We Are Data: LJ 2

     This week's We Are Data readings make plenty of valid points. One that stuck out to me was in the first few sentences; "Celebrities are our contemporary era's royalty, the icons for how life ought to be lived. They and their scrupulously manicured personae are stand-ins for success, beauty, desire, and opulence."(Cheney-Lippold, Pg. ix, 2018).  For many people, celebrities set the "standards" of how life should be lived. In this day in age, many people run to social media to watch influencers' lives. This causes comparison and depression in many. This also causes a lack of creativity and individuality. I witness this a lot on social media, especially in the fashion community. If you're wearing something that isn't considered to be "in", then you're viewed by many as "lame". 

    This constant belittling can influence many to conform to society and look to influencers for self-identity. A major genre of influencers are music artists, specifically rappers. American rappers control most of Pop Culture. From how people dress, to slang, and even down to personality. I believe that there has to be a point where people realize that they aren't being themselves anymore, just playing "monkey see monkey do", copying whatever the "hottest" trend is. The lack of self-identity (identity crisis) is highly detrimental. Following someone else's lifestyle can cause people to make harmful decisions to others and their selves. In many cases, this can have long-term impacts on their future, potentially ending up in prison or in poor financial situations. What many fail to realize is that not all influencers have their lives completely figured out; we're just watching on following them on their journey. Another key point is that things are deeper than the surface. This means that one can appear to have everything going for themselves, but behind closed doors, or deep inside, they could be hiding their struggles. This is why it's best to be yourself, because nobody knows what's best for you like you do. "We live in a world of ubiquitous networked communication, a world where the technologies that constitute the Internet are so woven into the fabrics of our daily lives that, for most of us, existence without them seems unimaginable."(Cheney-Lippold, Pgs. 3-4, 2018). The dependance upon social media is honestly frightening. 

   Bibliography

Cheney-Lippold, J. (2018). We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of our Digital Selves. NYU Press.