While reading Subrahmanyam’s article “Constructing Identity Online: Identity Exploration and Self-Presentation”, the following quote caught my attention: “Whenever you put any kind of information out there you have the intention of what you want people to think about you” (Subrahmanyam 59).

I definitely agree with this quote am reminded of when I first signed up for Facebook. When I started high school, I spent a good amount of time on Facebook daily. I loved “becoming friends” with my peers online, especially because the neighboring town’s students were now a part of my school. Even though I did not know all of them personally, I for some reason thought it was a great idea to “friend” some peers from the neighboring town so they could see my “awesome” profile and have a cool impression of me. I would be very particular with information and photos that I would add to my profile. I was so very much concerned on how I appeared through the online platform based on my photos and posts. Additionally, whenever a new person added me as a friend, I would always view my profile first before accepting the friend request just as a way to see what they will see when they view my profile to assess how they would perceive me (so crazy, I know!).

I thankfully grew out of this phase after a few months of continual use however, I look back and am always amazed with how concerned I was about the impression and perceptions that others would make/ receive based on this online profile. Adolescence is a time where everyone is super sensitive to what others are doing and making sure they are presenting themselves as an individual appropriately or within the norms. The use of social media platforms such as Facebook amplifies this even further. With different types of social media platforms increasing as time goes on, this processes is completely maximized in today’s world. Although use of social media platforms can sometimes be useful in exploration/identity purposes, I think it’s important for a supportive figure to be present to ensure that adolescents to get too carried away on social media platforms.