Many of the theorists we have recently discussing in class were concerned with the self. In their own unique ways, Mead, Cooley, Goffman and others have indeed proposed that, beyond influencing our ways of thinking and feeling, social interactions can shape our very self-identities. However, nowadays our social interactions and daily tasks (including this and many other UTRGV courses) are regularly mediated by the internet and other kinds of digital media. Do you think that symbolic interactionist ideas about identity are still applicable today? Explain how our digital technology-mediated interactions could affect our social identity or our own self-concept in new ways, based on any one of the views on the “self” discussed this week. Can you provide an illustrative example?
[Hint 1: While it is okay to address how others perceive us through digital communications, notice that I am asking you to go beyond that and elaborate on how the interaction may ultimately affect how we perceive and create our own selves.]
[Hint 2: Let’s agree beforehand that digital/phone/online/etc. interactions are social interactions and they are real. While we may argue about the quality and consequences of digital interactions, please avoid implying that in-person interactions are the only possible kind of interactions!]
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