The Sharded Self

THE SHARDED SELF

Everywhere you turn there is new technology and new subscriptions all over the social media. It is a way of interacting, making choices and expressing your opinion. 

Its an identity hidden behind a screen, these personality are being expressed through social media is why is called the 'sharded self' however are they truly being themselves? 

A lot of people hidden behind a screen can come across confident, cocky and opinionated however could be extremely shy in person, the balance between your online and offline lives.

The show 'Catfish' is all about the hidden identity, pretending something you are not making a fake account on Facebook and Twitter making people believe this is a real person who looks and acts they way they come across online. 

People pursue a life over these network sites to create a fan base, to collect followers acting out a life to entertain others and if you don't receive these followers or likes you become disconnected.

 This can course issues with alienation, were negative comments can come along or being ignored by followers which may lead to social anxiety. The sharded self is somebody not being their true self!

• Elasticated Personas – where we are happy to stretch the truth and ways of presenting ourselves without believing that we are cheating on others
• Continuous Partial Living – where we live multiple lives and personalities offline in a way that is increasingly vicarious and peripatetic
• Pindividualism – where we are what we pin
• The Mr Benn Effect – where we swap uniforms, tribes and key behavioural patterns to maximise our value, or increase our high social net worth (HSNW)
• Troll Marketing – where brands are taking the masked abuse learned from the internet and turning it into potent campaigns