Mosaic Life

Face to the book

In my Communications class last fall, we discussed the scary and wonderful world of Facebook. My professor (who, funny enough, is now one of my Facebook friends) expressed her wonder at it, since we all have a collection of selves that we present to different people. For instance, the crass yet hilarious joke I might tell to one friend might be something I’d never utter in front of, oh, say, my Communications teacher. Or the way that I boldly proclaim my political beliefs in front of my friends who I know share them, yet politely abstain from argument or disturbing the peace with those who don’t. To many of my coworkers, I’m quiet but friendly, and I probably seem fairly reserved. So I agree, I do change a bit from group to group.

My professor, at the time, found Facebook troubling. How can we reconcile the selves that we create for different reasons? I didn’t find this idea troubling at all at first. I thought it could actually be very good. It could force us to show others who we really are, and they can accept us or not. But then again, it could also force us to play down who we really are, for fear that others will be put off by what they see.

I suppose it’s also similar with blogging. When I start thinking too much about just who might be reading, I find that I tone things down, hold back with some of the honesty, and in a sense defeat the purpose of an online journal, depending on exactly what my purpose is on a given day.