What should we post and what shouldn't we?
As a 22-year-old who’s been active on social media since I was 15, I’ve become increasingly mindful of how I present myself online. This is also a result of having moved away from home at the age of 18 and building a life in a country where no one knew me. Upon entering my 20’s, my utilization of social media became multidimensional. I was not only using apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok but also LinkedIn. Along with this I also became aware of not wanting the public eye to see every facet of my life. Some may call this maturity, while some may call this masking my identity. However, what matters most is what I feel about it - I feel a great sense of being safe in my own skin without seeking external validation.
Inspired by this, I decided to use the new AI studio feature called “Ghibli studio” on Chat Gpt to produce an image of me from a gala I attended recently. The gala was organized by the not-for-profit organization which I am a part of on campus. This was the prompt I used: “produce a ghibli image of a 22-year-old Indian woman with light skin, long dark brown hair, and striking aqua blue eyes. She is wearing a sleeveless pastel pink dress with a small bow. She’s taking a selfie with a relaxed smile".
The next image which I produced was using Dall-E. This is the prompt used: “ A 22-year-old Indian woman with light skin, long dark brown hair, and striking aqua blue eyes. wearing a Red lehenga with a sleeveless blouse and silver embroidery of small reindeers. The background is outdoors between trees”.
This was inspired by my recent attendance at a family wedding in India- a moment that reconnected me deeply with my cultural roots. McLuhan’s insights helped support this approach more as well. “Any extension, whether of skin, hand, or foot, affects the whole psychic and social complex” (McLuhan, 1994, p.4). This AI-generated image of me in ethnic wear, mimicking the exact lehenga which I wore at the wedding was not merely an image, but an extension of my cultural and personal identity. Additionally, the quote, “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us” (McLuhan, 1994, xi), sheds more light on my relationship with social media and generative AI. While I used to use these platforms as a medium for self-expression, they gradually began shaping how I presented myself in a more intentional way. This was more so to protect and define my sense of self on my own terms rather than hiding my personal identity.
Lastly, I decided to create an image of myself using studio Ghibli in graduation attire as it captures the last chapter of my university life. The prompt I used was - “a 22-year-old Indian woman with light skin, long dark brown hair, and striking aqua blue eyes, wearing a graduation hat and gown posing with a "University of Alberta" degree in hand”.
This image represents not only one of the biggest milestones in my life, but also the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance and growth.
Reflecting on this journey through the lens of transliteracy, the process of writing this reflection heightened my perception of self to a holistic one. It brought about a unique spin on storytelling as well. Due to being an international student, people often ask me to elaborate on my identity owing to my non-conventional features as well. Hence, crafting my AI-generated identity challenged me to think critically to form a cohesive digital identity. After embracing multiple forms of technologies, I realized that the act of representation is never one-dimensional, but always evolving. Creating these images felt like a heartfelt tribute to myself - to the person I have become through my experiences and to looking ahead at all the possibilities that lie before me.
References:
McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man. The MIT Press. https://git.xpub.nl/onebigear/SI_09_reference_library/raw/commit/22c6b948728588aed471a22f2469632d33aa7bfc/Marshall_McLuhan_Understanding_media.pdf
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