Response to "Facebook: Editing Myself" by Mrigaa Sethi.

Social networking websites such as Facebook are tools that allow the users to stay connected with each other, or make connections with strangers. These sites are effective at achieving the goal of inter connectivity between individuals. However, it is the connectivity that we crave and fear at the same time. We want our "friends" or "followers" to view all the material we post but when someone we do not know, or do not like comes in contact with our profile, we become skeptical. 

In paragraph five of the essay Sethi writes: 

"So there is a paradox. While online social networking has an unequaled reach, the breadth and variety within the network, and the near universal access it permits, necessitates a diluted and carefully edited version of self that is at times less than, more than, and something entirely else from the original" (Latterell 62).

The "paradox" Sethi references in the essay touches upon a critical issue involving social networking. As much as we crave to express ourselves via our personal profiles, they are indeed "diluted and carefully edited". Many people fear what others will discover or conclude about them, so they change what personal information they post. Also many people scrutinize about the context and phrasing of their posts in order to prevent others from drawing a negative view of who they are. In other words, creating an entity "entirely else from the original" is common between users of social networking websites. Sometimes this may be a responsible way to maintain an online profile, especially in the case of Sethi, a college instructor. As a public figure and person of authority, it is important that she edits her profile in an act of professionalism. Her career could be affected if she posted inappropriate material considering "the near universal access it permits". 

Read more about the topic at:
http://infospace.ischool.syr.edu/2012/03/08/is-your-social-media-presence-an-accurate-portrayal-of-who-you-are/




                             Works Cited
Latterell, Catherine G. ReMix: Reading Composing Culture. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. Print.