There are many different thoughts about the importance of society and the need to comprehend social expectations. I like the ideas offered by the professor Richard Jenkins about the connection between social identity and society and the necessity for people to know what they are. Jenkins (as cited in Kidd & Teagle, 2012) suggests that “without social identity, there is, in fact, no society” (p.25).
When I try to investigate my social self and comprehend what roles I should perform in society, I deal with many complex solutions and evaluations due to the number of roles I have to perform in my life and the number of factors I should consider discussing my social identity (Meyers, 2014). Different social situations require different behavior from me. I should be very careful to the groups I belong to. For example, as a part of a huge family, I should learn what is expected of me as a son. As a student of a college, I should follow certain academic rules. Things are changed when I am with my friends because I am free to be who I am and what I am.
As a rule, I want to motivate my friends to enjoy this life together. I like extreme that makes my life complete. I want to believe that people are free to follow their dreams as soon as they can formulate and introduce them to society in a proper way.
One of the ways that can be used to develop my social self is to leave necessary digital footprints. The current technological progress and the spread of the Internet provide people with millions of opportunities to exchange information and find answers to any questions. My digital footprint is all my stuff I can leave behind as soon as I become the Internet user (Internet society, n.d.). I cannot even remember when I started using the Internet.
The only thing I remember is that I wanted to join as many networking sites as possible. I want to trust site developers and internet providers because they know how important their work for people is. I also think that a number of psychologists should work on developing networking sites because the information people want to share with each other may tell a lot. I discover that I leave many digital footprints, and if I want to hide from someone, it is also possible to find me in a short period. Even if I stop using the Internet, my comments and participation in different forums can tell a lot about my personality.
Still, I have never tried to hide my interests and preferences. I define myself as a socially open person with the intention to communicate with many people. Our life is too short to spend it on secrets, mistrust, and lies.
My status, roles, and identities may tell a lot about myself. For example, I never try to hide my relations. If I am happy with a girl, I share this happiness with other people. Now, I am single, and my status tells that I am in search of a person, who can touch my heart and soul. The roles I have to perform nowadays vary. I have to study, work, entertain, and take care of my family. Still, the identification of all these roles should not call compassion but just inform about my possibilities and achievements. Finally, I do not think that having several identities is a good idea. If God provides me with one soul and one body, I should not try to divide it by use this chance to its full extent.
In general, I think that self-identification and presentation are two good tasks every person should deal with from time to time. Many people are confused with their roles and duties they have to perform. Not to make mistakes and come to wrong conclusions, people should remember about the impact of self-presentation and all those digital footprints left behind.
References
Internet society. (n.d.). Your digital footprint matters. Web.
Kidd, W. & Teagle, A. (2012). Culture and identity. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Meyers, D.G. (2014). Exploring social psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.