Gratification in social media


    For this week’s post I have decided to talk about sharing and how people base their self-opinions off of the reactions they get from other people. As discussed in class sharing making the productions and distribution of symbolic content possible, and by doing this it allows for this content to be seen by multiple groups and communities outside of one another. I believe that the idea of sharing has its positives but also can play a negative role in social media users. We also discussed the Dunbar number, which is how many people you can actually know and have a relationship. This number is important to consider in the use of social media and how people feel towards their followings. I find that when people post pictures on Instagram, they’re always waiting to see how many people will like/respond to their own content. I find this interesting because out of all the people that are liking the photos only a select few are genuine friends, and people who’s opinions should be relevant. Thought the issue that I find with this is that people are so concerned with the amount of likes they get, and they allow this to determine their self-worth in a way. This can also be seen in the video of Katherine that was discussed in the last blog post, she would delete photo’s if they weren’t “good enough” based on the response she got. Another way to look at this is from a personal experience I had just a few hours ago. I showed my roommate and Instagram account and his response was “wow they have a good number of followers”. This issue is one that interests me because of the amount of effort that goes into building this online persona for people who you borderline never see or even talk to, which goes back to the Dunbar number. People have there set friends groups, though look for a sense of acceptance from outside sources. I believe that this is a common problem within our generation due to social media being such a major part of most people’s lives today, and this causes us to seek this kind of fake gratification from people going through their timelines.  

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 17, 2018 at 5:02 PM

    Hello! I think you make a really good point about seeking fake gratification. In a way, social media has made us less appreciative of the people we have a meaningful relationship with because they are not enough to satisfy us. With social media enabling us to reach more people regardless of how close we are to them, we expect more out of it. As a result, we expect people who we hardly know to react to content we post and validate us.

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  2. UnknownOctober 21, 2018 at 2:24 PM

    Hey Tyler! I totally agree with you about the use of social media and "likes" providing users with a feeling of "instant gratification." This is what makes the use of social media so addicting! We get a fake sense of gratification from the number of likes we get on a post, but once that initial burst of likes is over, we find ourselves once again seeking that "high" that we receive from the attention on our post. It is sad, because people then validate their self worth and confidence based on how much traction their post receives. I find that when I take time away from social media, I actually end up feeling better about myself, because I spend more time communicating meaningfully with people who actually matter in my life rather than focussing on people I don't really care about. This allows me to feel grateful for my close friends, rather than find myself seeking fake and instant gratification from social media.

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  3. UnknownOctober 21, 2018 at 4:37 PM

    Really great points and ideas that are put forth in this post! It is quite interesting and eye opening that you have chosen to all about the idea of sharing and how depending on what feedback society gives one, they then build themselves from that. For individuals who have grown up withs social media and now see it as something that makes an appearance in their everyday lives, it makes sense that things such s likes, comments and shared on Instagram, Twitter and even Facebook creates self-gratification.

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  4. Mira BawaOctober 22, 2018 at 7:16 AM

    I think those are some great points! The unfortunate truth is that people don't post for themselves or what they like anymore. They are too worried about what the world would think and what would do "best" online. It's sad how we place so much importance and self-gratification in the hands of others when what we should really be considering is how we feel about ourselves and how we like ourselves, over some people on an app.

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