technoculture314-09

While we may not realise it or admit it, it's safe to say that all of us to some extent are guilty of 'editing' our likes and dislikes. First impressions are those that last and i'm sure I wasn't the only one who was just a little bit nervous yesterday in the lecture when faced with the task of summing up my tastes in music, flim and literature with only one choice for each category. While it wasn't all that hard to pick my favourites, what was hard was trying to predict what the person sitting next to me would think of me if I actually had to share with them. Would they think of me as some sort of pyscho because my favourite song is 'Sculpting the throne of Seth' by Polish brutal death metal band Behemoth? The last thing we want is to be looked down upon or viewed negatively by our peers, and it's all too easy to acuire a false impression of a stranger based purely on their tastes in various cultural areas. True I do consider myself a 'metalhead' listening to music that most people would be afraid to even look at the album cover of, but I also enjoy drum n' bass, jazz, dub, ska and electro, not something you would expect after being told what my favourite song is.

An interesting phenomenon it is that people would lie about their preferences just to look 'cool' or 'popular' in front of others but this is exactly what is happening in the digital age in which we live. New forms of communication like email, texting, blogging and online chat allow us to mediate and control how we come across to those we are communicating with. In a face to face context we are generally put on the spot and will often tell the truth on matters such as this. I would probably admit to being a huge fan of death metal to anyone asking me what music I like, unless it was made in a 'disconnected' context. By not being forced to give an immediate response, we can consider not just the answer that we wish to give, but the answer that other people would like to hear. As Luke pointed out in class, a prime example of this is looking at friends supposed 'likes' on facebook, and sometimes it seems as though people have gone to extreme lengths to paint a certain image of themselves, which may or may not be a true refleciton of themselves.

Another example that sprung to mind was the feedback and comments people post on music website www.ultimate-guitar.com. The site features news, reviews, guitar tabs and forums amongst other things aiming to connect musicians worldwide. It's interesting reading the comments people make on various news articles, particularly when it's concerning a band that the majority of the people who frequent the site would look down on, like 'Fall Out Boy' (sorry if anyone reading this is a fan!). Most comments posted about the band are of a negative nature, and anyone trying to defend the band gets 'flamed' by other users for liking such a group. In light of this i fail to see why anyone would bother making a positive comment when they are more than likely to be abused and ridiculed just because of their tastes. This raises the issue of authenticity, and calls into question the extent to which we can trust peoples 'online identities'. Are these identities likely to be a reflection of our true selves? How can we tell who is genuine and who is not? Oh, and just in case anyone was curious, my answers to the ‘favourite things’ question in class are, ‘Sculpting the Throne of Seth, Ace Ventura, World War Z. Unless of course you think I’ve mediated my answers in order to look cool!