In the first week of class, I was asked a very deep question. “Who are you online?”. This was an interesting question that got me thinking as I subconsciously know who I am online, but to say it in words to a stranger was very thought-provoking. As I reflected on it, I realized that my online identity is a curated representation of my interests, experiences, and aspirations. It’s a digital persona shaped by the content I share, the communities I engage with, and the way I present myself to the virtual world. But it’s also a reminder that the online version of ourselves is just a facet of who we are, and it’s essential to strike a balance between our online and offline identities to maintain authenticity and integrity in both realms.
While reading Hamblin, James. 2016. “How to Talk to Strangers.”, I came across some interesting terms like civil inattention, social rules, and the varying definitions of “normal” and “okay”. The article started off by asking us to stand facing the back wall of an elevator. When a stranger enters the elevator, let them ask you if you are “okay“. Give them a witty answer and spark the conversation asking, “What is the definition of okay?”
The article went on by telling us about Goffman’s civil inattention. It’s not a rule to stand in any particular way in an elevator or to nod at someone who comes in an elevator. It is just what society has deemed as “social rules”. It is polite to greet people, not yell in enclosed spaces, and not block people’s way. This is the norm of a civilized society.
I attempted to talk to two strangers in my class for an activity and we were asked to go through their online presence and compare it to my own. At the end of this activity, I noticed that there was a pattern in how much people wanted to share online and the weariness of leaving a digital footprint.
Along with this, we were asked to make a visual board on our topic for the website. I put down everything that came to my mind and it surprised me how ideas started to pop up once I started drawing. Here’s mine:
After a long first week of school, I am excited to know more about publishing, about my classmates and to make my own website.
