Hi friends! My name’s Aron Ryan (he/they). As I begin this blog on social media, I’d like to introduce myself with my social media profile - Facebook, to be precise!
When it comes to my social media usage, I’m most active on Facebook, using the platform for personal and professional connections. Given how frequently I check Facebook, what does my Facebook profile say about me? The first thing I’ll discuss is the first thing most Facebook users will see - namely, my profile photo below.
I took this photo at Starved Rock State Park, showcasing the LaSalle Canyon. Starved Rock is one of my favorite places to hike, whether solo or with friends. Since the photo was taken last summer, and I haven’t received a haircut in over a year, I’d like to note that my hair is much longer than my profile picture, and my love for hiking has grown with it! Hiking is also featured in my cover photo below.
My cover photo was also taken at Starved Rock, showcasing the French Canyon. Having said that, I presume that most Facebook users may focus on the two stuffed animals - an owl, and a fox. Since I work in the KidSpace department at Gail Borden Public Library, I find that it’s generally acceptable in my social media to embrace the childlike parts of my personality. Other aspects of my personality are explored in my Facebook biography below.
In my biography, I share that I am neurodivergent. Neurodiversity is a major part of my professional life, since I enjoy welcoming neurodivergent kids to my library programs, as well as a major part of my personal life. I include hearts around the brain because I love how my brain is neurodivergently designed. I enjoy pairing the blue hearts with the pink brain because it incorporates the colors of the trans flag (pink brain, blue hearts, white background space).
On the subject of LGBTQ+ identity, my biography shares that I’m queer, paired with an image of a pride flag. Although I don’t list my specific identities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, just as I don’t list my specific neurodivergences, I enjoy including both aspects of my identity in my biography. Through this visibility, I can form personal and professional connections with fellow queer and neurodivergent Facebook friends.
Since both of these identities are explored in my writing, it’s fitting that my biography includes that I'm a writer. I have a novel that I’m writing, though my main focus is poetry writing. As I analyzed my Facebook profile, I realized that there’s a fact missing from my Facebook biography - namely, that I am Elgin’s Poet Laureate. It may be helpful to list this fact in my biography, so anyone trying to find a way to contact me for Poet Laureate events can confirm that they have the correct profile. Additionally, I find it amusingly misleading that I chose a pencil to convey writing. Almost all of my writing is done just like this blog - i.e. on a computer - meaning I rarely use pencils to write. Having said that, I find that a pencil is a more visually appealing symbol for writing, compared to a graphic of me dissociating into a computer screen - or worse, hissing at my computer when I can't find the right word for a poem.
For my final biography fact, I included the fact that I’m a snake dad. I have a banana ball python named GG, who frequently slithers into my Facebook posts, such as the Facebook post below.
At this time, Facebook doesn't capture my entire biography. For example, I am also a MLIS student at Dominican University. I love my friends and found family. I am an avid reader and gamer. Although not comprehensive, by any means, I believe that my Facebook biography captures key parts of who I am. It's been fun to reflect on which parts of myself I've elected to share with my online community of Facebook friends.
Now that we’ve explored my Facebook profile, let’s explore my relationship to social media. In the spirit of my favorite Facebook relationship status, it’s complicated. I find that I use social media primarily for educational, recreational, and professional purposes. For educational social media, I use YouTube to find videos on topics I’m interested in exploring, such as psychology. YouTube also has recreational purposes, such as watching cartoons created by independent studios.
Facebook, meanwhile, blends personal and professional. Personally, I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends. Professionally, I use Facebook to promote events as a volunteer event coordinator in Elgin Pride and as Elgin’s Poet Laureate. Since I just started managing the Elgin Poet Laureate Project Facebook page, I’m curious about how to grow the page to better reach writers in the Elgin community. I’m also curious about alternative social media avenues that may welcome more writers to local writing events. I think that social media can be a versatile tool, but I don’t always know how to use this tool in a way that will reach people while still giving myself necessary social media breaks. I love the potential of social media, but I don’t always love how making the most of this potential can take way more time than I often expect. I can also get easily overwhelmed with social media’s sheer amount of endless information; hence, my Twitter/X account has been inactive for months. All in all, I’m excited to explore how to change my on-again off-again relationship with social media into a more balanced, healthy relationship. I’m also open to discovering which tools are (and are not) the right tools for my own social media toolkit, especially when it comes to including this toolkit in my KidSpace library programs.
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Hello, Aron. I laughed when you talked about using a pencil emoji for writing when it's almost all done on a computer. That's such an interesting detail to catch- and I had missed it- so I appreciated the "oh yeah..." moment.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent introduction to who you are and your relationship with social media. I agree 100% that it's murky, and sometimes complicated. I'm looking forward to taking the journey with you this spring to see if we can learn more.
Thank you for reading, Nicole! I appreciate you joining me on this social media journey (with or without pencils!)
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ReplyDeleteHi Aron,
Although I don’t use Facebook often I definitely agree that it’s a great way to keep up with friends, family, and personal connections. Also can I just say that those are the cutest stuffed animals! I definitely love the fox’s big eyes! You state that you work in the KidSpace department, is that another name for the makerspace department or is that just another name for the youth services department? Your commitment to visibility and representation is inspiring. By proudly sharing your neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ identities on your profile, you not only empower yourself but also create a space for others to feel seen and accepted. I also appreciate your dedication to writing and your role as Elgin's Poet Laureate. I used to do poetry back in high school and I loved it so much! I need to get back into it! Thank you for sharing the link to Elgin's Poet Laureate’s page. I’ve read the poem under your biography and it’s really good! I like that you highlighted various holidays and how they all can come together. I like your perspective of social media as there are both potential benefits and challenges. Using YouTube for both educational and recreational purposes shows how versatile social media can be because when most people think of YouTube they think of vlogs, funny videos, music videos etc. It’s probably easier to have both personal and professional accounts in one to share posts. I have both a professional and a personal one on Facebook and it’s very hard to keep track of both at the same time. However, the way you integrate both aspects of your life on the platform speaks to its ability to serve multiple purposes just like your discussion on Youtube. Thanks for sharing and nice to meet you!
Hello, Larissa! That's a great question about KidSpace. At my library, KidSpace is another name for the youth services department. We work with families - namely, kids anywhere from birth through 8th grade.
DeleteI super appreciate all the encouragement! Poet Laureating definitely keeps me busy, so any and all encouragement goes a long way to keeping me motivated. If you're looking for community events to get back involved in poetry, feel free to send me an email at arondanteryan@gmail.com, and I'd be happy to pass on information for Elgin Writes (a monthly e-newsletter I run with information on local writing events).
That's a great point that many folks think of YouTube's recreational purposes before its educational purposes! I applaud you for making a professional and personal Facebook, since I'd imagine that having two accounts requires extra care and management. Thanks for your insights, and nice to meet you as well!
Hi Aron
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I loved this blog because it really gave me a feel of interacting with you on a social media platform. I also liked how you decided openly on social media your neurodiversity and queerness but never naming anything with both which I couldn't agree with more. I believe it also important to show up exactly how you are but also to have privacy in your life. In my post I discussed how I don't post often on social media because I love my privacy. I also loved how you mentioned that you use social media professionally because you are advocating and servicing a community which I have to applaud you for. I look forard to working with you this semester :)
Thanks so much for reading, Cydney! I fully respect and understand the need for privacy on social media. I've noticed that different times of my life have involved a greater need for privacy, while other times have involved a greater desire for visibility. I enjoyed hearing your perspective in your own blog post. I've definitely been there with needing breathers from social media and needing moderation! I'm likewise looking forward to working with you this semester.
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