FEATURE
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inhabiting a caricature or theatrical persona," he wrote, documenting two profiles maintaining a "manic depressive persona" and 14 profiles with a "sexy persona." Liu even notes one projecting "a 'frat boy' machismo." Ever aware that people whose opinions we care about — a crush from history class, a close friend or potential employer — may see our online selves (via reach) and endlessly analyze it (via storage), we can become self-branders, portraying an image or persona through every possible cue. As a photographer, Mahoney pays attention to profile pictures. "If someone meets you casually and looks you up on Facebook, that's the only thing they'll see of you," she says. "You make sure you look attractive — no acne, no chin fat — so they'll have a notion of you that will hold over."
Why strive to create a notion or idea of ourselves? Perhaps we worry we'll lose something in Internet translation — a razor-sharp wit or a firm, perfected handshake. In lieu of physical presence, there's an obligation (or opportunity) to project a notion of yourself online, a distilled version conveying who you are, or at least the better parts. "I think most people put on some slight front," Mahoney says. "You're not going to list what you fail at. You put your achievements, your interesting hobbies
— things that will fascinate people." When distilled into a display picture and a paragraph, which facet of someone's life makes it through? Mahoney isn't really sure. "I've never made a profile where I really described who I am," she says. "It's surface layer, two-dimensional stuff. I'm not putting 'Yes', I'm extroverted, but underneath I'm actually sensitive,' — what I'm
really about."
There's pressure to put our best face forward online, says Oliver James, a clinical psychologist and columnist for The Guardian in England. "Facebook is full of high status moments," he says. In a 2009 column, James expressed concern over social pressures that cause "young people to aim for maximum appeal, self-advertisement" online.
Robin H-C, a Toronto-based behaviorist and neuropsychologist, agrees. She says social media's reach allows users to craft an "illusion of grandiose times," whereby statuses, photos and comments become opportunities to project idealized versions of our lives. Nothing quite conveys sociability like posting an entire publicly viewable album of party photos. Less often posted, however, is the album full of people with hangovers.
In 1959 Canadian sociologist Erving Goffman released his first book, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Goffman proposes that people play roles in everyday life, crafting an appearance and carefully guiding others' perceptions of them, much like actors. Goffman called this "impression management."
Fellow sociologist Barry Schlenker expanded on this in the 1980s, writing that self-descriptions allow people to (consciously or not) "introduce pertinent information for identity construction." Talking one's self up, though, is rarely endearing. Without proper context, he noted, people risked seeming egotistical. What better context then, than Facebook—a service based around broadcasting images and self-descriptions to people in our lives? Through a series of studies, Schlenker also concluded
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Likes and Interests
Interests Batman
Music Anathallo, Pedro the Lion, Fourth of July, Suzannah Johannes, Sigur Rós, Bob Dylan, Cat Power, Colour Revolt, Dignan, mewithoutYou, David Bazan, Jon Shirley, Aaron Lee Martin
Books Big Sur, Brothers Karamazov, Catcher In The Rye, Extremely Loud and Incredbly Close
Movies Batman 1989, The Dark Knight, Cloverfield, Stranger than Fiction, Shawshank Redemption, Star Wars, The Royal Tenenbaums
that actors often conformed to stereotypes of admirable peer groups and that, given enough positive feedback, could come to believe the role they performed was true.
At the Kansas Union, I met with Kiley Larson, a Ph.D. student in communication studies who works with Baym, author of Personal Connections in the Digital Age. At surrounding tables students scanned laptops, a few of which displayed the familiar blue and white site. Larson studied last summer at Oxford's Internet Institute, where she and her peers weighed the costs of social media. For some, the constant upkeep of managing digital identities proved tiring. She says people often withdraw from sites like Facebook when they realize they must perform for multiple roles
— you have only one profile, but different audiences like friends, family, and employers, who have different expectations. "I think Facebook runs a real risk of putting itself out of business," she says. "A lot of people liked it because it was easy and fun. When it becomes work and a brand to be managed, perhaps it loses some of that fun." Still, for Larson, the costs of leaving Facebook remain too high. A
As the span and frequency of our online interactions grow, we're realizing the effects of storage and reach. As a result, we're adapting, projecting the ways we want to be perceived in life, but in a flatter, more mediated space. If users of social media aren't whole, it's not because of the Internet — it's only amplified what was already there. Still, there's no denying our digital lives and actions hold some effect on our tangible, physical ones. My Facebook-prone fingers are proof of that.
Batman 1989
student in her Internet communication class, however, disagreed, logging out for good. To leave Facebook, the student reasoned, was to leave a life of continual self-monitoring.
facebook
Overshare: Facebook allows you to post practically anything about yourself, from family vacation pictures to your favorite books and movies. As young people continue using the social media site, their identity adapts, and interacts with other users. (Screen grabs taken from facebook.com)
SPENCER RESEARCH LIBRARY
liea of Naismith's rules hanging on the wall at Amyx Barber Shop, 842 1/2 Massachusetts St.
He said the copy has been there
-Edited by Alex Tretbar
SUSTAINABILITY
KU EcoHawks convert donated car to electric
Kansas Libraries will use the car to deliver on-campus mail
BY KELLY STRODA kstroda@kansan.com
Josh Petty always liked tinkering with machines when he was
younger. He'd
worker. He was on his mom's brokenawn mower until it was finally running smoothly.
The full conversion is estimated to cost $55,000.
Now he has a bigger project. Petty, a senior from Olathe, s team leader of the KU
EcoHawks' GMC limmy project. The group is working to convert the car into a fully-electric vehicle. Petty said the group hopes to save the project completed by the end of spring.
Wires and tubes are exposed that some people will never see in their entire lives. Blue painting tape marks the wires and tubes — the gas pedal line here, air bag wires there.
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Student Senate passed a bill which gave the EcoHawks $2,500 to use for the conversion project.
The 1997 GMC Jimmy, a small sport utility vehicle, sits propped up on car jacks in the KU EcoHawks' garage on West Campus. It's a definite change of scene from the police impound at where the Jimmy sat for two years before being donated to the EcoHawks.
But for now, the conversion is a work in progress.
Instead of a gas engine, the Jimmy will be powered by a main electric motor and two auxiliary motors, Petty said. The motors
right now — no tires, a battered back fender and a missing front end. The EcoHawks removed the Jimmy's engine last week.
Other funding for the project is coming from the EcoHawks' budget and sponsors.
"It's that hands-on learning that makes them the best engineers."
out
CHRIS DEPCIK EcoHawks advisor
The car looks a bit dilapidated
will run using more than 1,000 rechargeable batteries. The batteries — similar to those that cordless drills use — are about the size of AA batteries.
Just as each system in the car's engine has to work in unison, Petty said the group members have to work together as well. The 12 students working on the project have a different area of focus.
"I love the fact that we aren't just doing theory," he said. "We're not just sitting in a lab. We're not just on the Internet or reading books."
Jon Kalinowski, a senior from Wichita, is focused on power steering. He said he enjoys the freedom and hands-on learning that the project provides.
The students have to research.
There shouldn't be any worry that the Jimmy won't be noticed. Petty said the EcoHawks hope to paint the frame lime green and the body white.
Petty said the electric vehicle would be able to travel 80 to 90 miles before a recharge.
theorize and then put their work into practice.
After the car is finished, KU Libraries will use the car to deliver on-campus mail. The campus mail route includes main and West Campus buildings in addition to continuing education buildings on Kasold Drive. On a typical day, the KU Libraries mail vehicle travels about 22 miles.
"It's that hands-on learning that makes them the best engineers," said Chris Depcik, EcoHawks advisor and assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Edited by Lisa Curran
"It will almost be a billboard for the idea of sustainability," Lars said.
LARRI-BMX seeks the city's approval of a plan to construct a course to fulfill Lawrence's BMX interest.
Lars Leon, associate librarian for KU Libraries, said the libraries encourage sustainability. The electric vehicle is another step in that direction.
New biking club proposes local BMX racetrack
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Check out The Wave for up-to-date stories on Kansas football, including the scoop on new redshirt freshman Erick McGriff and commentary on fan attendance this season.
makes sense in historical context
INDEX
Columnist Luke Brinker explains that the apparent jump in 18- to 24-year-old voters in 2008 actually wasn't all that dramatic. By comparison, Baby Boomers were driven to the polls by factors such as the draft.
Find extra football coverage in The Wave
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