Entering the Social Media Matrix
Social media has allowed us to become idealized versions of ourselves online. In doing so, have we willingly forsaken reality for the comforts of an online world?
The groundbreaking 1999 science-fiction masterpiece The Matrix centers around a group of rebels who enter a digital world to free enslaved humans whose bodies languish in the real world as finite batteries for malevolent machines. Released in a time before the internet became a necessary utility for households and long before the creation of smartphones and social media apps, a scene from The Matrix stands out as a prescient warning for a society wanting to live as idealized versions of themselves inside of a digital world.
“Do we have a deal, Mr. Reagan?” asks the villainous Agent Smith to a preoccupied Reagan who sits across from him at a high-end restaurant. Immaculately dressed, they discuss the terms of a nefarious scheme to destroy the last human city on Earth. Reagan impatiently cuts into a thick steak; bloody juices flow out as the knife exscinds a chunk of bright pink meat.
“You know, I know this steak doesn’t exist,” says Reagan, scrutinizing every fiber of the excised piece of steak. “I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realized?” Reagan impatiently shoves the piece of steak into his salivating mouth. His eyes roll back into his head as he relishes the flavors and lets out a satisfying exhale, “Ignorance is bliss.”
“Then we have a deal,” replies an amused Agent Smith.
“I don’t want to remember nothing. Nothing! Do you understand?” demands Reagan. “And I want to be rich, you know, someone important… like an actor.”
“Whatever you want, Mr. Reagan,” assures Agent Smith.
Yes, Mr. Reagan, whatever you want. That’s what the Matrix can offer you when you willingly submit yourself to it. Mr. Reagan, however, does not exist – he’s merely an idealized digital version of his real-world counterpart, Cypher, who surrenders to the Matrix to escape the bleakness of a post-apocalyptic world. Cypher has had enough of being a nobody, so he decides to become somebody in the Matrix.
Just like Cypher, our fascination with the digital world lies in the enticing opportunity to become someone else. Whatever real-world imperfections we have can be negated with a carefully controlled online persona, giving us validation and, in essence, a second shot at life. This is social media, a tool born of the online age that we have yet to understand how to properly operate.
Social media is not a proper representation of real life but a carefully curated version of it. When on social media, our online personas control the narratives of our digital lives. From family and close friends to complete strangers, we allow others to see only what we want them to see on our online feeds. This tight control over our self-presentation is the allure of social media for billions of users worldwide.
The Matrix is real. The Matrix is here. The Matrix is social media. And instead of trying to escape it, we are all willing participants in it, some of us more than others. But at what cost?
Identity is something we all struggle with. Who am I? We have asked this existential and rhetorical question many times throughout our lives. And just when we think we have the answers, social media comes along to offer us a different explanation. Instead of presenting to the world a defined version of us grounded in reality, social media allows us the opportunity to redefine who we are within the digital sphere. The online posts, stories, and intimate details we choose to share through social media become nothing more than carefully managed snippets of how we want to present ourselves to the world, the reasons for which can go beyond mere vanity.
For many in the smartphone age, there is this relentless notion that feels the need to capture every waking moment of life. However, the more accurate assessment is the need to capture only those moments that provoke a response, especially on social media. A life in pictures, but only those that are good enough to showcase and flashy enough to envy, underlies the decision for self-presentation on social media. The aesthetics of self-presentation online – selfies, poses, and layouts – especially visually targeted social network sites like Instagram, create an intentional halo effect that leads audiences to hold the user in high regard and think of them in positive terms.
The aesthetics of self-presentation on social media creates an intentional halo-effect that leads audiences to hold the user in high regard and think of them in positive terms. Photos by cottonbro from Pexels; cottonbro from Pexels; Eduarda Portrait from Pexels; Sound On from Pexels
The simplest example of conscious online self-manipulation was examined in a 2017 study that showcased how users’ perceptions of audiences guided the creation of online avatars within the context of gaming and virtual worlds. Everything from physical appearance, clothes, down to the smallest accessories, was modified by users to fit the expectations of particular social forums and their audiences. Through avatar customization, users attempted to control others’ perceptions of them, forming the foundation of conscious efforts to tailor one’s online self-presentation.
We need only look at the infamous LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Tinder meme that presents a humorous yet jarring example of how social networks allow us to present different versions of ourselves online. From an image of a professional go-getter on LinkedIn, a wholesome family-type on Facebook, an adventurous show-off on Instagram, and a seductive tease on Tinder, the ability to transform one’s identity to meet the criteria and expectation for a variety of audiences dilutes our very own authenticity and identity. Which one is the real person, or are they all facets of the same person? It’s hard to discern when viewed through the careful lens of social media.
We run into the complication of presenting a public image of ourselves on social media to various users we might or might not share many characteristics with or know. The problem of determining who we choose to present our online persona to is answered by simply not considering everyone’s preferences. As Dr. Bernie Hogan states in his 2010 study, sharing of one’s online persona boils down to quite simply those we choose to present our persona to and those who might find it problematic. Only those audiences who make use of the content presented – along with “those who respond, those who lurk, and those who acknowledge or are likely to acknowledge” – are engaged by the user.
Social networking sites are a fusion of the off-line situations that define a user’s online presentations. These online profiles represent the individual user and act as virtual stand-ins for that user. As Hogan concludes, “People need not acknowledge this mediated relationship in order to participate in it. In fact, it is likely that ignorance blissfully facilitates the willing capture, storage, and use of private data. Moreover, it is a difference that allows individuals to consume and view each other’s past [content] without directly engaging the individual, or in many instances, even letting the profile owner know that their information is being viewed.”
Whether these online accounts are public, semi-private, or private, exhibiting control over one’s identity with a semblance of anonymity is why social media is preferred by those who employ it as a means for self-presentation. These users end up creating their own online world in which they decide who inhabits it and how they interact with it. Understanding why these users choose to enter social networks and live through their online personas is even more revealing.
Self-concept clarity, the notion that we know who we are, is a key predictor of why individuals decide to experiment with self-presentation through online personas. Individuals with a higher self-concept, usually those demonstrating consistent personality traits and beliefs over time, are less likely to experiment with online personas on social media. In other words, what you see is what you get both on and offline.
On the other hand, those with lower self-concept, usually younger adults and those who demonstrate some type of neuroticism, are the ones who are more likely to present idealized versions of themselves online. These users prefer to inhabit and communicate online rather than in the real world.
In 2020, users spent an average of 145 minutes a day on social networking sites. With social networking usage taking up a significant portion of a person’s daily life, increased use has been linked to increased depression, especially amongst adolescents. According to Jaime Sidani, co-author of the study that revealed this link, one of the reasons for this is the ubiquitous positive portrayals of the lives of users presented online. This exposure, especially for adolescents who are still developing their identity, makes users feel as if their lives are inadequate when compared to the impossible idealized versions they see on social media.
The ubiquitous positive presentations on social media make users feel as if their lives are inadequate when compared to the impossible, carefully managed, and idealized versions they see depicted on social media. (Clockwise from top right) Photo by Hamann La from Pexels; Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels; Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
For those with lower self-concept, social media provides a means to experiment with online personas completely different from their real-world counterparts. This only leads to additional management of their online identity and of their public perception. This careful consideration of who one is versus who one wants to be is the difference between Cypher and Mr. Reagan. Social media, our Matrix, provides a means for users to compensate for their reality through the mirage of their online personas. This is the worldwide appeal of social media for millions of users engulfed in its recognized deception.
Further intensifying users’ descent into social media is its addictive qualities. Likes, shares, and follows are all different forms of social media rewards, a sort of self-esteem currency exclusively tendered online. Providing no monetary value, these rewards are awarded by fellow users and provide a psychological boost for many who seek validation through social media.
No different than a Skinner Box, a tool used to assess reward learning in animals, researchers found that social media engagement is motivated by a similar tactic whereby users engage more often when they receive more rewards. The more likes, shares, and followers a user receives, the more likely they will be active on their social media accounts.
In a 2017 interview with 60 Minutes, technology ethicist Tristan Harris proposed the obvious question, “When these features are being designed, are they designed to most help people live their life, or are they being designed because they’re best at hooking people into using the product?”
Exploiting the desires and pleasures of the human mind creates a symbiotic relationship between users and social media. “Inadvertently, whether they want to or not, [social networks are] shaping the thoughts and feelings and actions of people. They are programming people,” explains Harris. “There’s always this narrative that technology is neutral and it’s up to us choose how we use it. This is just not true. It’s not neutral. [Social networks] want you to use it in particular ways and for long periods of time because that’s how they make their money.”
Just like in The Matrix, where humans were exploited to generate power to keep intelligent machines running, the exploitation of the human psyche to generate profits to keep social networks running is rather rudimentary in comparison. But as willing participants in social networks, users have the power to break free of the handicapping effects social media can have on their offline, flesh-and-blood counterparts.
The psychologically rewarding nature of social media stimulates a desire for more rewards, provoking a neurological response that can lead to possible social media addiction. Psychologists estimate that anywhere from 5 to 10% of Americans already suffer from social media addiction, a number that will only grow in coming years thanks in part to an increasingly online world.
The primal characteristics that make up the human psyche, specifically desire and pleasure, form the basis for the apps social networks create and how they are used to hook users. Whether users like it or not, social networks have already figured out how to hack into their minds and take hold of their most fundamental instincts.
When hooked, users want more of the desirable qualities of social media because there seems to be a perceived benefit that they cannot allow themselves to let go of. This is not to say users do not have any control over their social media use. But it is telling that users willingly allow themselves to be subject to the temptations of this online obsession, especially those enamored with their online identity. Conscious or not, social media use has become inevitable.
Social media has done a lot to enrich our world and make it more accessible to anyone, anywhere. From frequent updates from friends and family, occasional announcements from our favorite brands, celebrities, and sports teams, and spreading awareness of worthwhile causes, these are just some of the many examples of what social media has done to bring, quite literally, the world into the palm of our hand.
Social media is not going anywhere anytime soon, and if it hasn’t already, it will steadily permeate every aspect of our lives. With 70% of Americans already holding some type of social media account, and with more than half of the world’s population using popular social networks like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram daily, the pervasive nature of social networks is something that we cannot stop or hope to contain.
Social media might end up dominating our society, but it does not have to dominate our lives. Our efforts to create a better world shouldn’t be exclusive to our idealized online personas. There is a world and a life outside of social media. It might not be the world or life we want, but it’s the only world and life we have. Those who are apprehensive about being a part of it must recognize that choosing to live as someone else online is not the appropriate solution to anyone’s real-world problems.
We control the influence of social media on our lives, not the other way around. Unlike the willful ignorance and total surrender of Cypher to the digital world, we must be like the protagonist of The Matrix Trilogy, the heroic Neo, and venture online only to obtain the information we seek without lingering long enough to get lost in the temptations of an idealized and unrealistic digital world. How one decides to use social media and for what reasons is entirely up to them. But one must never forget that no amount of online engagement will ever compensate for reality.
Many of us are old enough to remember a time before social networks took hold. To some degree, that life still exists. In the real world, we are not the flawless personas that are carefully presented and meticulously managed on social media. Nor should we be. We are complex, nuanced individuals that have the power to create whatever life we choose. Because living online is not living, it’s merely presenting. Social media is a tool – the choice is yours on how you choose to use it.
