Page 37 - Campus Technology, May/June 2018

TEACHING & LEARNING
activity exchanges or project exchanges. Being “self-mediated” and “self-published” means that in any dynamic exchange, individuals increasingly require control over how and when the “self” is involved and produced.
Publication of Self
Of course, we are now familiar with the concept of “selfies” — and we have learned, over these years of the emergence of this phenomenon, that having someone else take your picture is considered less authentic than taking one’s own picture or “selfie.” In fact, a selfie is now regarded as much more than a picture, and the terms are becoming decreasingly synonymous. The connection between self-capture/self-promotion and personal control/choice is regarded as authentic, and supersedes a posed or “fake” capture by someone else. Therefore, the idea that a selfie is who I really am means that it is a personal creation, and one that is powerful and cannot be challenged. Social media platforms, in general, are predominantly about their users interacting with and producing “self” through fully customizable environments, rich with digital pictures and posts, icons, GIFs, memes and emojis — all being used to carefully craft whatever or whoever the individual deems important for others to see/hear/engage with at any given moment. In an article for the Huffington Post, Zac Thompson stated, “It’s no secret that social media has made us more comfortable with the idea of self-absorption.”4
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | May/June 2018
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