After viewing and analyzing my Facebook page, I have come to the conclusion that my persona is depicted as being a happy, carefree individual who is completely content with the life I’ve been given. While this description seems ideal, it is in no way who I really am. The written texts on my page serve this persona indirectly through a more reflective and focused happiness, although my images show a direct attempt to convey a more superficial, “caught in the moment” happiness. Namely, almost every photo features me smiling, whether I’m with friends, family, or my dog. They look natural enough, and yet none are candid; they are stages smiles. They show me with friends at parties, posing as if we are having the time of our lives; or with my sister, smiling as if we're the happiest people on earth. My attempt at conveying constant happiness is indirectly a result of my subculture as an American teen; we all want to live the ideal life, so we smile as if this life is our own.
The written text on my page is more effective in depicting my actual thoughtful character, yet it still has the essence of false happiness. In my “write something about yourself” box are Bob Dylan lyrics, “the man in me will hide sometime to keep from being seen, but that’s just because he doesn’t wanna turn into some machine.” This quotation serves my character well because I often feel like an outsider and I try my best to avoid conformation. However, my status that simply states “I love it all” directly combats this meditative thought and once more adds to a sense of happiness that is not real; instead, it’s just an attempt to prove to other members of my subculture as an American teen that I am just as happy as they are. In short, my Facebook certainly depicts a false, exultant character that is not my own.
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