My 'Self'

     My ‘self’ is constantly changing and reacting to the primary groups that I associate with in my everyday life. My fellow online students in English 215 are currently a primary group that I interact with and will be interacting with for a whole semester. Cooley describes primary groups as ‘those characterized by intimate face-to-face association and cooperation.’ The technology available today changes our definition of face-to-face. Is my ‘self’ any different from the in-person or face-to-face version to the online version? I would like to say no.

I enter a classroom. What do you see? The first impression. You see the way I look. Will you interact with me?

I post my page and my first blog. What do you see? The first impression. You see the way I look in a photo. Will you interact with me?

     I was able to edit and pick and choose what I said on my blog site so that my first impression was controlled. Whereas, my first impression in-person could have been dictated by the weather or my mood. But I do not think I am a stranger in either situation.  My ‘self’ is made of layers and in-person you get to see different layers of me than when I get to control the layers you see and read on my blog. We all have roles that we slip into that are dependent on the situation we are in at the time. The layer of ‘self’ that is out with friends, the layer of ‘self’ that is a mom, the layer of ‘self’ that is alone, the layer of ‘self’ that walks into a classroom of 25 students and the layer of ‘self’ that introduces herself digitally on an English 215 blog.

Cooley, Charles Horton. Social Organization : Primary Groups. Scribner, A Division of Simon &        Schuster. 1909.