People come to know themselves in large part by observing others’ reactions to them when engaged in face-to-face social interaction. The popularity of and reliance on social media (e.g., Facebook) for social connection interferes with the self-knowledge process. This interference is compounded, further, by the tendency for people to pose as who they wish to be but are not (Wright, White, & Obst, 2018). Others’ reactions to them as a source of self-knowledge is based, then, on an idealized presentation, and social feedback on this idealized presentation can have little self-knowledge value.  

Reference:

Wright, E. J., White, K. M., & Obst, P. L. (2018). Facebook false self-presentation behaviors and negative mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(1), 40–50.

Assignment:

Submit 3–5 pages, excluding title page and reference page:

• What implications does the pressure of presenting an ideal self on social media have in terms of how people use introspection, self-observation, and other people’s reactions to know themselves?
• If relying on social media for social connection fails to provide useful information for developing an authentic self, then how confident might a person be when meeting new people face-to-face?
• What information about how others perceive you might you need but do not get when relying on social media for social connection?
• Your arguments and conclusions must be supported by social psychology theory and research.

 In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or Internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.  

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (Eds.). (2019). Social psychology (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

• Chapter 5, “The Self: Understanding Ourselves in a Social Context”