smsociety15

Authors: Angela Cirucci

In this paper, I outline and analyze a selection of Facebook’s affordances to argue that the site compels users to become as visible as possible, thus refusing their right to be anonymous. This promoted visible culture is primarily guided by two affordance categories: the “real you” policy and photos. I catalogue the related interface affordances for each category and speak with emerging adult users to better understand how frequent users interact with the space while attempting to maintain and broadcast the self. I find that users (1) do not question the “real you” policy because they view Facebook, like the Census or an application, as an “official” space and (2) value photos of corporeal selves to the point of ostracizing offline friends on the site when they have chosen “non-traditional” profile pictures.