The “Daily Me” concept is centered around each of us, and we have our own “Daily Me” routines. The Digital Literacy textbook describes this concept as individuals doing things that are convenient for them and when it is suitable for them.
Technology is continuously advancing, and with that, society and our daily ways of life have molded to this process.
The textbook mentions how VCRs and DVRs have advanced to Netflix and other major streaming platforms where you aren’t forced to sit down and watch something as it plays, but instead, you can watch them anytime and for however long YOU want to.
The concept is made for us because, as humans, at the end of the day, we truly only want what is best for ourselves. This idea acknowledges that fact and encourages and allows us to use and access things, like streaming platforms, whenever, wherever, and for however long we want.
“What Could Be Better Than All Me, All The Time?”
– Digital Literacy Textbook
The author tells us that the “Daily Me” concept has three characteristics that ultimately make up the “self-serving” idea.
- Partnership
The first concept is a partnership, a streaming platform’s “terms and agreements” portion. When you start using any app or platform, you typically have to sign one of these agreements, which allows you access to the technology.
- Participation
The second concept is participation, which is a direct result of partnership. This is when the fun begins because after you agree to those terms, you can “participate” and interact with all the things the platform or software has to offer. This is where the engagement starts.
- personalization
The third and last concept is called personalization. This “stage” takes on three forms.
- Individuation
- Individually, you choose how you want to display yourself. On social media platforms, you would customize your profile, post pictures or videos, and do whatever you have to do to build yourself on that platform personally.
- Selection
- This is where you choose what you want to see and who can see you.
- An example of this would be shown through TikTok’s “for you page.” This “page” is a continuous feed, and when you watch videos you like, the algorithm customizes what is shown to you based on how you have interacted with previous videos.
- The platform wants to keep you engaged, so their goal is to customize your experience to the best of their abilities so you will keep engaging with the platform.
- validation
- This last one is an endless cycle because we are all guilty of wanting validation.
- This is when people notice you and then follow and interact with you, your profile, and your content.
- Almost every social media platform has likes, comments, following, or even follower count, influencing how you would act on that platform.
Photo by NordWood Themes on Unsplash
Overall, this concept is so fundamental. The author gets it right by shedding light on this essential idea, which brings us to think about why we use some apps and platforms. Every day, we humans wake up and think about how today will be good for the US. This isn’t a bad thing because we are important to us.
Still, it is interesting to see how all the social media platforms, streaming networks, apps, and any technology we use daily are centered around the idea of “us.” Typically, if we are not posting ourselves or our lives, we see how people validate what we may have recently published. It’s an endless cycle.
The “Daily Me” concept is something that I didn’t understand before. I thought I was sometimes thinking about myself or my interests, but after learning about the concept, I realized that was exactly what I was doing. Again, it isn’t bad, but it is precisely what our media has centered everything around in today’s world.