Running head: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MOBILE MEDIA AND IDENTITY 7
Relationship between the Mobile Media and the Social Construction of Identity
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Relationship between the Mobile Media and the Social Construction of Identity
Introduction
The mobile media has grown significantly for the shortest period. It has been considered as the peer-reviewed platform and forum for worldwide academic research and communication. The devices such as the tablets, mobile telephony, smartphones and the handset gadgets have taken over the human interaction in the world over. People in the world use these devices to communicate and also interact socially. Many experts iterate that the identity is constructed through the historical concepts. On the contrary, many people have recently argued that the identity is constructed through the social construction resulting from the use of phone and the other mobile media, (Goggin, Martin, & Dwyer, 2014). Therefore, there is a relationship between the mobile media and the social construction of our identity. This paper critically analyzes the relationship between the social construction of identity and the mobile media.
The most important questions that one thinks about when he or she talks about the identity are varied: First, one can ask, how do I identify myself? And, what are the most significant parts of my identity? Is it good if I choose my sexual orientation, my sex, my ethnicity or race, nationality, class status, religious affiliation political beliefs or my age as identity? Does my identity change by the kinds of the people I interact with in my life? These questions are significant in determining the meaning of the identity. Furthermore, the questions are important because they improve our understanding of the individual identity in connection with the other groups of people and the social construction and historical context. Therefore, there must be some medium of communication that facilitates social construction of identities (Bilandzic and Foth, 2009).
On the other hand, the mobile media make use of the words, images, personas or the characters to elaborate the values and ideas connected with the identity. Therefore, the mobile media can be a site for showing the ideologies and most importantly, a site for change as far as the identity is concerned.
The mobile media has scenes that give the audiences the chance to understand the kinds of characters available in the society this may lead to the construction of the new identities in these audiences, (Sutko & de Souza e Silva, 2011). The individuals can use the mobile media to watch various videos and films on the Facebook and YouTube sites. These videos and films may have costumes and makeup that are stereotypically meant for some individual in the gender divide (Frohlich et al., 2007 ).
The mobile media has various websites that different audiences may visit to acquire the knowledge of the identity. We meet different people on the social sites such as the Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the other important site for socializing. These people may be Africans, Asians; this is a chance to understand our identity in regarding the race and ethnicity. Furthermore, the meeting different people from different gender divide make one to understand that the one of the components of identity is the sexuality. There are so many ideologies about the identity that the mobile media offer to many of its audiences (Foth, 2009).
The other relation between the mobile media and the construction of identity is the mobile learning and education. Many of the people learning and educating themselves on the mobile media have a class and status that is considered to be different from those who have not embraced the mobile media. Many individuals are using the tablets and notepads to attend the long-distant learning. Many have acquired degrees and certificates through the online learning to date. Education sets different classes and status in the society. The educated and those not educated in are in totally different classes. When these people acquire the education on the mobile media and get employed in the different sectors of the economy: as teachers, human resource managers or procurement officers, their living standards improve. Therefore, the status of these individuals may improve due to the earning and the wealth that these individuals may create over a period. On the contrary, those individuals in the society who have not acquired education either on the mobile media or any other platform will be considered to be of low class and status (Falk et al., 1999).
Furthermore, the mobile media may be used to pass the religious messages of the different kind religions. The Bible for Christians is found in different websites that are accessible. Hence, the Christians can identify themselves with other Christian individuals visiting the same website. On the other hand, the Muslims are also able to get access to the Holy book of Quran. There are chances that individuals can meet people with clothing that denotes their religion. For instance, the hijab is worn by the Muslims; people from the Hindus religion also have their unique clothing. Therefore, the mobile media can make one identify the kinds of religions available in the world (Galloway and Matthew, 2006). The social interaction on the Facebook or the Twitter may be between the Muslim, and Christian or atheist may bring out the identity of the individuals regarding religion.
Moreover, the mobile media provide a platform for various people from different nationalities interact on the social media like the Facebook and Twitter. The mobile media provide the individuals using the sites with an opportunity to register their nationality, (Thorson, Shoenberger, Karaliova, Kim, & Fidler, 2015). In the mobile media, there are Americans, Indians, Canadians, Kenyans and much more. The level of interaction of the in the mobile media may be considered regarding nationality. One may be identified on the mobile media as American, British, Indian or Canadian. This is referred as identity regarding the nationality. The individuals may interact at nationality level, creating the nationality identity.
The mobile media may also determine the kind of interaction among people of different age. The youth may be may interact on the social media through the use of the mobile phone and tablets. The social media are accessible through the smartphones and other handsets which are internet enabled. Many people have argued that the social media is for the youth. This applies to the Facebook, which has most of its users to be youth. On the other hand, some people have argued that the Twitter is for older people in the society, and also may be used by people of high status in the society. For example, the president, the Chief Executive Officers of different companies and some prominent individuals in the society may use the Twitter to interact with the rest of the people in the world. Therefore, the mobile media play an important role in bringing out the age identity among the individuals in the society. This proves that the mobile media plays an important role in the social construction of age identity of the individuals in the world.
The mobile media sets the stage for exchanging the political ideologies and beliefs in a given nation and around the world. Many people may argue that the political affiliations are only varied within the borders of a nation. However, the political analysts argue that the different individuals have different political beliefs, and this may be felt the world over. The desire for different kinds of people to express their political ideas may be fulfilled in the social media and which may be a button away on the smartphones, (Jones, Karnowski, Ling, & von Pape, 2013). The people with different political ideas may exchange messages on the social media which is one of the components of the mobile media. The communication in the public space is therefore enhanced. Therefore, the individuals may be able to change their stand about a political belief or affiliation. The results may be due to the influence that comes with the arguments from different individuals. The social interaction may result in someone acquiring a different political identity. Much of the communication, sociability has been achieved through the interactions of the human beings on the social media. Therefore, the mobile media has played great roles in the shaping the political opinions and beliefs of many individuals around the world. For instance, the Whitehouse has its official page on the Facebook that is used for passing the information that can be consumed by the public. Most of the information is political. Some people who comment on these posts may be express their political affiliation and belief. These comments may furthermore influence other individuals’ political opinion.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the relationship between the mobile media and the social construction of identity is very much elaborate. The mobile media is the reveals the identity of an individual and at the same time, it can facilitate the social construction of identity. Through the mobile media, one can know about various identities of an individual ranging from the religious, political, sexuality to the age identity. Mobile media has influenced a lot of identities of the individuals. Therefore, the role that the mobile media has played in informing the world about the identity is very much great. The relationship between the mobile and the social construction of identity will continue to be of great importance world over and the generations in the future. The innovation and technology in the mobile media are something of the day today. Many inventions are yet to come. Therefore, in the future, there may be a different relationship of the between the mobile media and the social construction of the identity.
References
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