I've officially reached that point in my college experience known as "senioritis." As we are currently in the midst of midterms, I have realized that I only have about 2 months left in college. While this is bittersweet, I am so excited for the next chapter of my life. Before I jump to rush out of here, I want to reflect on what I have learned thus far in the semester.
First off, social media is not a class I had always thought of taking. I initially thought that this would be an easy A with material I'm familiar with. I have learned that social media is much more complex in several different aspects. One concept that I found to be the most interesting is impression management. I have always cared about what others thought of me online, which is crazy because the majority of them have never met me in person. Impression management results from a few factors: the desire for social acceptance, the desire to maintain or create new relationships, and the desire to experiment with who you are. Until now, I was unaware that I have acted as a result of all three of these motives. Therefore, the most interesting concept that we have learned about thus far is impression management.
On the other hand, there was one concept that was a bit boring to me. In January we read an article explaining three different views on social media; techno-optimism, techno-pessimism, and techno-ambivalence. For clarification, a techno-optimist emphasizes the importance of social media in terms of social issues. A techno-pessimist doesn't think social media is beneficial at all. Lastly, a techno-ambivalent has a healthy medium of both prior views on social media. This concept was a bit boring to me because it is simply grouping people's opinions.
Now, I want to focus on how I can take what I've learned so far and use it in the real world. One thing that I have already implemented into my online presence is impression management in terms of being my true self on social media. I don't want to put up a façade and lead people to believe I am someone I am not. Additionally, I want to eventually become a social media manager, where I am self-employed and my own boss. Everything that I have learned thus far in the semester will benefit me when working with clients and making sure that they maintain true to themselves or their brand, and how to have a strong online reputation.
Lauren <33