The result of an all-nighter my way-too-fried brain. Excuse the load of crap which is this paper and me while I go to sleep. I want to edit it already, I think I repeat so much. Ahhhh.
MySpace: Friending a Generation
Being logged into Myspace is distracting me from writing my paper about Myspace. Like millions of users in their teens and twenties, locating that X at the upper right-hand corner of the screen is rather difficult when so much social commodity is instantly at ones fingertips. Myspace.com has become a social networking phenomenon for the X and Y generations as a means to find a sense of belonging and community while also acting as a tool to create ones identity, gain status among peers, and inflate egos in a constant popularity race for the most friends, comments, and profile views. How and why members choose to have a space to represent themselves to the public (or select public) or not is an important aspect in understanding this virtual realm of communication that may seem foreign to those without profiles or those in an older age group. How the presence of online technology has effected communication and social culture between youths who cannot imagine a world without the Internet is an underlying question for those of this generation simultaneously participating and viewing such things as commonplace and also for those not accustomed to the online world. Even anthropologically, parallels can be drawn between MySpace and cultural concepts such as representation, public versus private realms, and reciprocation. By using arguments from danah boyd, who states that these websites help people write themselves into being and others I will explain how social networking websites are tools of the mass media in the forms of imagined communities and moral panics as they have found their way into daily social interactions and even in current pop culture.
Representation is one of the most important aspects of having a MySpace membership. The creation of a MySpace profile becomes synonymous with the creation of an online identity. Each user is given infinite possibilities in how he or she chooses to depict their online personality. It is in the hands of the users to represent themselves however necessary to suit their needs for having a MySpace. A profile becomes every narcissistic teen or twenty-somethings’ expression of oneself in terms of interests and favorite well, anything. A portrayal of a person in what is thought to be his best light is what ends up on the webpage, and is usually whatever he feels will seem attractive to peers in order to gain friends and thus popularity. “Explicit reactions to their online presence offers valuable feedback. The goal is to look cool and receive peer validation. Of course, because imagery can be staged, it is often difficult to tell if photos are a representation of behaviors or a re-presentation of them.” MySpace allows room for youth to explore their identity and to do so while finding a community that reflects and supports such an identity. Publisher of an online commentary site called YPulse, Anastasia Goodstein states: “’Teens are narcissistic and exhibitionist. For teens, especially, who are going through this stage where they're constantly looking for that affirmation and validation and response for everything they are, it's just addictive.’” While many young users may not agree with this statement, it is because they do not realize that subconsciously these are the effects and contrived purposes for the site that were in fact reproduced and given meaning to by the teens themselves.
These communities shaped by MySpace happen to be located online, and for this reason can be viewed as an imagined community since face-to-face interaction is not required, although most users see their friends in real life practically everyday. Fortunately, the online world increasingly comes naturally to Generations X and Y, and for most what conversations or events that occur in cyberspace may just have well occurred at school or while physically hanging out. “For those who didn't grow up with the Internet, it might seem strange to think of a mere website as an actual place. But for people…who can't remember when there was no Internet, cyberspace is a real place, even if the entry gates come in the form of a PC.” MySpace provides its users with a way to feel connected to others based on their specific network of friends and interests. Also acting as a valuable source of constant communication, this social networking site solidifies friendships and emphasizes feelings of belonging: these communities are far from imagined.
The pre-Internet generation—mostly the parents of the Web-literate—worry that their children are spending too much time cruising through MySpace profiles, an activity that is misunderstood and deemed pointless or dangerous by interfering adults. The concept of MySpace as a place to socialize has since created a moral panic in the media due to the potential amount of personal information that can be spread to strangers that view young people’s profiles. Why, then, are youths spending so much time online? Aside from being accustomed to the Internet, danah boyd argues that teens are so controlled in the physical world that they need a public place elsewhere to hang out without boundaries and the presence of parents and authority figures:
"It is not the technology that encourages youth to spend time online - it's the lack of mobility and access to youth space where they can hang out uninterrupted….By going virtual, digital technologies allow youth to (re)create private and public youth space while physically in controlled spaces. Online, youth can build the environments that support youth socialization."
MySpace provides a public place for the younger generation to still “hang out” virtually with their friends even after school or their curfews have ended via messaging and commenting each other’s profiles. Youth need such space to “gather” and express themselves and to demonstrate this expressiveness to their peers, and in that space adults are basically ignored. boyd also insists that while MySpace has risks, it is important for adults not to blow them out of proportion; the danger associated with MySpace from adult misinterpretation is not why so many youth have profiles: “To them, the benefits for socialization outweigh the potential harm.” For many underage MySpacers, parents (and the site as well) encourage changing accounts to private settings so that only approved friends and acquaintances can see their full profile.
When members choose to set their profiles to private or friends-only, only those members who have been friended have the privilege of viewing a person’s extended profile and bulletins he or she posts. The user has the authority to control who is able to see what features of MySpace. For example, a blog—-an online diary or journal within component of the profile—-can be intended for only the friends of a person with a public profile or for those with private, for a set of preferred readers. Not seeing a person’s full profile sparks interest and curiosity for friends of friends or just those browsing random profiles, and is a tease for others to friend a private member. Ultimately private profiles do provide the user-—or their guardians—-with a sense of security since the information provided by user is only seen by a smaller, select public and is guarded from strangers, teachers, and (potential) employers.
Acquiring friends on MySpace and the interactions that occur between friends are examples of reciprocity. Friending is mutual, at least on one end: each user has the power to approve or deny requests for friendship and edit their list of friends whenever necessary. Many MySpacers are under the impression or believe that the amount of friends one has is indicative of popularity and coolness, as well as placement on a friend’s list of “top friends.” Top friends lists tend to cause emotional rifts between friends and can create a friend-hierarchy to signal the beginning or end of a particular relationship: “In a culture where it’s socially awkward to reject someone’s friendship, ranking them provides endless drama and social awkwardness.” Ranking is usually given to a user’s closest friends or boy/girlfriend, and also to favorite bands or celebrities. Placing a friend in the top list is expected to be done in return. Such things that make general friend interactions reciprocal are in that if a person comments a friend’s profile or pictures or gives kudos to a blog entry, that friend is socially obligated to return whatever new addition that has been made to their page. This act is what I will name “MySpace currency” that are used for “purchasing” status or popularity among friends and ones network on the site. The number of times a person’s profile has been viewed may also be seen as important, and egos may be inflated by such high numbers, or deflated when no one has looked at the page in a while. For Music MySpaces, however, the amount of profile views or plays are displayed directly on the page, and are meaningful here for record labels to think a band or performer has a strong fan base and thus their chances for being signed may improve. Bulletins, messages and comments are forms of MySpace commodity that allow a user to keep up with the social circles and the ins-and-outs of relationships; the chance to be viewed as cool or popular based on who someone is friends with appeals to a large amount of teens and twenty-somethings in the form of an online popularity contest.
The most important lesson to learn from MySpace is its impact as a social networking site on today’s youth culture. Members of this high school or college age group have grown up using computers and were the first generation to truly become Internet savvy and comfortable with displaying a portrayal of themselves online via public forums like MySpace. Through the politics that have come to be associated with establishing a network and the creation of an identity, I believe MySpace teaches and prepares its younger users for life through skills and habits formed as a result of having online social relationships. As in traditional networking, the saying “it is all in who you know” also applies on the Internet. One’s presentation of a MySpace profile is now used as a way to break the ice upon meeting someone or in attempts to get to know a person better; URLs to one’s site seem to be given out more frequently than phone numbers. Here, first impressions are established in a way that is fully intentional by the user—the most accurate depiction of what a member stands for or believes in, his personality traits, interests, and (number of) friends are presented to those they are interested in meeting and vise-versa. Undoubtedly, MySpace has had an effected of the social culture of today in that it is seen as the trend to participate in, although not by everyone:
…Its ubiquitousness does not mean that everyone thinks that it is cool. Many teens complain that the site is lame, noting that they have better things to do. Yet, even those teens have an account which they check regularly because it's the only way to keep up with the Jones's. ….Of course, not all teens are using the site, either because they refuse to participate in the teen fad or because they have been banned from participating. Such non-conformity is typical of all teen practices.
The fact that so many youth are members of MySpace and that some teens choose to not take part in what they believe to be a trend proves that the site is a form of cultural representation. Profiles that can create an identity are image makers; friends and those who browse profiles act as audiences. Conforming or associating to a certain scene or type of MySpace profile reproduce such images, while controlling privacy settings, choices of content, pictures posted, and friends are forms of resistance.
Is MySpace and similar social networking sites just a fad among young people? Mentioning of the site now occurs in everyday conversations and interactions and also appear in current pop culture. For instance, pictures taken at a party will most likely be posted on the site to be commented on, or taken for the sole purpose of being judged by others on MySpace. The origin of the term “the angles,” is defined in David Lehre’s short film entitled Myspace: the Movie. Prevalent in the music world, bands no longer have to rely on a website to represent them or their sound—-multi-purpose promotional Music MySpace pages are created so fans can interact, discuss new releases and upcoming shows, and friend each other. MySpace is also inspiration for some bands, such as in a Gym Class Heroes song entitled “New Friend Request” which discusses friending a member of opposite sex:
But all I got is this Powerbook and Ichat
Besides I hit you all the time and you never write back
I stay on my feet
And be persistent until my name is under "who you'd like to meet"…
So click approve, so simple
Show me some kind of sign and let me know it's time to make my move…
Who cares if we don't know each other's last name
All I know is that I'm smitten with your pictures wishin’ you would feel the same
I'll admit I get a lil’ jealous when other dudes leave you comments
Don't let it gas you up, it's all nonsense.
Just as bands have used MySpace as a way to know their fans, so do businesses, companies and organizations to advertise their products, locations or promote their causes. Lately it has become normal for a movie preview or commercial to end with “…visit us at www.myspace.com/....” because more and more people are recognizing the site as a mass media outlet. MySpace is even promoted more so by the creation of t-shirts, stickers, and buttons that claim “You looked Better on MySpace” or “I Heart Tom.” All reference the site so that the pop-cultural status of those who understand the joke's exclusivity is heightened. Whether or not MySpace is merely a trend that will eventually fade is still in question, as is its real impact on social networking and forms of communication, especially among the X and Y generations since they are still occurring.
Undoubtedly, MySpace has proven itself as a tool of the mass media that produces, reproduces and resists image makers in areas of social networking among our youth. Communication is evolving thanks to sites like MySpace, and youth culture has been given a new place and meaning since now, an online representation of a person can be created in order to gain and interact with a network of friends. In doing so, members are able to uphold status through identity of their liking and reciprocal forms of social currency exchanged on MySpace often translate to real-life situations. For now, MySpace will continue to be a successful place for learning aspects of cultural knowledge among youth members who strive to find a sense of belonging in what is said to be an imagined community that is actually a very real place to teens. Unfortunately it is also misunderstood by older generations, who make the site into a huge media and moral panic. Until the next social networking site comes along or until it is considered safe to return to more traditional modes of communicating, “youth will continue to work out identity issues, hang out and create spaces that are their own, regardless of what technologies are available.” While the site’s future is unknown, MySpace will provide a medium for its young members to express their identities socio-culturally in the form of comments, new friend requests, and placement on top friends lists, because for youth, meaning is found in MySpace, which is ultimately TheirSpace.
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