This blog entry is based on my readings from the chapter “Filtered Reality,” Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, by Jill Walker Rettberg. The reading was a look at the use of filters in everyday life, from using Instagram filters we apply to our images, to algorithms that filter and deliver information to us in our Facebook news feeds. We have entered an era where our image and how we present ourselves to the world is glossed over and made to look just right. We are no longer content with showing ourselves as we truly are; instead we pimp out our image to look vintage, happy or gritty. We Photoshop out our blemishes, sallow our cheeks, increase our thigh gap, and present an image that is almost monstrous when compared to the original. But for some, this is exactly how they want to be seen. Gone are the days of the photo booth that captured us in a raw unaltered black and white image with nowhere to hide. Now, we adorn ourselves with fake mustaches on sticks, giant glasses or wacky hats to show others we are having “fun”, where in the past, a simple smile was enough.
After last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling legalization gay marriage in the United States, we have seen many people showing support by applying a rainbow filter to their Facebook profile picture using https://www.facebook.com/celebratepride. This was very timely, considering the subject matter of this week’s reading. With the use of these types of filters, what social experiment is Facebook conducting? This wouldn’t be the first time that Facebook has manipulated people’s news feeds. Participation has shown the good and the bad in people regarding this ruling. The good come from the out pour off support of peoples’ right to be happy and marry state side, regardless of gender or orientation. The bad, has reared its ugly face, in the form of bigoted comments by non-supporters of human dignity, or lessen its importance though straight pride postings and imagery. I suppose this filter is one way to see how people really think, what they support and how some are still living in the dark ages. Maybe these people need to apply that “happy” filter to their lives.
After writing this, it appears I am not alone in my assumptions...
http://conservativepost.com/everyone-who-changed-their-facebook-photos-to-rainbow-just-got-duped/
Reference
Jill Walker Rettberg, “Filtered Reality,” Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, Berkshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
After last Friday’s Supreme Court ruling legalization gay marriage in the United States, we have seen many people showing support by applying a rainbow filter to their Facebook profile picture using https://www.facebook.com/celebratepride. This was very timely, considering the subject matter of this week’s reading. With the use of these types of filters, what social experiment is Facebook conducting? This wouldn’t be the first time that Facebook has manipulated people’s news feeds. Participation has shown the good and the bad in people regarding this ruling. The good come from the out pour off support of peoples’ right to be happy and marry state side, regardless of gender or orientation. The bad, has reared its ugly face, in the form of bigoted comments by non-supporters of human dignity, or lessen its importance though straight pride postings and imagery. I suppose this filter is one way to see how people really think, what they support and how some are still living in the dark ages. Maybe these people need to apply that “happy” filter to their lives.
After writing this, it appears I am not alone in my assumptions...
http://conservativepost.com/everyone-who-changed-their-facebook-photos-to-rainbow-just-got-duped/
Reference
Jill Walker Rettberg, “Filtered Reality,” Seeing Ourselves Through Technology, Berkshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.