MIGRAIN: Representing ourselves - identity in the online age

MIGRAIN: Representing ourselves - identity in the online age

Task 1: Media Magazine article

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you?

The representation of cultural values helps construct an image to communicate our identity.

I think, therefore I am

How we presented ourselves was based on the social constructs.

From citizen to consumer

Advertising tapped into understanding the psychology behind the wants and desires and used it for their advantage.

The rise of the individual 

Advertising started to identify that a person who has not met their ideal self has many fragmented pieces and identities. They portrayed products to help customers think this will define their identity.

Branding and lifestyle

Advertisers sell the personality rather than the product, so that people will choose products that match their own self-image.

2) List three brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

Spotify - This is because I listen to music a lot and is part if my daily life.

Nike -  This brand represents me the best as it has a competitive and dynamic imagine which correlates with me well.

Netflix -  Netflix used to be a great part of my day as I used to watch it constantly and keep up with new shows and binge watch older ones.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

Yes, I do agree with the modern view of the media is all about 'style over substance' this is because people show a different face to the media for example influences on Instagram portray a completely different lifestyle and live a totally opposite one. Style over substance means When someone or somethings aesthetic and perceived value, mask the lack of content and depth of character.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard calls ‘media saturation’ results in high cultural value being placed on external factors such as physical beauty and fashion sense over internal traits such as intelligence or compassion.The common ground between Baudrillard and postmodernism is the concept of “image”. The social effect of image is undeniable and every day we consume simulated images through internet, television and different media.

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

I think the pictures I post on Instagram accurately reflects me as I personally think i don't fake a life style and change how I look. I have removed some pictures which are old because I have changed and picture qualities are different but doesn't change the person that I am. 

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

I think that data mining is an invasion of privacy as big corporate companies are using private information to curate an ideal product meeting customer needs. This might seem likes great idea however personal information being used to target audience doesn't seem safe.


Task 2: Media Magazine cartoon

Now read the cartoon in MM62 (p36) that summarises David Gauntlett’s theories of identity. Write five simple bullet points summarising what you have learned from the cartoon about Gauntlett's theories of identity.

•  Gauntlett argues that mass media texts provide us with a wider variety of representations than traditional print media
• This critical theory background is used by Gauntlett's  to suggest that mainstream culture now perceives identity as more fluid and trans formative than ever before.
• He contends further that alternative concepts and images have made room for a wider range of identities.
• He drew attention to generational differences but aspects that bit is an assumption that more liberal attitudes established in young will be be carried into later life 
• Gauntlett questions the popular idea that masculinity is in crisis and concludes that whist women are told by mainstream media that they can be anything they want to be.

Task 3: Representation & Identity: Factsheet blog task

Finally, use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #72 on Collective Identity. The Factsheet archive is available online here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to complete our introductory work on collective identity:

1) What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.

Collective identity is the shared sense of belonging to a group.

2) Complete the task on the factsheet (page 1) - write a list of as many things as you can think of that represent Britain. What do they have in common? Have you represented the whole of Britain or just one aspect/viewpoint?

• Royal family
• Afternoon tea
• English breakfast
• Rainy weather

3) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?

This specific context means that the programme is not only ‘fun’ (i.e. seeing a 2 mile Scalextric circuit actually being built) but the programme also dwells upon and explores aspects of British history: the history of the race track, the history of Scalextric and wider British issues such as the decline of manufacturing jobs in northern Britain and a sense of regret that many of these toys are now manufactured abroad, such as Meccano in 

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

Media has given an easier way of communication for people to engage.

5) What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity? 

This new focus on identity is supported by Gauntlett (2008) who, in 2008, proposed the ‘Make and Connect Agenda’. This is an attempt to rethink audience studies in the context of media users as producers as well as consumers of media material.

6) How does the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group provide an example of Henry Jenkins' theory of interpretive communities online?

This group was formed in accordance with the "repeated" theory of Henry Jenkins, according to which "fan genres grew out of openings or excesses within the text that were built on and stretched, and that it was not as if fans and texts were autonomous from each other; fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some extent, what they could do."