I am an individual - sort of

I am an individual – sort of

In the lecture Dr Van Luyn (2013) spoke about how ‘the networking user is not the only one constructing their identity, that users are being told how to create their story’. Our society is always trying to categorize who we are and what little box we fit into. Name, date of birth, gender, nationality and marital status appear to have been on every form that I have ever had to fill out. Social networking sites (SNS) ask for almost all this information and sometimes a lot more in the name of trying to connect you and make you more accessible to others but still an individual. The series of questions posed as you are setting up an account on an SNS are a way of pushing us towards providing the information that western society deems as important to constructing our identity.

On the Goodreads site, after providing all of the information deemed necessary, the user is requested to randomly select twenty books, from various categories listed, that they have read or are interested in reading. The site limits your access to other areas of it until you have selected these. This is presented as a way of making it easier for the user to navigate the site by providing information on similar books and authors they may be interesting in. It also provides access to reviews and discussions on those books as well. However it takes away the users right to explore the site without being labelled and to add what they choose to their profile at their own pace or not at all. In her article McNeill (2012) states that ‘In asking after your tastes in music and books, Facebook insists such things matter in constructions of identity (p105). In insisting that one cannot successfully navigate the site without providing one’s preference for books Goodreads is re-enforcing this perception. However this is also two fold as like most SNS Goodreads has a lot of user targeted advertising and this information allows them to target your profile with specific advertisements suited to you without having to rely on the user to supply the information themselves.

Fishburne, Tom. (2003) I'm an Individual. Photo Retrieved 15/9/2103 from: http://tomfishburne.com/2003/07/five-day-priority-forecast.html

 McNeill, L (2012) There is no I in network: Social networking sites and posthuman auto/biography. Biography. 35. 1. 101-118