Instagram and Snapchat = the new lover?

I definitely agree with the comments, many people in recent years have taken to the phenomenon of social media. Not only is it a way to connect with your peers but it is as Erikson said a way for people to see how they are in comparison to their similar others. Erikson suggested that to sooth this identity confusion and the complexity of gaining social roles is through the growth of cliques and stereotypes. Through social media, it is almost like an online clique. Everybody wants to befriend the other and they want to fit in; be it through a means of likes, reactions or comments. We want to assume these roles and I don't think it is the best for our society. These individuals are "eager to be affirmed by their peers" and they aren't really creating a role for themselves. They are aligning their interested to the generalized other which is the social media model in a way.

I agree that social media has become a platform for self affirmation. I also agree that, as explained by Jaden, that individuals have the urgency to elaborate their front stage by putting their "best-foot-forward". In my previous experience, I've seen arguments take place on Facebook threads. Most often, the individual with the most "liked" comments are encouraged to continue their argument because they perceive to have the "correct" opinion. In contrast, individuals with the least "likes" may accept defeat to avoid further embarrassment. The fear of losing face is quite striking, especially when you're exposed to a potentially large audience. Having said this, I think that we should be cautious of how social media can be used for self validation. Social media can be liberating in a sense that you have access to information and the opinion of others, but, as Weber would say, social media can become an iron cage once it is over utilized. I have seen where popular YouTube vloggers have had to distance themselves from social media because their source of happiness became dependent on their fans' comments. Social media becomes engrained in everyday life, and eventually, individuals may begin to engage in certain events not for pure enjoyment, but for "show". It's become such a prevalent phenomenon that we have a collective understanding of what it means when our friends encourage us to "do it for the likes".