Collective identity

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you?

We are all involved in constructing and image to communicate our identity. there is a difference between what we think we are, what we want to be and who we are seen to be.

I think, therefore I am.

Our identity would have been based around aspects of our lives that were constructed outside of our selves; class, religion, gender and the predetermined roles that were part of the accident of the family we were born into

From citizen to consumer

The idea of creating wants and desires was influenced by the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

The rise of the individual

The notion of individualism began in the late 1960s and 1970s; This is where the public wanted to express themselves the way the wanted to

Who will we be

Chandler - creating a homepage shaped materials and ones identity.

2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

• Android - Android are a very advanced brand which like to make their consumers feel appriciated  by the quality of product they have. I personally enjoy this  brand because of the fact that they challenge the customer with their products and isn't an ordinary, basic product.
• Adidas - This reflects me as the type of person who feels good about themselves when they're playing a particular sport etc. I would always wear Adidas because it lasts a long time and the fact that the quality is great.
• Apple - In terms of computers, Apple are the best and they try to bring the best out of their consumers and try to motivate them to do work etc. An Apple MacBook keeps me motivate and sums up my identity as I tend to program a lot of the time.
• YouTube - This brand helps me gain creative ideas on things which I may be planning to do in the future. Along with that, it also would help others too as it is a worldwide company.
• Levi's - This reflects me as the type of person who feels good about themselves when they're going out with their friends etc.

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

Definition: The manner in which an argument (or arguer) is presented is taken to affect the likelihood that the conclusion is true. Examples: Nixon lost the presidential debate because of the sweat on his forehead.
In my opinion, I do believe with the saying style over substance as to some extent, a lot of people would rather care about their appearance than anything else.

5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

I do feel that my presence on social media is an accurate reflection of who I am. For example, on Twitter I post a lot of things relating to football and I believe that my personality drives around the footballing world. I watch football and that's what I mainly talk about in public. A lot of the time, I hardly have a photo on my social media accounts mainly because of the fact that I do not know what I should and shouldn't post. When I do post something, it would only be done if it was a trending thing at that particular moment.

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

Another technical development – data mining – allows corporations to create products designed to meet the needs we reveal in our personal information. Perhaps this is the natural next step in the commodification of self-image and identity – we end up selling our selves.
In my opinion, I don't mind if companies were looking at my search engine because whatever we search online is always going to remain online no matter how hard we try to delete it in the end.