arteles_catalogue_2014

FRIEND REQUEST
Friend Request is a project started at Arteles that is equal parts
observation, research, interaction, and performance. The project
begins with a questionnaire comprised of extracted information
asked by Facebook to inform a user’s “About Me” section in
the profile. In a folder is a physical version of the questionnaire
personally filled out, along with a recent image of myself. Once
someone agrees to become my “friend” on Facebook I give them
my personal file and proceed to inquire about their personal
lives based off the questionnaire. (This exchange happens at first
encounter or arranged). The intention of Friend Request is to start
a discourse about the amount of information social media users
give forthcomingly to all of their social networks.
Technology has shifted societies notions of privacy and intimacy
and has expedited virtual relationships. The speed and accuracy
that strangers get acquainted through online interactions has
escalated the intimacy amongst social users. The editable
structure of social media networks promotes the idea that sharing
information increases connections, but this information does
not necessarily strengthen a singular relationship. Sharing an
abundance of personal information helps with self-promotion
before generating a connection, making online development more
self-serving than commutative. Large amounts of self-disclosure
create vulnerability, but constant curation of a user’s online profile
allows for the development of an ideal identity. Since the virtual
interaction is crafted the relationship promoted online can be
entirely different than the relationship held in the physical world.
This shift has implications in the real world, or maybe it means
that society is moving into an existence of multiple identities that
have to be developed and navigated.