Symbolic interactions
Amongst youth
through
online representations
(Case Study Facebook)
Abstract
One emerging form of communication discussed in the present article is the use of visual self-representation as a tool for symbolic interaction between young people on the Internet.
Using examples of difference and similarity in young women’s and men’s visual self-representation, the article offers an interpretation of these practices, pointing towards both new visual conventions and references to pre-existing media representations, thus revealing a process of hypervisuality. In this process of transformation, the involvement of new technologies, such as webcam aesthetics and its form of intimacy and authenticity produces specific visual conventions within the frame of pre-existing media imagery, when the self is presented in online communication.
Keywords: gender, youth, visual communication, Online networking sites
Introduction
New communication technology, such as the Internet, forms new social environments and possibilities for interaction. In this social milieu, we can interact with others unrestricted by the usual boundaries of time or space, and we can see and be seen without being physically present, hence extending Thompson’s (2005) notion of mediated visibility to include reciprocity.
As the Internet is a mass medium not only for mass consumption but also for mass production, it allows us to publish and present ourselves without editing or interference from others.
Because this apparently transparent technology permits more unmediated versions of the self, notions of intimacy and authenticity play an important role in relation to how the body is displayed visually.
Cyberspace has been typically defined as a space in which disembodied communication takes place, implying that bodies can only meet off-line. We need a broader interpretation of how the body can be experienced and reconstructed online. Although our physical body is not present, it is still imperative to the success of many interpersonal interactions over the Internet, not least in visual communication acts.
An emerging form of communication between young people on the Internet is the use of visual self-representation as a tool for symbolic interaction. This brings to the fore questions of how the self is constructed and presented in relation to new technologies and in relation to pre-existing images off-line. Is the Internet encouraging novel forms and strategies for visual self-representation? Does the technology formulate alternative figurations, which reject and reverse the stereotyped and rather restrictive perception of the gendered body in images off-line?
The present research paper is based on an investigation of the relationship between young girls’ and boys’ self-portraits on the popular website Facebook (Indian users).
The sample consists of 100 self-portraits, which all belong to a wide variety of Indian users.
This visual communication will also be discussed with reference to popular media imagery, the cultural embodiment of sexuality and perceptions of intimacy and authenticity.
