Blog Post 3 - Online Validation

Recently I was scrolling through Twitter and I came across a link to an article in the Huffington Post titled “Does Your Social media Personality Reflect the Real You?” (article found here). This article reminded me of a lot about thing that we’ve talked about in this course. The article pretty much just goes on to explain why individuals enjoy fabricating themselves to be a more exciting version of themselves on social media. One of reasons stated in this article is that individuals post photos for “instant rewards from external validation”. This reminded me a lot of Katherine from the article we read not to long ago. In this article she briefly explains her relationship with the photos she posts on Instagram. The article states that she only has 25 photos on her page and “the ones that don’t get enough likes, don’t have good enough lighting or don’t show the coolest moments in her life must be deleted” (Contrera, 2016). In this comment we can see that Katherine feels she can only post what will give her validation from her followers. She cannot simply post a photo randomly, she needs to put thought into her posts to ensure they reach her usually like count of 100 likes and comments (Contrara, 2016). Not only does Katherine feel good and validated from photos she post, she also receives validation through what her peers say about her in ‘TBH’ posts. She states that individuals feed of what others say in their TBH’s. Katherine states “if someone says ‘tbh you’re nice and pretty’, that kind of like, validates you in the comments. Then people can look at it and say ‘Oh she’s nice and pretty” (Contrera, 2016). Receiving a good review from one peer means other peers will follow along with that thought too.

With all this being said it is obvious to see how these teens receive instant validation from posting a photo, but it is interesting to wonder how all this validation transfers into real life. When a teens whole worth is surrounded around how many likes they get on a post on the internet, then do real life compliments even matter anymore? It seems like to them that if no one is going to scroll past it on a screen then did the compliment even occur? Do individuals like Katherine even bother to give compliments in real life?


Lastly, we hear all about how important it is for pre teens and teens to be validated and complemented on social media yet this Huffington Post article isn’t necessarily targeted for teens to read, it is more targeted to adults. That is why I found the article so interesting. It is not only teenagers that need validation online, this desire is also becoming important for adults. We see this a-lot for adults on Facebook. Parent’s constantly posting the best photos of their recipes or the best part of their child's life to receive the same online validation that teens desire.

Comments

  1. Mikayla WernerOctober 18, 2018 at 9:21 PM

    Individuals chose to present the best version of themselves online, which is often far from how their life truly is. The search for validation in likes and comments is what keeps the constant sharing flow on social media platforms. It’s unfortunate and to be frank, unhealthy, that people base their value on these simple affordances. Katherine’s story is extremely frustrating, however is also extremely common. I appreciated how you also brought in the point of how adults also get lost in the schemes of social media and often post the best parts of their lives. They feel that same validation that teens receive when they get likes and comments on their posts.

    In regards to your question, teens are wired to this virtual world called social media. This is where most of their interactions with their friends take place. The compliments they give and receive are often exaggerated in the pursuit of looking cool. I believe that the authenticity of giving or receiving a compliment in the real world is at a loss in teen culture because social media is all they’ve ever known in that respect.

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