George Herbert Mead constructed this social concept of everyone having a ‘me’ and an ‘I’. Mead’s concept is often compared to Charles Horton Cooley’s concept of looking glass-self. Both are very similar introducing them but not exactly. Cooley’s concept, looking glass-self, is when you see yourself through other’s perceptions of you. For example, when you were child you liked to be goofy around your family so your family begins to call you funny and share with others that you are a humorous person. Therefore, as you get older you try to stay goofy or have those characteristics to appear funny. It could also even be more vague than this. It could be what you imagine, let’s say a co-worker, views you as. You will take that in and try to be perceived as that. I think you could compare to as how you act different with different social groups. You act one way with your family, another way with friends, then co-workers, as well as social media. We imagine what others thinks of us and that is what we put out.
Mead’s ‘me’ and ‘I’ concept is similar but has an extra proposition to it. The ‘me’ in each of us is created by our societies and surroundings. Your surroundings and society would include the perceptions your family, friends, co-workers, even strangers but upon you. One major one that tries to teach you who you should be is social media. It is in most of our faces from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. Every day we view, read, and absorb what society believes we should look like, think, and even talk. Mead claims we all become this ‘me’ version from all of this. However, the ‘I’ part of us is the response to these perceptions, it is our individualities. For example, after graduating high school it is expected by many even your classmates to go to universities in the next semester. It is what society says we should do, however some will decide to go to community college instead, some will take a gap year, some will travel, and some will work. This is the ‘I’ responding and showing our individualities. Mead claims these two aspects are our ‘true selves’.
Shifting this concept and contrast on a social media influencer, Sahlt, I have been following her for about 3 years. I started following Sahlt on Twitter because she seemed like a genuine person and open about her point of view of topics and loves her family. I eventually started to follow her on Instagram because I liked her style, she would often get her nails and toes done that inspired me how to get my next new set, and lastly I loved her tattoo’s and she often gets new ink. Below I will insert who exactly I’m speaking about.
I wanted to start the conversation off with this topic and my only example specifically because it can be a controversial topic. Within her comments, like most do, there are negative and positive comments. Negative comments are more on the line about how she already looks fine or nice and that the surgeries are not necessary. The positive comments are of course supportive and encourage her to do what she wants to do with her own body. Others even thank her for her intel and sharing her experiences. Sahlt being very open about these surgeries is her way of showing her ‘I’, her way to say I make my own decisions and I’m open about them. But what exactly got her to want these surgeries? Was it maybe Sahlt asking her friends and family and they encouraged her to do it? Maybe she didn’t ask anyone at all and decided to do it on her own. However, since she was in high school she has been on social media and began her career that young. Could it have been all the influence she got from that, so the ‘me’ that was perceived of what she should look like convinced her to get the surgeries done? I think that could have been very likely.
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