Exploring Facebook Through The Self

In class today we were discussing how people present themselves via social media, specifically we focused the conversation on Facebook. A few people argued that people are deceiving through Facebook about who they truly are, or at least stretching the truth. Some say the motivation could be that they want to appear more interesting. I would like to look at presentation on Facebook by exploring the model of the Self. There are several parts to "The Self". The main parts that make up The Self are the Ought Self, the Ideal Self, and the Actual Self. I believe it is possible that what is portrayed by average people on social media is a prime example of the whole self, including all three parts. For instance:

Let us look at the parts of the Self through a fictional lens (these are not my personal thoughts)

The Ought Self (What I think I should be): I think I should be involved in politics therefor on Facebook I post about my political views through comments and statuses (even if I myself just learned about this political event through another person's post because I don't watch television). I think I should go work out often so anytime I go to the gym I take pictures and post them to let people know I do so. I think people will like me more if I appear to be social so anytime I am at a social event I take pictures to prove to my network that I am in fact social (even if it is a once a month deal for me).

The Ideal Self (What I would ideally like to be): I would like to be skinny so I only post pictures where I appear to be the skinniest. I would like to be in a happy relationship so I post blog articles about how to have a happy relationship. I would like to be a great video gamer so I post about how often I am playing video games (it makes it seem like I am doing this often even if it is only a few times a month).

The Actual Self (What I really am): I post status updates of my daily happenings so people know what is going on in my life.

As you can see it is possible that when individuals are posting on Facebook they are not deceiving or lying, but merely just showing you a part of their Self, whether it be an Ought Self, an Ideal Self, or their Actual Self, it is nonetheless part of their Self. There is always a little truth in every lie. I think this even goes beyond average users. Today after class I rented and watched the documentary Catfish. When the older woman is caught for being a fake, she admits to the male she had been talking to for months that there were parts of her personality in every fake profile she made. She does this through tears as she explains that Megan, the pretty dancer and musician she was pretending to be was who she wished she was (The Ideal Self), and that she used to be a dancer (The Actual Self) but she gave all of that up to have a more realistic lifestyle and regretted it. Maybe even in the extreme cases the theory of The Self can be applied to all users of Facebook, even if they are Catfish...