Pondering on: Your Internal Image, Your External Image and Social Media.

Muhammad Ali

"We will be known forever by the tracks we leave"

- Native American Dakota Proverb

It is now easier than ever that people are able to judge us. With an estimated 2.77 billion - global - users in 2019, Social Media is an undeniably gargantuan sect of the internet (Statista, 2017) cemented into our lives as a need rather than a want. We must now more than ever be careful about how we present ourselves to the world and to ourselves. Or rather "sell ourselves" to the world and ourselves. As a young individual, more so an emerging creative professional, I feel that our external images are paramount in creating an impression in breaking into the industry. Here I am to ponder upon and discuss my thoughts against facts and examples regarding the image of ourselves that we present to the world and the image we present to ourselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI

"Fake it till you make it"

- English aphorism

We formulate an external image to convince everyone including ourselves that we are of this value or standard. "Fake it till you make it" , the theory that if one acts by a particular set of qualities they wish to have, they will in practice realise these qualities within themselves (Morin, 2016). Or in other words, by performing one's external image, one's internal image will in turn align with the external.

An example I can present you with, is Muhammad Ali, and his press speech before his famed fight with George Foreman - also known as "The Rumble in the Jungle" fight. In the video above we see Ali as if "psyching himself up" for the fight with the heavy puncher. It can be easily be imagined that he is not just selling this image to the audience but to himself. Despite Ali's skill and speed, George Foreman's sheer strength in crippling a heavy punching bag was a fear that could hold your heart still with each heavy, solid, punch.

"A reputation is an animal designed by committee"

- Alex Lickerman, Psychology Today 2010

This topic is something I feel that anyone can and should find relatable across all industries as we all hold an ideal image of ourselves. Being an emerging creative practitioner, I've quickly come to realise that majority of gigs nowadays present themselves through social networking, rather than through job postings. In fact, according to an ongoing survey - being held since 2016 - over 85% of jobs are filled via networking (Adler, 2016) . For those who daunt formal job postings and meetings, the fear of being judged by your potential employer is put at ease with this news and a screen as their perfect front for getting a job . With the disappearance of analogue portfolios we are now seeing professionals that are presenting themselves and their work on social media, nurturing their online presence carefully in hopes of scoring a gig.

The building of your online image, more often than not, is a selective process. We tend to pick and choose what parts of ourselves we want to display to the world as there are those extra steps in posting something as oppose to a face to face situation , where you lack much time to think about your selection of words. However this can sometimes be detrimental to the standard at which we hold ourselves at. We regularly see these carefully curated posts and sometimes are discouraged to post our "lesser" art works in an effort to keep our image clean - an example of our outer image becoming our internal. Despite this, social media is a useful and just about essential tool in acquiring jobs.

In short, social media is a tool that creative practitioners will be required to use in future to have a successful career. Despite its benefits in being able to develop a reputation for yourself well, it comes with risk of criticism and a higher spectrum of risks that can discredit your good reputation in the snap of a finger. Use it at your own risk.

Cheers,

Grassland

16/08/2018

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Bibliography

References:

Adler, L. (2016). New Survey Reveals 85% of All Jobs are Filled Via Networking. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-survey-reveals-85-all-jobs-filled-via-networking-lou-adler/

Lickerman, A. (2010). The Value Of A Good Reputation. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/happiness-in-world/201004/the-value-good-reputation

Morin, A. (2016). When to Fake It Till You Make It (and When You Shouldn't). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201606/when-fake-it-till-you-make-it-and-when-you-shouldnt

Number of social media users worldwide 2010-2021 | Statista. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/

Images:

ITV. (2016). Farewell Muhammad Ali and Thank You [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.itv.com/news/2016-06-04/farewell-muhammad-ali-and-thank-you/

Videos:

Combat Sports Archives. (2016). Muhammad Ali - "I'll Show You How Great I Am" speech [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI