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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
Fragmented self in multiple social media account:A journey to
define what is social media frommuslim scholar perspective.
Around 1400 years ago (621), the fundamental Islamic leader went
for a journey fromMasjidil haram (Saudi Arabia) to Masjidil Aqsa
(Palestine) right now. Then he ascendedto heaven and spoke with
god. After thousand years, the journey has not over. Yet it
isexpanded from east to the west by his followers whom continue
which we believe asmessage from god. Now I am sitting face to face
to my computer and there issophisticated technological system
namely internet connection, server, browser, socialmedia, language
programming and many more. It is complicated and beyond what
hethought back 1400 years ago. Now in the 21th century as muslim
scholar, my journeybegin in the social media platforms. Not to
preach and give speech about the messagesabout Islam certainly but
to describe what kind of control and freedom dominantlyleverage
muslim scholar behaviour and act in social media world as space of
selfexpression. This paper is an extension of auto etnography
project which conducted by meabout media tracking and dieting. The
result is I am shifting and performing from oneplatform to another.
It cannot be generalised and represented that all muslim
scholarshave a similar route like mine because this is my story, my
journey, and my space. Enjoy!Keywordsactor network theory; control
and freedom; identity; public and private space; audiences
***THE STORY BEGIN ...I realize that I do not use different
platforms for different purpose only but also I behavedifferently
on every platform. I started to wonder when and why it started. The
way Icreate identities in every social media platforms with the
profile describing, photos, andcontents are not entirely the same.
Despite I love to play with many roles in social medialike roger in
American Dad who have more than thousand personas in every scene,
thereare sense of invisible and visible surveillance who witness me
everyday, every time, andeverywhere. Markham wrote individual is
impacted by ever-increasing connection withcomputers, technologies,
and information (Markham 2013) which make the generationC is has
different experiences from the previous generation how they think
and act aboutthe world. More specifically about how they articulate
identity in social and culturalcontext in digital era.
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
I begin to conceptualise from control and freedom relate to
actor network theory as bigumbrella to explain my his(story) and it
is divided into four actors (Islamic values set,mom, audiences
(friends or followers), technological affordances) which shape
thenetwork in social media. All of them are related each other, and
I can say, they areoverlapping but somehow there must be a clear
border among them because differentcontrol and freedom I should
take for granted. All the actors leads me how I behave andcreates
profile in every social media platforms. Although the whole story
is about myjourney, but at the end, I describe social media as
personal space ofself-CONTROL-expression. As Chun pointed out that
all electronic interactionsundermine the control of users by
constantly sending involuntary representations(Chun 2006). It can
be from the the socio technical system which controlled by
bigbrother from IP address, personal identity information, daily
pattern in social media use.Borrowing the term Algorithmic self
which described as through a complex and largelyinvisible
interaction with the algorithms that mediated the interface
(Markham 2013).
***First actor: Islamic valuesBlackwell also said the self is
entirely social product, he presents a dualistic image of selfwhen
he argues that there is an unsocialized component to the self that
drives theindividual into and out of social intercourse and
sometimes impels the individual tobehave in ways out of keeping
with social norms. (Blackwell 1997). There is set of ruleswhich
constrain me to speak up my mind freely, mom also influence by this
rulesbecause she devotes herself so much to our god and He (I use
apostrophe because inIslam we are not define god as a male or a
female) represents in the world by Koran andHadith some people
might say prophetic traditions.Never insulting or cursing someone
else, both in the real life and in thedigital world. Behind or in
front of him/her someone else.This term is one of many values which
taught by Muhammad (peace be upon him) whensomeone say harsh words
about myself. Well as a human being I also have the right toexpress
myself however I have to control myself to what I write on wall, I
tweet, photos Iupload to Instagram, and etc. Then the actor is
related to my mom, a human figurewhom I respect the most after
prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). She saidpatience can beat
hate. She just wants to apply Islamic values every aspect of her
life boththe real and digital world.
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
Later on in the afternoon she sent me a private message on
Twitter, she wrote that Imust have more patience to face out any
grudge comment to myself and better tobeware of what I wrote
because I already knew the Islamic values which come fromour
prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Instead of cursing someone on
Twitter,better for me to send him bless for his good life. She
asked me to delete my tweet. I couldnot fully understand mom
because of this and I avoided arguing about who is right andwho is
wrong, even though I was not fully accepted about it, then I erased
my tweet.
I do not have any choice except to honor her and I do not want
to be someone who will beburnt in hell fire because abandoning and
having a quarrel with mother as a womanwho has highest position
among every women in the world based on the Islamicvalue. None can
replace her. It never gonna happen. Unconsciously I have been
appliedIslamic values from our god to our prophet then to our mom
then it is internalise inmyself.
Second actor: MomI realised when my mom got on Facebook, I began
to use them more systematically andstrategically than I did before.
I am looking at my online notes, which I performedslightly
different persona I have. In my journal, I wish to begin when doing
that andwhen my mother got on Facebook and told story. She did not
post but she sent mepersonal message policing my behavior.
Instantly revert back to my 14 years self whowould not mind to
please my mother and I realized book is not gonna be the place that
Icould express all the part of my personalities. Maybe that work
out the best becauseFacebook become professional zone. Maybe she
was right, but nonetheless I invest tocontain multitude and have my
personality express so I decided to the other platformand I want to
be a different people in different platforms.Once upon a time, I
was bashing on ones page on Facebook because they insulted mygroup
idol (I just wonder if their page still exist). I admitted my words
are harsh andruthless to someone in that page or to group either.
Suddenly my mobile ringing andthat was my mom. She said that I have
to look out on my mouth and behave like anideal grown man. Because
someone sent her a message through facebook reported meas a guilty
that I writing inappropriate comments on Facebook.Papacharissi
narrowing idea of self nowadays is expressed a fluid
abstraction(Papacharissi 2011). It can be whatever self can
possible be in social network. Momcreate identity as a police to
monitor and control like panopticon not only me but also mycousin
in Social media. The story goes when I move to twitter.Mom sent a
private message on Twitter (again?) because of my tweet sort of
resentfulto someone. Well I guess I wrote a tweet about someone who
said my outlook
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
appearance looks like terrorist with beard hanging down on my
chin and I alwayswear pants or trousers above ankle. That was
horrible!See! She is still the same figure, attitude, control, and
action. The dissimilar thing is onlythe space. Latour in his work
of Actor Network Theory indicates in any givenrelationship, they
are human actor and they are non human actor and they relate to
oneand another and put into motion effects.I wish I can get my mom
out the conversation button, but the button does not exist.
Asresult, my relationship with my mom had to go in this certain
way. I had to change mybehavior, now there is additional network
actor called this button. If I wish I couldactivate this button to
stop her from sing what I say, would allow me to do other
things.Each one of them set series into it. It is hard to talk
about those interaction withoutbringing in these other action
because completely controlling it.
Actor three: AudiencesI duplicate myself into several
individuals in very social media, Gergen mentioned thisphenomena as
self-multiplication (Gergen, 1991). Because I realize there is a
police whomonitors, I also realize the differences of audience in
every social media. It is impossibleto bitch something bad about
Denmark for example. Despite, yes! It is developed countrywith high
income standard, modern, and wealthy. But the bureaucracy system is
stillunder developed. Comparing with Korea where I got my residence
card permit within 30minutes, in here take more than 6 months with
black mail the office in advance. I cannotdo that on Facebook
because I have plenty Danes friends. Many if questions are
flashingon my mind, what if my friend hated me, what if they had no
respect on me, what if theyperceived me as an ungrateful person
because I got scholarship from DanishGovernment but still I blame
their bureaucracy system. Which in my culture it isconsider
disrespectful.Facebook is for everyone who know me or at least we
already had a face to facecommunication. They are friends from
elementary school until graduate college. Theyare also friends from
many organizations that I have been joined in different places
andtime. They are also work partners from several projects that I
have been done. I seldomaccepted friend request from the person who
has never met before. Meanwhile twitter isfriend is only close
friend, probably we have been hanging out several times and if
theyfollow me I will follow back. But if they do not follow me I
will never follow them. Bydoing this, that person trust you and
willing to share the connection and gain access to
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
him/her space. If not, just waving my hand and say goodbye. I do
not want to provide mypersonal space for you either.I started using
twitter in the May 2009 when I was in Korea for student exchange,
oneof my friend posting from facebook via twitter. At that time it
was cool! A newplayground emerged and none knew (or perhaps only a
few knew). Because I amconsider myself as a person who is stay
updated with the new technology and noveltythen I signed up. I
started talking about crap on my twitter, sometimes teased on
somefriends who updated their twitter not hourly but secondly.
In Path only people who has already known me a lot, we have been
friend in several yearsor I have been worked with him or her in a
long time. Or simply someone who I want tobe their close friends
and maintain our relationship. I might say friendship in Facebookis
not based on quality but in Path is the reverse of it. Along with
the idea of participantsmore frequently consider the implications
of excluding or explicitly rejecting a person asopposed to the
benefits of including them (Boyd, 2011).Audiences also have a great
impact to join or participate in social media. They discovernew
spaces which sophisticated and without doubt I joined them to visit
the playground.When there is none there I felt alone and it is not
common for me to talk to stranger insocial media platform. Along
with the concept of participatory culture (Jenkin 2011)which social
interaction and participation among audiences play the central role
inshaping every social media platforms and audiences reciprocally
give the meaning into it.When there is no interaction in social
media, it means dead. Although more than 90%social media user is
just doing lurking activity (wikipedia 2015) which mean lurking is
anew way of participate in social media. But still social
interaction particularly with closefriends play an important
effect, except if someone do not have a friend in real world.I open
my twitter and only a few people post some updates about their life
today. Theyare same person who always update and share everything
about their life. Evenunimportant thing, I guess everyone start to
leave twitter and use other social media.But they do not want to
miss updates on twitter. They are just linking between anemerging
social media and an old social media.But I consider without friend
my social media platform is just cemetery park, I onlycommunicate
with strangers on my tumblr. Some friends in fact have a tumblr but
theyare not avid as me. Playing with strangers is not as fun as
playing with your friend. Idid not decide to shut down the tumblr,
I keep update with third party applicationwhich linked to tumblr
like flipboard, social scope, Instagram, and Path.
Actor four: Technological affordancesAs I mentioned before about
the audiences who affect me to control what I write andpost on
social media platforms, in fact I can post it either on my mother
tongue or use
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
certain code. But again, Facebook has translation feature which
can translate my wordsand about the code, not every audiences can
understand utterly about what I postliterally. It mean my message
is not conveyed correctly to the audiences. Rettberg
glossesFoucaults idea in technologies of self. He said that
technologies of the self permitindividuals to effect by their own
means or with the help of others a certain number ofoperation on
their bodies and souls, conduct, and way of being, so as to
transformthemselves in order to attain certain state of happiness,
purity, wisdom, perfection, orimmortality (Rettberg 2014).Because
of technological affordances, mom could sign up for Facebook
account by herself.Another person had to help her to solve this
technological affordances. I assume mom isquite being literacy in
current technology such as computer and internet but not in
socialmedia. She has an email account and as a matter of fact she
works for the largesttelecommunication company in Indonesia
therefore I doubt if she is not familiar withcurrent
technology.Sometimes I tagged him on video or photo but she did not
leave any comment. I realizeshe use Facebook as she want to, not as
we want to. Yes! I want to make sort ofconversation on Facebook
with her and other siblings but probably she is busy ormaybe she
forgot the password. Yeah! several times she asked password to my
littlesister. And sometimes my little sister was in her Facebook
account to chat and replycomments. She only said, this is not mom,
this is me. Hilarious. How come she appearon moms account, gladly
she did not act bizarre on her account.Identities making and
actingAll four actors lead to the how I am creating identities and
behaving in each social mediaplatform. Gergen noted how my
experiences in social media platforms through thesaturated self and
multiphrenia (Gergen 1991). All of the experience in the
virtualworld enrich me in the sense making process of multiple
identities in social mediaplatforms. Although at the first place I
used to think it is a normal as a generation C orthe other scholars
might be pointed as generation flux to have multiple email
account,multiple social media, multiple interaction with audiences,
multiple view of each space,and the other multiple possibilities
which seems for the previous generation as a strangeway to live
until emerge the term YOLO (you only live online), well for me it
is justdoing an adventure and playing with identities that I cannot
do in real live because backto the control and freedom in the
environment.Theoretically or many people think that me, myself, and
I is the central of identitiesmaking in social media platforms.
However Boyd pointed out that user or participantsdo not have
complete control over their self representation (Boyd 2011). It
means
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
participants create profile based on what they want to perceive
from the audiences whocan gain access to the see the profile.
Moreover, with whom participants willing to sharetheir profile
with. Blackwell suggested that individuals are not able to choose
freelyimages of self they would have others accept but rather are
constrained to definethemselves in congruence with the statuses,
roles, and relationships they are accorded bysocial order (Edgley,
Lemert & Branaman, 1998).These are four different screen shots
from my profiles and recent updates in socialmedia.
Screencaps from facebook (profile page and wall from the left to
right)
I created profile on facebook to show as a normal person as I
can be even though I stillput my uniqueness. I am doing this
because my audiences is diverse and come fromdifferent social and
cultural backgrounds. I do not want they perceive me as a
deviantjust because I want to be myself. Controlling my inner
deviant self is better to avoid
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
stereotype and prejudice in the first impression. I perceive
myself as a scholar, thinker,young professional, and religious
man.Dominantly my updates is in Indonesian and English, I also have
to control and filterinappropriate contents which can hurt friends
on facebook. I avoid to post somethingrelated to religion friction,
blasphemy toward someone, and etc. But sometimes I alsohave a right
to stand for what I believe because my timeline full of media
bigotry andblasphemy. To do so, I have freedom to control what I
would like to do. As Burke wrotebehaviour is goal directed in the
sense of their identity standard (Burke 2003).
Screencaps from twitter (profile page and updates from left to
right)
Meanwhile on twitter I constructed myself as a spammer,
complainer, drag queen, queer,religious man, sexy stripper, movie
reviewer, and any magnitude possibilities. Wellperhaps twitter is
my alter ego of facebook. Because the personas which appear is
theopposite what I want to perceive on facebook. The limited
audiences make me free toexpress what is on my mind (but for sure
not entirely because of the actors, but mainlythe first two
actors).
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
Basically it is more comfortable and enjoyable if I tweet in my
first language. I use mysecond language if I could not find synonym
in bahasa.
Screencaps from Tumblr (profile page and contents from left to
right)
In Tumblr I only describe myself in a simple way, because it
suppose to be my digitaldiary. The essential thing is in the
content not in the profile. Although it is my digitaldiary, still I
manage the privacy, access, and visibility. Not all of my mind
thrown it inhere. Both in Tumblr and Path audiences can think as
they like as I want to be in herebase on the contents, it is not
consistent because I posted something emotionally
drivencomment.
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
Screencaps from Path (profile page and moments from left to
right)
There is no profile describing feature on path, profile and
background picture andcontents is central of my identities.If I put
in one metaphor, Facebook is a mall, Twitter is my backyard and
Path ismy bedroom, Tumblr is my diary. In a mall people coming and
going to shop atthe department store, buying groceries at the
supermarket, hanging out with somefriends at the cafe, making a
photo at the photobox corner, working at the accessorisestore, and
many things people can do on facebook. Meanwhile backyard is a
place whenpeople can play with dogs, do aerobic or yoga and plant
flower, but the place is moreprivate and only limited people can
access the backyard depend on who the owner is.Bedroom is very
private area, no one can enter carelessly otherwise she or he will
bekicked out and not to be allowed to enter forever. Diary is a
space designed for only mecan see and know about what I write. No
one even parents do not know what story that Iwrote in there.
Because I am not good at keeping things, sometimes it is
accidentally read
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
by anyone who found it. In fact that is not entire story of my
life, just a piece of puzzlewhich I create to build a image what I
want to be.I must admit as a human who need sort of motivation,
tumblr is place where I cancompile great quotes and I read back and
forth. The most favorite quote on tumblr andI always remember until
today even I wrote two or three years ago,One day, everybody shall
realize that the only motivator they need is the man in themirrorI
also put the this emoji :) in the end of quote
The similarities among four social media platforms which I
describe before, still (with bigsigh) there is control from the
four actors. Some of them is visible in my contents andprofiles (if
you can see, I never put my a whole face photo in every social
media because itis against the concept in Islam of lower you gaze.
My photo either without face, masked,or only the body not the face)
but plenty of them are invisible or still on my mind.Rettberg
describe Foucaouls view about technology of power which determine
theconduct of individuals and submit them to certain ends or
domination (Rettberg 2014) .There is a feel of something or someone
keep surveillancing me whatever I do on myspace. For example, I
always think; Is it appropriate to post this contents? What do they
think of me if I post contents like this? Am I get a punishment
from god if I post this? Is it insulting audiences if I post like
this?
Space of self-CONTROL-expressionTurkle describes about Virtual
Personae, in relation of social media has effect to howthey are
perform in every platform. She said the creation and projection of
constructedpersonae into virtual space(Turkle 1999). Each of spaces
is not physical but thetechnological one and technology creates the
opportunity and it also limit me in someway for instance had my mom
joined facebook three years ago at the time there is no wayto
filter people out of your past had she joined two months ago I
might have verydifferent relationship to facebook on the other hand
I might not because it have to bestudent there because sometimes
there is still capacity sometimes witnessing things thatyou do not
want to be spread to another section in which in twitter I feel
having very kindof specific handling and nobody really had interest
in me. It is even more the case on thepath that people that I know
in the short time. I would not even add anybody who Ididn't
know.
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
Then she decided to make Facebook account. I didnt remember who
and how shemake her account, I guess my sister was helped her. I am
not sure if my mom openedthe site and sign up for facebook.
If some scholar think that the control is done by advertiser
company or governmentssurveillance to civil, based on micro
research in my case, control came from fourdifferent actors.
Related to personal identity, I could say, tracking identity
fromgovernment is less scarier than tracking identity from my god
which lead me have badrecord of my life and I will be damned in
judgement day if I am not behaved properly.Some people might laugh
at me, but in my conception god also exist in virtual world.Inhabit
Audiences also have an impact to whom I want to share my updates.
Because inFacebook, the audiences are more complicated from
different background and cultureand across nations so I have to pay
attention carefully to put an update in order torespect other
people believe and view. While in twitter and other social media
platformbecause it is mainly I use for friend who know me for
several years so I am more open tospeak my opinion addressing a
topic or issue.
***Well this is not the end of my story since I am still
continuously using social media tointeract with people, develop
myself, understand the space where I am involved and livein, or any
possible activities in the future. It is going to be an auto
biography if I writeeverything on paper. The way I have constructed
myself in every social media because ofsome power who control me to
behave and act accordingly. Even though they do notstand or sit
beside me, they are embedded in my body and mind. There is no way
to runor escape because they will follow me and haunted me
everywhere. The fragmented selfin social media just a social
product of self-CONTROL-expression. I believe as a mankindI still
have freedom. But my freedom under strong control of four actors
that I describebefore. I have freedom but in certain way, is like a
bird which has freedom to flyeverywhere, but it is impossible for
them flying and and ascending to space. They will diebecause lack
of oxygen or the other reasons. The four actors protect me
especially thefirst two from unexpected dangerous and disaster in
vast and infinite digital space for thepast, present, and future.
Unfortunately, because of the limitations of the university rulein
writing paper, I have to close the red curtain and end my story
here. This story is notentirely represent me to understand my
identities which lay in my mind and body. It isonly one fragmented
story in particular time and space, then the journey never end
untilI close my eyes and say goodbye to the world (at least my
children and grand children
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
will read and understand what is the meaning being a muslim
scholar in social mediaplatforms in 21th century).TO BE CONTINUE
...
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Re-Exam Digital IdentitiesYudha Saputra201402191
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Goffman Reader. ContemporarySociology,27(3), 314.
doi:10.2307/2655225Gergen, K. (1991). The saturated self. [New
York]: Basic Books.Jenkins, H., & Ford, S. (2013). Spreadable
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New York University Press.Latour, B. (2005). Reassembling the
Social (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Retrieved from
http://dss-edit.com/plu/Latour_Reassembling.pdfMarkham, A.N.
(2013). The Algorithmic Self: Layered Accounts of Life and Identity
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