Today, I want to talk about blubber. In class, we discussed the idea of varying degrees of symbolic and/or narrative usefulness within certain sections of Melville's Moby Dick. One particular topic that came up over the course of the discussion was blubber, and I think we were maybe too quick in asserting that there is nothing to be learned from whale fat.
In Ch. 68, Melville, discussing blubber, writes:
In a previous blog post, I talk about identity and the role of the Internet in shaping our real-life identities. One of the things that I had to learn when I first embarked into the world of digital media was that if I was going to get anywhere, I would have to learn that my own ideas were important--that it was okay to have personal opinions, even if they weren't necessarily held by the majority of my online peers. I think that over time, I've developed a layer of metaphorical blubber that has allowed me to dive into the often icy waters of the Internet while still maintaining my sense of self and holding to the ideas and values that I deem important.
Anyway, that is my rant on blubber. Have you found the same to be the case for you in terms of developing a thicker skin on the Internet?
Article Source: Katie Davis, Young People’s Digital Lives: The Impact of Interpersonal Relationships and Digital Media Use on Adolescents’ Sense of Identity. Computers in Human Behavior 29 (6). 2281-93. Online.
 |
| Creative Commons License, by Jenny Spadafora |
In Ch. 68, Melville, discussing blubber, writes:
[H]erein we see the rare virtue of a strong individual vitality, and the rare virtue of thick walls, and the rare virtue of interior spaciousness. Oh, man! admire and model thyself after the whale! Do thou, too, remain warm among ice. Do thou, too, live in this world without being of it.This principle of maintaining a so-called "interior spaciousness"--a personal identity or "room of one's own"--proves particularly important within the context of the modern age. A study presented by Katie Davis in "Young People’s Digital Lives: The Impact of Interpersonal Relationships and Digital Media Use on Adolescents’ Sense of Identity" suggest that identity exploration and use of social media have both direct and indirect negative effects on adolescents' "self-concept clarity." The distillation of that is that as they use digital media exploratively, adolescents (and I would guess this could be extended at least marginally to adults as well) lose a sense of personal identity or rather lose clarity in their understanding of the concept of self.
In a previous blog post, I talk about identity and the role of the Internet in shaping our real-life identities. One of the things that I had to learn when I first embarked into the world of digital media was that if I was going to get anywhere, I would have to learn that my own ideas were important--that it was okay to have personal opinions, even if they weren't necessarily held by the majority of my online peers. I think that over time, I've developed a layer of metaphorical blubber that has allowed me to dive into the often icy waters of the Internet while still maintaining my sense of self and holding to the ideas and values that I deem important.
Anyway, that is my rant on blubber. Have you found the same to be the case for you in terms of developing a thicker skin on the Internet?
Article Source: Katie Davis, Young People’s Digital Lives: The Impact of Interpersonal Relationships and Digital Media Use on Adolescents’ Sense of Identity. Computers in Human Behavior 29 (6). 2281-93. Online.
Well, it's not like I have a lot of facebook friends with opposing views. But as far as identity and views are concerned, I try to remain open, because openness is the key to learning, but I do make it a point to remember right from wrong. I am not very good at initiating threads or making impacting points, and whenever I attract the wrong kind of attention I afterwards avoid it. I don't see the Internet as a forum for debate so much as it is a venue for pleasure...I have a very thin skin.
ReplyDeleteGreat title Greg haha. I believe you make a very good point not just about the internet but also life and finding out who we are. Our sense of self is never going to be solid (blubbery) enough unless we take the time to find out where we stand in relation to the world and our surroundings. Internet is only exacerbating the need--or at least the increased interaction with others that the internet has allowed--to have an identity. But beware too much blubber! Too much and we are in the same danger of drowning as the thin skinned whale. That is, being too malleable is just as bad as being an impenetrable, stubborn, blubber-head.
ReplyDeleteLove the connection. This is something my friend and I were just discussing the other day, how with all the social media around and with kids getting accounts and online at younger and younger ages, it's going to be tricky to raise kids with a correct self perception and and a correct perception of others! It's something we're going to have to think about and address even more consciously than we have in the past.
ReplyDeleteI find this topic extremely relevant, especially for our class. Prior to this semester, I had never blogged and was nervous about my ideas and my inexperience with blogging in general. I'm obviously still learning, but I feel that developing that perfect amount of blubber is very beneficial in contributing to digital culture. It's important to develop ideas and get input and feedback as to the things your interested in. Good job for gaining the confidence to be an effective digital user!
ReplyDelete