Collective identity: blog task

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'
Who are you? - 
This section talks about what we do in order to construct our identity; fashion statements, hairstyles,make-up or indeed. We have complex ideas about our selves; there is a difference between the person we think we are, the person we want to
be and the person we want to be seen to be.

I think, therefore I am - 
This section is about how we perceive ourselves and the system of categories we fit into ;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 - 
This section goes on to talk about people buying what they 'want' instead of what they actually 'need'. 

The rise of the individual - 
Dominant values help shape how we see ourselves; and by the late 1960s and 1970s the
notion of individualism began to take hold, reacting against what can be seen to be the more conformist values of the past.

Branding and lifestyle - 
Branding is the association of a ‘personality’ with a product.

Who will we be? - 
Through the anonymity of the internet and particularly the possibilities afforded by the
creation of avatars, we have more control over our public image now than ever before.

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

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
I do agree that the modern media is about 'style over substance', meaning that people put try hard to fit into a well-known brand, they end up forgetting about their own identity. 

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard suggests that the media constantly has a dominance over us, and he calls this '‘media saturation’. He also states that, high cultural value being placed on external
factors such as physical beauty and fashion sense over internal traits such as intelligence or compassion. The influence of the media in providing the images, the products, the role models and the ideas that we use to help construct an idea of identity and image has been tackled widely in film.

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 think my presence on social media does present an accurate reflection of who I am. However I have removed pictures form a social media site due to what it shows about me as an individual. 

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?
I strongly disagree with data mining, I don't think companies should be allowed to have personal information in order to sell us products.