The document presents Kimberly Cardinal's theory of convenience, which argues that people are increasingly sharing details about their personal lives online rather than communicating via phone or letters due to convenience. As technology allows people more control over their schedules, social media images have become normalized in society. People are thus more inclined to post about their daily lives online to keep friends and family updated in a time-efficient way, which can reinforce individualism if overused. The theory is classified as interpretive as it aims to understand this phenomenon of increased online self-sharing rather than scientifically explain or predict human behavior.

1. Convenience Theory: The New Brand, You Kimberly Cardinal Objective Interpretive

2. What is Theory? Two explanations Theory defined by the text book is, “In my discussion with JudeeBurgoon, she suggested that a theory is nothing more than a “set of systematic hunches about the way things operate’” ( Griffin, 2). My definition of theory is: a list of assumptions outlining a specific occurrence. The assumptions are based in either objective and or subjective roots, in order to persuade the person utilizing the theory of its credibility or gain some sort of validity by the greater public. In doing so the assumptions are outlined for reason to provide an explanation of why and or an outcome of the listed assumptions.

3. Behind the scenes of Convenience Theory In a time where things are becoming more about the individual and time is equivalent to money, quality and genuinity are pushed to the side only to result in actions out of convenience. Many times my family and friends would direct me towards a social media page in order to view recent pictures, updates and upcoming events in their life. My phone calls and voicemails are returned via shorthand text messages with letters missing. This new phenomenon of being directed or keeping up with those in my circle becomes via the internet is daunting. After noticing many people no longer wanted to chat on the phone or write letters this occurrence irritated me. In turn I began to write down similarities of those who directed me toward social media sites and the content on those sights. After finding similarities in those who directed me toward social media sites I lumped the my findings together. My theory of Convenience formed for the two following reasons: first, understanding our world can now be described as digital people have access to time saving technology, secondly many mainstream images are circulated to the point of enmeshing into our societal fabric. From there I created assumption that explain why people are more inclined to post on-line about their daily life rather than talking over the phone or writing letters. Considering my theory “offers fresh insight into the human condition” (Griffin 34) it is classified as interpretive. Also it helps to understand the phenomenon of more individuals sharing their life primarily on-line, it only applies to some individuals rather than all and I hope to “develop an understanding of local knowledge or members’ unique rules for interactions” (Griffin 34).

4. Two Directions: One way Objective/Scientific Theory Interpretive Theory STANDARDS Explanation of the Data: People share their personal lives on on-line out of convenience. Individuals now operate when they want. More and more individuals spend time trying to keep up with the societal norm in turn their personal interactions decrease to spend more time on their self. Prediction of Future Events: Those who take little time to personally interact with others on their time reinforces a culture of convenience. Avoiding calls or sending calls to messages allows a person to operate on their own time schedule. Using social outlets allows for individuals to focus on their individuality. Relative Simplicity: The more individuals get accustom to using social outlets the more individualistic they become. Hypotheses that can be Tested: Search through a certain amount of social mediums and check how many responses people get for comments and how many mediums have initial posts, response posts and a follow-up post. Verse those posts without any type of response. Practical Utility: This theory will allow for society to understand the impacts of social media sites on society. Also, it will allow users of social media sites to understand the hidden implications of being frequent users of these mediums. New Understanding of People: People who frequently update personal social media mediums subconsciously become more individualistic. Clarification of Values: What type of society do we want to live in. A place where people only care of themselves and update their social sites with the latest and greatest. The creation of a plethora of social outlets explicitly re-affirms the new phenomenon of individuality. Aesthetic Appeal: Who would have thought going on-line could turn into a person with a one track mind. The sole focus of the individual slowly turns inward with every post and inclination to update the mass with information about them self. A Community of Agreement: People post on social media sites for exposure. If people where not concerned with others impressions of themselves they would not post on social media sites. By creating ads for themselves people turn themselves into a brand to be marketed. Reform of Society: If you let social medias influence your behavior you will get lost to individualism. You become part of a system that perpetuates materialism and self-exploitation.

5. One particular friend signed up for Facebook about a year ago. Since I am not a member she would try to show me posts and pictures of friends we share. She began posting frequently and always commented on the pictures of girls with big chests. She would go on to add about all the responses the girls would get due to their enhanced features. This year at my birthday the same friend came with an unexpected surprise, she underwent the same enhancement surgery. Everything she spoke about involved her and how she could get more attention. 2. A guy I know opened a twitter account to share his thoughts with friends. This guy did have a colorful personality that gave him an affableness. Over time hanging out with him mocked a bad reality show. He would do atypical things to take a picture and make a what he thought appealing tweet. Considering the amount of followers he had it obviously seemed to work. Though all his tweeting seemed to gradually move him away from reality. Turning into a person who did things for others rather than himself. Three Examples 3. Another friend I have is into foursquare, everywhere we go he checks in. I mean who would want everyone to know when and where you are. Well apparently he does, he competes with other foursquare members for Mayor of a certain locations by frequenting it more. He tries to go more places than the other people to win some type of status. He never went to Starbucks just to go, now he does in hopes to become Mayor of that location. He feels by gaining these statuses it will in-turn transfer to his personal identity. He cares so much how people perceive him he has to travel to new places and check-in.

6. Criticism Social media and text messaging verse meeting for lunch or talking on the phone (This assumption is the hardest to explicate since there are always the exclusion to the case, in this matter text or social page would be used to reach another person out of emergency in this case the theory becomes invalid) Here people can text or write things they would not do or say if they were face to face with a person. Messages are abbreviated and encrypted with the latest slang, abbreviations, acronyms and emotions. Pages are covered with pictures of what the person is doing, how they are doing it, how they think they look better doing it etc. People use these pages to create a personal footprint of themselves for others to see.

7. Closing Thoughts People are so saturated with images they too feel like a brand, needing exposure to the masses. People use the social media sites to market them self like a “product” waiting to be bought. This is creating people who try to get the most attention by making them self more “saleable”. This “saleability” in turn creates individuals who are extremely individualistic. Time saving comes at what consequence, the consequence of becoming obsessed with self. Many people have lost the sense of what they want and are guided and shaped by societal images. What is not immediately seen is what individuals go through in attempts to achieve certain statuses and implied expectations. Including individuals undergoing extensive procedures and regimes to comply with expected demands. Ranging from bleaching creams to lighten their skin to appear more beautiful to undergoing plastic surgery to enhance certain aspects of their body to changing normal daily behaviors to become more appealing. In all people do not consciously think of the consequences of frequently using social media sites. Rather people are psyched out to believe they are keeping their circle updated with their status in a convenient manner. Social media sites are hooking the individual not to benefit them if this was true they would not be making so much money. People need to realize social media sites shape people to become more individualistic also get wealthy while doing it. People are more inclined to go online to social media outlets to share their lives with other people rather than to prior normative ways of calling, writing, sending pictures or gathering on non-holidays. This has lead to people becoming more individualistic. We need to become more critical of the things we spend so much time doing. Analyzing the the impacts of our actions prior to the outcome. If we are all brands I would want to represent something scarce and rare not something at the disposal of a mouse, button or finger click. The normal thought is “how is updating my site a bad thing” I laugh give a side-eye and think of the harmful potential these social site mediums embody. All I can think of after my friends say this is “fake is the new real”.

8. Works Cited Griffin, Emory A. A First Look at Communication Theory. 7th ed. Boston: McGrawHill Higher Education, 2009. Print.