Do you think differently of a person standing in front of you in the supermarket queue if her groceries are solely organic? And do you form certain assumptions about a person if he wears only high-end brands like Ralph Lauran and Burberry?
You
might not want to admit it, and it may happen more or less deliberately, but
there is a very good reason for this act. Since the beginning of time (or
almost, at least) we have identified people and ourselves by possessions. One
of the simplest examples being, that the man with greatest fortune, was a man
of power[1].
One
of my favorite insights on how we form our identities is the sociologist Erving
Goffman’s theater metaphor[2].
Picture yourself on your first day in a new job - lets say in office
environment. You will most likely want your new colleagues to see you as an
equal, and you will properly dress in a manner, that you believe help you
achieve this. If you are a man you might wear a shirt and tie, if you are a woman
you might have bought a new “work-handbag”.
Now
imagine you are actually on a stage, and your new colleagues are your audience.
You are playing the role of “respected professional” and the shirt, tie, or
handbag is the prop you use to convince your audience.
We
do the same with brands. We might draw on the Fairtrade brand as a prop to
portray the character of “the responsible consumer”, on the Nike brand to play
the part of modern athletic, or on the Apple brand to become the creative and
innovative first-mover.
In
my previous post I tell of how we seek out brands with which we want to be friends, based on how appealing we
find this brand person. Seen in the
light of Goffman’s insights, we want to use this brand friend as a prop - we want to add elements of the brands
personality to our own identity, by associating with the brand.
The
key in all this is, that we need a stage and an audience in order to become the
person we seek – in order to form the identity we desire. I find Facebook
extremely interesting in this connection. What better stage to act on, than one
where the audience is as big as your friend list, I for example have 118
friends on Facebook – and I could easily add more. The props on this stage are
then of cause the posts we make, perhaps even more, the things we like.
Through
Facebook we can connect with our desired brand
friends by simply clicking “like”. The brand hereby becomes a part of us –
or at least our virtual-representation – but never the less, a part of the character
– the identity – we seek acceptance of.
But
it not only the brands we “like” that forms our identities. Facebook is
basically about making status updates and liking or commenting on them. As
mentioned above we need an audience, and we need the audience to recognize the
character we seek to portray, getting our friends to “like” our Facebook
activity as well as linking their activities, also forms our virtual-me. I
therefore strongly believe that we, perhaps more or less consciously, use
Facebook seek acceptance of the identity we desire.
A
new mother may for example seek to form an identity of the devoted mother. She
might then use Facebook to share success experiences and post pictures of her
little miracle. She might also “like” political correct baby brands such as
organic baby food, or anatomically correct pacifiers. And she will properly
also “like” and comment on her friends baby-related status updates. When her
friends see this, and “likes” these activities, she will feel reaffirmed as the
mother she wants to be.
I
believe we all do this - whether it is the devoted parent, the motivated
athlete, the fun party enthusiast, the experienced traveler, or the hardworking
professional - we all use Facebook as a medium to create some side of
ourselves.
However
I can’t help wondering, how is this virtual-me connected our real-life
identity? Do we use the online social world as a getaway, because it is much
easier to become who we desire here, than in the real world? Or have we become
so intertwined with our virtual profiles, that the two things cannot be
separated?
If we truly are what we “like”, do we put enough thought into our Facebook
activities? How cheap is our identity for sale – will we “like” almost
everything if we are promised a prize?
I am most curious on this matter, and will return to these thoughts
later in my blog.
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