Research Proposal

     The topic I plan to discuss revolves around the issue of a person’s identity and values when technology is introduced. In essence, I am trying to uncover how people’s personalities change because of the introduction of new technology like social media and cell phones, how interactions between people with altered identities behave differently through technology rather than in person, and why people’s identities change when they are interacting through technology rather than in person. Specifically, as people revolve their lives around communication through text messages or posts on social media, are they actually engaging in meaningful, substantive interactions, or only dehumanizing themselves, losing their identity to conform to social standards imposed by technological rules? Furthermore, does technology inherently make us more self-absorbed and individualistic, all while making us lose our own sense of self?

     This paper is an extension of Sherry Turkle’s essay where she describes our dependency and attachment to technology, and how these connections we forge with others through technology is an inauthentic replacement for true human interaction. Michelle Carter defines a new term called IT identity as “the extent to which an individual views use of an IT as integral to his or her sense of self”. This paper will argue that a heavy use of technology will cause a person’s IT identity to mask or, in some cases, completely overtake a person’s true identity, since the desire for acceptance and love from society overtakes our free will to accept our selves without these technological attachments.

     I plan to argue this by showing that people tend to conform to society to fit in or to have their thoughts be the popular belief. I will do so by introducing Fredrickson’s idea that the mirroring of neurons that occurs in the brains of individuals connects them biologically. With the rise of social media, the desire to be more popular heightens, as people now post to get more likes, get more views, get more followers, and overall feel conformation that their content is worthy of approval by others. If social media is seen as a mode for personal branding, people want to develop their online brand to gain loyalty among others, often putting up a front rather than their true self to gain more followers (Wu 190). People feel better about themselves by feeling their thoughts resonate with others, therefore making them feel validated and approved. This is very similar to how people love robots more when they mimic the personality and emotions of the human (Groopman). However, this is not what the self needs. The attachment we have for technology prevents us from finding our true selves and our true values. The way to do this is by detaching from forces that control our lives that try to define who we are, and instead become involved and be one with the environment in reality (Thurman 451). There should be less of a focus on the individual self, and more on the environment that we are surrounded with, as Thurman argues that we are a product of our environment. Therefore, the soul will focus less on itself and be less egotistical, and will no longer try to conform to identities influenced by technology and media, and instead focus on a whole, less individualized focus on the self with technology only aiding in the development of a person’s identity, not limiting the person’s identity.