Adding It All Up–Bourdieu’s Social Capital:
Figure #3 – Capital connections (Baker Institute, 2017)
Pierre Bourdieu articulated the idea of social capital: aggregating select resources that relate to a person’s ongoing network of human relationships (1977).
Social media has amplified the idea of social capital across our digitally networked world. Users deploy various online strategies to potentially increase the viral nature of their posts across social networks (Qi et al., 2018, p. 97). In turn, this virality is intended to correspondingly increase the original person’s resources and improve her relationships in a virtuous social circle.
We are what we post to who we know.
Who Am I? Sartre’s Existential Project:
Figure #4 – That is the question (Bose, 2019)
Jean-Paul Sartre was a key figure in the philosophical exploration of existentialism (2012). From this, he believed that our project as human beings is to discover the underlying unity of our lives.
Social media has led to the practice of taking this new medium’s relative permanence (e.g., digital fragments we create on various platforms) and building a historical presence on the web (Qi et al., 2018, p. 98). This leads to an enduring online personal footprint that can be examined by ourselves and others. In addition, it becomes a component of how we start and maintain various human relationships. In essence, it is a digital recording of the self.
We are what we posted yesterday. Today. And tomorrow.
You Are Not Alone–Heidegger’s “Shared-World”:
Figure #5 – Sharing is caring (Zimmer, 2013)
Martin Heidegger forwarded the ideas of lifeworld and ‘‘being-in-the-world” (1996). Our existence within the broader world consists of our own internal life that co-exists with others’ internal lives. They are a part of our lives as much as are we are a part of theirs.
Social media takes Heidegger’s idea of a “shared world”, “being-with” other people (1996), and amplifies it yet again. We become interested in, and participate on, social media networks for community and to coexist in relation to others (Qi et al., 2018, p. 99).
We are who we are posting with.
Examining Our Motivations: A New Way to Look at Why We Go Online
Figure #6 – You can’t be connected without connections (Wertz, 2018)
Having an online presence is essential to an increasing number of aspects of modern life. Thinking about the theories that inform our choice to use social media will hopefully make us use these platforms more purposefully.
In short, let us try to use them more than they use us.
References:
Baker Institute. (2017, July 24). Social capital wins over financial and human capital. Baker Institute Blog. https://blog.bakerinstitute.org/2017/07/24/social-capital-wins-financial-human-capital/
Bose, R. (2019, December 4). Word of 2019 is a reminder of earth’s ‘existential’ crisis and yours too. News18.com. https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/word-of-2019-is-a-reminder-of-earths-existential-crisis-and-yours-too-2410379.html
Bourdieu P. (1977). Outline of a theory of practice. (R. Nice, Trans.). Cambridge University Press.
Clement, J. (2020a, November 24). Worldwide digital population as of October 2020. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/ – :~:text=Almost 4.66 billion people were,percent of the global population.
Clement, J. (2020b, November 24). Number of social network users worldwide from 2017 to 2025. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/
Dean, B. (2020, August 12). Social network usage & growth statistics: How many people use social media in 2020? Backlinko. https://backlinko.com/social-media-users
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
Heidegger M. (1996). Being and time: A translation of Sein und zeit. (J. Stambaugh, Trans., D. J. Schmidt, Ed.). State University of New York Press.
Krewson Wertz, P. (2018, February 15). Can social media data be used to predict threats or identify fake news? Penn State News. https://news.psu.edu/story/504004/2018/02/15/research/can-social-media-data-be-used-predict-threats-or-identify-fake-news
Qi, J., Monod, E., Fang, B., & Deng, S. (2018). Theories of social media: Philosophical foundations. Engineering, 4, 94–102.
Sartre, J.-P. (2012). Being and nothingness. Open Road Media.
Senior & Co. (n.d). 3 tips to plan a cocktail party. Senior & Co. https://www.curacaoliqueur.com/articles/cocktail-creation-tips/3-tips-to-plan-a-cocktail-party
Spencer, L. (2020, June 26). The 15 best free online web presentation software tools for 2020. Envato Tuts+. https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/online-free-presentation-software–cms-30002
Zimmer, D. (2013, September 11). Social media is a layer cake. Best Free Marketing Tips. http://bestfreemarketingtips.com/2013/09/social-media/social-media-layer-cake
dino sossi 