Audience – a bizarre and often challenging concept to understand in todays society; it wasn’t until I stood in front of my popular culture tutorial, and presented a twenty minute group assignment that the stream of lectures on ‘your audience’ became prevalent in my thoughts. Perhaps it was because this form of audience, the twenty something students, cold and uninterested, watching my every move, were incapable to ignore; this however is not always the case.
Naturally, each week as I sit down with the intention of writing my blog, I am under the belief that I shall be the only one to read it. Foolish maybe; however as we sit hidden behind our screens, with no trace of ones presence, it is easy to fall under such an impression.
Similarly, the act of liking a Facebook page or posting an Instagram can easily slip through ones mind as an unnoticed act. However, as one analyses this further, I know this is not the case. This afternoon, scrolling through my Facebook feed I was incredibly unimpressed and somewhat offended to see that ignorant acquaintances of mine had market themselves ’safe’ during the second disaterous Nepal earthquake. Keep in mind; I have a great sense of humour, I don’t mind contentious jokes and often like to rock the boat, however this was not funny in any sense of the matter, it was thoughtless and simply put; dumb.
This is not a personal attack or a rant about mindless jokes, however it is very interesting to now think about my audience. Attending at least fifteen lectures about social media at my pretentious all-girls high school, overly concerned at the possibility of young girls damaging their reputation, I feel I am quite considerate with my social media. I would never post offensive images, statuses or crude images, yet it is not just what one posts that highlights ones morals, interests and desires.
I for one am guilty of analysing social media to its fullest, some call it Facebook stalking, analysing however, sounds better. When I befriend someone new, I always scope their profile, gander through their liked pages, attempt to gain an insight into the brand they promote. I am a strong believer that the way one desires to be perceived tells you more than any personal assumptions made.
So now I question, who is my audience? Be it Daniel checking in once a month or numerous students attempting to gage their fellow classmates level of intellect, I will aim to engage more with those hidden behind screens, rather than ignoring the prospect of of anyone ever reading these posts.