No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior.

Reading Summary

We all have different personalities dependent on the people we are around. We also adjust how we act or how we describe things and activities based on the people or environment we are around. We each perform different roles in different social
arenas, depending on the nature of the situation, our particular role in it,
and the makeup of the audience. People also have the option of combing different groups of friends and audiences together. The combination of many different audiences is a rare occurrence in in-person interaction, and even when it does occur, people can usually expect more private and isolated interactions. Electronic and social media, however, have rearranged how many people mingle on social forums. Unlike the merged situations in face-to-face interaction, the combined situations of social media are relatively long and inescapable, and they therefore have a much greater effect on human behavior, both on the screen and in person.

Outside example

This is a meme about judging people for acting differently around different groups of friends or people. In this meme, the creator is criticizing those who either have different personalities around different people or choose to act different in different social groups. This is trying to say that you have one personality and you should always act like that when in reality that is really not the case.

Reading Connection

Every single person has multiple personalities depending on the people they are around. People are always adjusting little things about themselves in order to match things or traits they find interesting or attractive in other people. So the reason someone acts different around different people is they are simply copying the personality traits they like best from that certain person. Criticizing someone for having a different personality or acting a different way around certain groups of people is hypocritical, because no one has one set personality that never changes. I like to believe that no one actually has a personality and the way we act is all dependent on who we surround ourselves with and learn from. In the reading it is explained that the separation of people into different situations fostered different world views, allowed for sharp distinctions between people’s “onstage” and “backstage” behaviors, and permitted people to play complementary roles with each other. So in contrast with the meme provided here, I would say we are allowed to have different and changing personalities. Whoever you want to be or act like at that time is up to you and you shouldn’t have to worry about if certain actions are true to your personality, because in the end your personality is just a combination of traits you’ve learned from people you admire.