Students share how social media can both reflect and reshape personal identity
BYU–Hawaii students said their social media accounts reflect their real-life identity, while others use it to curate or separate aspects of themselves. Their approaches range from consistency between online and offline life to more distinct online personas.
Keeping it real online and offline
Tehani Castillo, a sophomore studying English from Arizona, said her social media reflects her real-life personality rather than a curated online persona.
For Castillo, social media is a place for her to share her love of dance. She runs a separate dance account on Instagram where she shares old dance videos and clips of her dancing with friends.
I feel like I’m trying to be as authentic as I can both online and offline.
Castillo said her interest in dance deepened during the pandemic when she began watching K-pop dance videos online. She said learning more fast and difficult choreography helped her pick up movements quickly.
She now serves as a choreographer for the BYU–Hawaii Hip Hop club and social media continues to inspire some of her creativity. “It’s super exciting and I love being able to bring in those aspects of K-pop performances that I've seen … and making it my own with the group that I have,” she said. For her, social media is a source of inspiration that incorporates into her real-life dancing.
Castillo said she uses social media to reflect both polished and unpolished moments as he also tries to include parts of her personality too. “On my social media, I have those bloopers and I love showing that side of how everything looks super good, but there's also the back end that is really fun to watch.”
Castillo said her online presence feels like an accurate depiction of who she is, though she acknowledges it highlights the moments she chooses. “At least my good sides, obviously, which we all put our best foot forward,” she said.
Dressing for the feed
Another student, Yoseph Pondra Winanto, a sophomore in business with an emphasis in marketing from Indonesia, uses social media to highlight his interest in fashion. He said he looks for fashion inspiration from different people he sees on social media. After seeing others post their outfits, he said he was inspired to start posting his own outfits. “When I post my outfit on my page, my purpose is to show that what you wear is really important,” he said.
On his Instagram account, Winanto said he only shows what he is wearing. “I’m just focusing on how I’m dressed and my outfit,” he said. He added his posts do not depict his personality, noting he is a people person and enjoys learning from others.
Winanto also said social media has influenced some of his interests in a positive way. “I didn't like going to the gym before, but on Instagram Reels there are so many people talking about the benefits of the gym,” he said. “I think I got influenced by one of the videos so now I'm trying to be more consistent with it.”
He added his interest in fashion began because of social media. He said he used to not know how to style clothes or put outfits together, but seeing people share their outfits online helped him. He said he sees fashion trends each year online. “I try to follow the fashion trend, and then I feel more comfortable. I think until now, I try to stay updated about fashion trends and what to follow,” he said.
Private values, public content
Meschach Robinson Ashokan, a sophomore in political science and intercultural peacebuilding from India, posts to his YouTube channel Robinhood Vlogs. Ashokan said the version of himself he posts online varies from who he is in person. He said he first started his channel when he arrived at BYU–Hawaii to document his transition from India.
“My name is Meschach Robinson, but in my videos I never show up as Meschach Robinson. I show up as Robinhood,” Ashokan said. He said there is contrast to how he acts in person versus in videos. In person, he said he is more quiet and introverted, but in his videos he shows himself as more lively and fun.
When he is not filming videos, Ashokan said he enjoys helping and serving others, but this service is not something he documents on YouTube. “If you help someone, if you are giving or offering to someone, it should be given by the right hand, and it should not be shown to the left hand,” he said. “It means you are not supposed to show to everyone ‘Oh, I'm giving this to this person. I’m helping them.’’ For him, the most meaningful parts of his identity are the parts he keeps offline. “Real life is always the best,” he remarked.
Ashokan added that social media can become harmful when people begin creating content for views and attention rather than for themselves. He said being able to balance his online identity and offline identity has been key for him. He said when he reached 70,000 subscribers on YouTube he began to question if he was doing it for himself or for the views. “Control the media. The media should not control us,” he said adding social media can influence people’s character and behavior.