# Reading Responses 2

### Shaped

With the constant stream of media all around us – on our computers, on TV, walking down the street, and even in our back pockets on our smartphones – it’s hard not to get sucked in, and many people do (myself included!) Digital communication affects our ability to be mindful because we are now constantly concerned with what others are doing and how others perceive us. This concern arose because we are simply much more connected today, so we see more celebrities, are more connected with work and school, and also see what others’ opinions are based on what they post and comment. The fear of missing out is very human, and just a product of our environment, so it’s not surprising that we are constantly worried about the things we aren’t doing, as well as how we can make ourselves appear interesting online. As a result, we are less present in real life, and we may make rash decisions online.

As for how this all affects self-esteem…it’s complicated, because, as we know, correlation does not equal causation, so there haven’t been a ton of studies that “prove” anything about the relationship between media and self-esteem. Personally, I think it has a negative effect, particularly because of photoshop. Of course there’s lower self-esteem these days, because we are constantly seeing photos of people who are at unattainable levels of beauty, if you can even call it that. And while I agree that there may be some higher levels of narcissism, I don’t think it’s quite the emergency that some paint it out to be, and we should be more focused on making sure that portrayals of people in media are not causing psychological harm to the people seeing it.

### TikTok, Fakes, and Appropriation

The relationship between identity and authenticity is, these days, incredibly difficult to define. Online identities make up only a fraction of our whole identity as a person, and some could even argue that online identities are completely separate. Therefore, it is impossible to be completely authentic online, because online you have the time to think about what you are going to say, what things you are going to like, and what pictures you are going to post. Society tends to appreciate authenticity, so many try to appear genuine on social media, but there’s only so much one can do.

As for appropriation, not being able to be “one hundred percent natural” online actually opens the door for more people to culturally appropriate. Without editing tools, people would have to take time to do their makeup and buy clothes to appear a certain way. But with today’s technology, one can add (or take away!) almost anything that they want to their appearance. According to Kim (2021), in the early stages of the internet, people used to pretend to be Asian in chat rooms using screen names like “Miss Saigon”. However, other users would be able to know that they were not actually Asian because they would base their entire online identity on stereotypes seen in media. I think part of the reason there has been a shift so that more people are attempting to appear as other races is because we have more access to information today. Some may think that they will be able to get away with race-fishing because they are able to do more in-depth research on how those races typically behave online – therefore helping them to make a more convincing persona.

The muddled relationship between identity and authenticity ultimately leads to more appropriation online. Is there a way to solve this problem? And if we attempted to, would we be causing other problems related to privacy? Ultimately, I don’t know the answer, but what we can do is be more skeptical of what we see online, and if we discover that someone is culturally appropriating, we should call them out or try to get their harmful posts taken down

### Finding Someone and Living Alone

It’s safe to say that digital communication has altered the way that we view distance. We are now able to talk to people all over the world, with the choice to do so synchronously or asynchronously. This also means that we can meet new people digitally, and can even foster romantic relationships from it. Gone are the days when family, friends, and coworkers were our matchmakers (Thompson 2019), and we are now much more independent – with one in seven US adults living alone (Chamie 2021). But like with all technological advancements, there are challenges that come with this new method of communication.

As OKCupid (2010) found, unsurprisingly, people frequently bend the truth on dating apps. With everyone claiming to be around two inches taller than they really are, making 120% more than they actually do, and using photos that are over two years old, sometimes it’s hard to fully trust the people you meet online. The data also make it clear how superficial online dating is, because OKCupid also found that men who are taller, make more money, and are more attractive get more matches. So why wouldn’t they want to lie? It makes sense that many young people are saying that the dating scene is more difficult to navigate than it used to be. However, we also have to consider that people are getting married later, and so trying to find a good match as a twenty-something is more difficult because twenty-somethings aren’t necessarily ready to settle down yet. In my opinion, dating today can be overwhelming, but it seems that more people are just trying to live independently for the time being, and I really respect that.

### Ads and Social Graph Background

As a consumer and person who does not work in advertising, I would say the main types of advertisements that are available on websites are banner, interstitial, map, and floating adverts. This may be an inaccurate list, but as someone who uses the internet, they are the ones that I see the most on websites.

Banners are probably the ads I see the most, but they are used frequently because they are not super intrusive for consumers. However, I personally find them distracting when the images on the banner ads move around a lot.

When I first read about interstitial adverts, I could only think of a few times that I’d seen one on a website. But then I remembered – YouTube is full of interstitial adverts, and I was just thinking of them in an image sense, and not as a video.

I never realized that map adverts were even a thing, but it makes complete sense. They’re actually a pretty smart advertising tactic because lots of people (like myself) don’t even consider them advertisements, and rather as tools to help them learn more about a place they are thinking of visiting. I use map adverts all the time when I am looking up the location and hours of a store or restaurant.

Floating adverts could be considered the “pop up” of today’s age, because I would say they are the most annoying, especially if you have to wait a few seconds to close out of them. It’s a little frightening that just a few seconds of waiting can create so much impatience, but everyone wants things more immediately now.

There are a plethora of other advertising options available online, with varying payment methods and tools to track and reach audiences. Though Stokes (2014) expressed some concerns about advertisements in the future, I personally think that if there’s money to be made somewhere, corporations will find a way to do so. So maybe the advertisements we see today won’t be around in 15 years, but there will likely be different forms of advertising if that’s the case.

### Algorithmic Discrimination

Algorithms in online commerce absolutely display biases because sellers have the greatest chance of selling by using stereotypes, since they do come from some form of truth. Something to consider, though, is that “biases” don’t have to be related to gender or race, like I initially was thinking. Rather, it can just be an assumption made based on a certain aspect of yourself, like what pages you look at, share, like, or comment on. One of the best examples of the algorithm using biases is on Amazon. If you scroll down on the page of a product, Amazon suggests other things to buy, either things that others typically buy that product with, or just things that the algorithm thinks you’ll like. This is working under the assumption that you are similar to the people who bought the product you are viewing, so the algorithm’s bias says that you will also enjoy other products they have purchased. This is similar to Google’s algorithm with photos (Rutherford & White 2016) where the photos that people use the most are pushed to the top.

But algorithms exhibit biases even more with the help of cookies. They are particularly apparent on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. These sites take note of the posts you interact with (and the sites you view…hello, third party cookies!) and send the appropriate adverts your way. For example, if you frequently like the posts of female fashion influencers, the algorithms may assume (sometimes incorrectly) that you are a woman as well, and that you are interested in fashion (though that part is likely true). Thus, you will begin seeing adverts for women’s clothing on your feed. Again, these algorithms may get things wrong, but by working with stereotypes, they are likely going to get more people to purchase their products.