Homework: The Self-Knowledge Process
People come to know themselves in large part by observing others' reactions to them when engaged in face-to-face social interaction. The popularity of and reliance on social media (e.g., Facebook) for social connection interferes with the self-knowledge process. This interference is compounded, further, by the tendency for people to pose as who they wish to be but are not (Wright, White, & Obst, 2018). Others' reactions to them as a source of self-knowledge is based, then, on an idealized presentation, and social feedback on this idealized presentation can have little self-knowledge value.
Reference:
Wright, E. J., White, K. M., & Obst, P. L. (2018). Facebook false self-presentation behaviors and negative mental health. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(1), 40-50.
To Prepare
1) Review the Learning Resources for this week and consider how people present themselves on social media and the influence this may have on how people use introspection, self-observation, and other people's reactions to know themselves.
2) Also, consider how reliance on social media for meaningful connection affects a person's confidence when meeting new people.
3) When relying on social media for social connection, think about the unavailability of others' perception of you and why that information might be relevant to building self-confidence.
Task:
Submit 3 to 5 pages, excluding title page and reference page:
1) What implications does the pressure of presenting an ideal self on social media have in terms of how people use introspection, self-observation, and other people's reactions to know themselves?
2) If relying on social media for social connection fails to provide useful information for developing an authentic self, then how confident might a person be when meeting new people face-to-face?
3) What information about how others perceive you might you need but do not get when relying on social media for social connection?
4) Your arguments and conclusions must be supported by social psychology theory and research.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.