A3

Assignment: 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

• 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.
• Also, consider how reliance on social media for meaningful connection affects a person’s confidence when meeting new people.
• 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.

Assignment: 

Submit 3–5 pages, excluding title page and reference page:

• 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?
• 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?
• What information about how others perceive you might you need but do not get when relying on social media for social connection?
• Your arguments and conclusions must be supported by social psychology theory and research.

In addition to the Learning Resources, search the Walden Library and/or Internet for peer-reviewed articles to support your Assignment. Use proper APA format and citations, including those in the Learning Resources.