Streaming Social: Facebook, Spotify and the Construction of Identity in Cyberspace.

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Introduction

Music and identity are two concepts that have long been bound up with one another. From early works on

identity and culture the idea that we as people are defined, at least in part, by the music we listen to is one

that has persisted.1 With the development of music technologies, the possibilities for identity construction

through the consumption of music have expanded exponentially. For decades now, people have been able

to express their identity through collecting physical manifestations of recorded music, in the forms of

Vinyl, Cassette Tape and CD, amongst others, displaying them on shelves, in houses in much the same

way as books, or photographs.

With the advent of the truly digital age, a new challenge was posed to these collections: the virtual. Rising

to prominence in the early years of the 2000s through services of varying cost, simplicity and legality,

such as iTunes, Napster and LimeWire, the virtual digital music revolution has taken over the way music

is consumed, with downloaded music sales overtaking those of physical music sales for the first time in

2012.2

Much has been written bemoaning the demise of physical media, and speculating on what the

consequences might be for the music industry, musicians and consumers3. As we progress through the

2010s, a new challenger has arisen to face downloaded music: that of streaming. The removal of the

concept of ownership from music consumption creates several challenges for the music industry. The

1 2 http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/06/downloads-physical-sales-us accessed 13/3/20133

removal of the ability of consumers to build up a fixed collection of cultural symbols also poses

challenges for certain accepted models of identity construction.

A parallel revolution to that of digital music has been the rise of social networking. Through the early

years of Friends Reunited, Bebo, MySpace to the now ubiquitous Facebook and Twitter, social

networking has become a feature of the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people across the world.

With all of these new opportunities for communication, a degree of re-examination of theories of identity

construction is required.

This dissertation aims to take existing ideas about identity, consumption, and music, and test them against

two of the most prominent services of the digital age: Facebook and Spotify. Facebook is the most

prominent social network on the planet, with 1.06 billion users of the service worldwide at the last count.4

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services, with 15 million users in August 2012, 4

million of whom subscribe to the premium, advertising-free service. These services are of interest

because of their prominence and because of the way in which they interact. Spotify gives users the option

to share their listening habits on their Facebook timeline, creating an online, searchable archive holding a

record not of music ownership, but music consumption.

This fact alone has huge implications for certain notions of identity construction through music. No

longer is the consumption of music tied to an individual transaction; beyond the monthly fee to access the

service, users are able to consume virtually any piece of recorded music they like, as many times as they

wish. Music and identity have the opportunity to come closer together than has ever been possible, or be

separated completely.

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Chapter 1 - The Story So Far

Any exploration of music and identity must begin with an examination of identity as a concept, and the

way in which our understanding of it has evolved. Whilst many different theories exist on the nature of

identity and its construction, the path that will be followed here is the theory that identity construction can

be conducted through consumption as this can be the most easily linked to music.

In the 1950s Erikson’s writings on identity outlined several proposed stages in the psychosocial

development of humans.5 Erikson argues that humans go through these stages of development, facing a

degree of conflict in each one. Whether or not this conflict is successfully resolved or not dictates the

level of security that we feel in later life. The fifth stage in Erikson’s theory of development occurs in

adolescence and young adulthood, and describes the conflict between identity and confusion.6 In this

stage young adults try to build up a sense of who they are, and a failure to do so leads to confusion and

uncertainty in later life with regards to direction in life and a strong sense of self.

Since Erikson’s time, scholars have generally agreed that identity is something that is, at least to a certain

extent, constructed rather than something that we are born with.7 The increased liberation and breaking

down of social groupings and roles based on the nature of a person’s birth8 have led to what scholars have

termed ‘the era of the empty self’9 in which people are born into society with a blank canvas upon which

to construct their identity. Debate exists however as to the means which people use to create their own

identity, and the extent to which people rely on the influences of others in the choices that they make.10

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One widely circulated theory is that of identity construction through consumption. The theory states that

the products we buy and use, enable us to construct an identity for ourselves and for others to see.11 This

is particularly popular amongst writers in marketing theory journals.12 A broader version of this notion is

explored by academics in other disciplines, particularly within psychology and the social sciences.

Current popular academic opinion favours the assertion that our identities are not single but multiple: they

are complex, amorphous constructs that are permanently bearing down on our actions and lives. Current

theory advocates the notion of multiple, overlapping identities that can be independently utilised,

maintained and brought to bear on our lives and our social interactions.13 The idea is one that has been

supported by recent government commissioned study on what the notion of identity means and will mean

in the UK over the next 10 years. There is the idea that one person can have multiple identities, for

example a 40-year-old man could consider himself a father and a breadwinner as well as other identities

relating to his personal life and his hobbies. By breaking down the concept of identity into smaller, more

manageable units makes it easier to understand how separate aspects of identity may be constructed,

allowing us to move towards at least a part codification of the ways in which people ‘make up’ their

identities. The multiple identity theory also allows for different, sometimes conflicting identities to be

created by a single person, with each one rising in importance at different times throughout a person’s

life.

Following on from the notion of multi-factor identities, we have the idea of ‘possible selves’.14 This

theory states that each of us possesses a mental image of who we are, our own ‘self-concept’ and who we

could become in the future. Possible selves could be more successful, attractive and popular, having

achieved a certain promotion, a certain number of children, be living a certain lifestyle, or any other

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combination of traits that make the possible self something to aspire towards. On the other hand, a

possible self could be a failure; someone who is dependent on alcohol or drugs, infertile or unwell, and is

a self that we feel must be avoided. Possible selves can change in relation to the way we see ourselves,

the way we view people around us, such as colleagues, family or friends. The difference between our

perceived selves and possible selves has been suggested as being the source of our self-esteem.15

It is worth noting at this point whether construction of identity through consumption of products is a

positive thing or not. Other options that have been put forth as means of identity construction have been

through one’s actions rather than one’s possessions. Marx argued against consumerism as a path to

happiness, because it encourages ‘commodity fetishism’16 and entrusting our happiness to something as

temporary as material goods could be considered a dangerous practice. Directly speaking about identity,

Fromm asks the question, ‘If I am what I have, and what I have is lost, who then am I?’, something that

Belk refers to when describing the feelings of people whose possessions have been lost or stolen. There is

also some debate about the scope of possibilities for identity construction through these means; this boils

down to the level of free choice we as consumers actually have. Studies of cultural industries have shown

that the level of choice available to consumers to be strongly mediated by different levels of cultural

organisations.17 This gives rise to questions of whether or not the possibilities for identity construction

through consumption are truly unlimited18, and whether limited or not, the enormous spectrum of

consumable symbols offers us a plethora of possibilities, or paralyses us with too much choice.19

Returning to the subject of consumption, there is some debate on what consumption of any product

actually involves, as well as why a person might choose one product over another. Catherine Phillips

suggests that people may actually choose products more for their value in constructing an identity, rather

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than for their utilitarian value.20 Looking back to Cova’s concept of ‘linking value’21, one might be

inclined to agree that what a product says about the purchaser is more important than the product itself.

In reality, the choice to purchase a product is probably a combination of many factors, of which identity

construction and utility value are but two. What I would like to suggest draws upon DeNora’s concept of

‘emotional work’22. I would suggest that the need to construct an identity for ourselves, is one that persists

throughout life, in line with Erikson’s writings on development, and that identity construction could be

considered a part of a product’s utility value, because of the level of fulfilment gained through doing the

‘emotional work’ of maintaining and building our sense of who we are.

Consumption of products is a widely studied field, especially amongst marketing theorists, but when

dealing with issues of identity the purchasing and consuming of consumer products can only take us so

far. As previously mentioned, the definition of consumption needs to be broadened in order to better

describe the way in which we construct identity. Consumption is an inherently social act and some

scholars have argued that we consume primarily to facilitate social interactions23 and as such we must

acknowledge that all consumption is situated within a cultural context. From here it is not a large leap of

logic to accept Swidler’s notion of a ‘cultural toolkit’24 an array of symbols that together can be

considered to make up the culture of a particular group of people through their associated meanings,

however different these meanings might be to different people. Whilst Swidler’s writing primarily

concerns cultural studies, it is useful as a jumping off point for considering an expanded definition of

consumption. By considering consumption as the process of interaction with the ‘cultural toolkit’,

whether by buying a new pair of trainers, a new car or a new vacuum cleaner, or by listening to a certain

type of music, or artist, or by visiting a landmark, we can understand the specific ways in which we

consume cultural symbols for their linking value and appropriate associated meanings into our identities.

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Now is a good time to introduce Belk’s ideas on identity and the self, specifically his work on what he

terms the ‘extended self’,25 the idea that our self concept is not only composed of our bodies and our

personalities but also of the objects we own, interact with and create. Belk sets out a series of ways in

which the self can be extended through interaction with objects. The methods and means for doing this

are many, and too complex to outline here, but the key ways in which the self can be extended are

through being, doing, having and knowing.26 By these means, a person can extend themselves through

other objects, places, people and relationships. When we incorporate an item into our extended self, we

incorporate a certain amount of its meaning into ourselves: an outside observer can look at our interaction

with the item and depending on whether the item or the person is known better, infer the meaning of one

onto the other.27 (The significance of this allowance will become clearer later in this discussion, when we

turn our focus specifically towards music.) The idea of the extended self fits in to the identity construction

theory because it provides a framework for the incorporation of any symbolic object, not just on the basis

of the moment of consumption, but taking into account our relationships with a product, or a symbol. It

also argues against the codification of specific items to specific meanings and states that identity

construction and projection are two different constructs.

As previously mentioned, most theories of consumption state that it exists as an inherently social act, with

some academics going so far as to claim that the primary function of consumption is the facilitation of

social interaction.28 Cova and Cova’s writings on the concept of ‘tribes’29 revolves around the idea of

shared emotions or consumption symbols to bind people together into small communities. The theory of

neo-tribes describes how members of a tribe can relate to the same cultural symbols in the same way to

create a shared sense of identity. This lends itself well to other theories of identity construction as it

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shows us an example of identity construction through consumption in action. A significant part of the

writing on tribes as they exist today outlines the fact that, through the utilisation of different cultural

symbols in different situations, a person can be a member of multiple tribes. This observation could be

considered evidence in favour of multiple identity theory. If it is possible for a person to be a part of

different groups, with different shared symbols, emotions or values, then it feels logical to suggest that

such an individual has the ability both to actively construct different group member identities and switch

between them depending on location and social context.

A constant theme of the concluding passages of many writings on consumption and identity is the

reminder that consumption never occurs in a vacuum.30 Shankar et al. criticise consumption theory for

assigning the consumer too much agency in the construction of their own identity.31 Whilst it is true that

in our consumer orientated, liberated western society we have a great deal of freedom to construct our

identities as we please, the construction always occurs in a social context, and the effects of socialisation

can never be overlooked. (This is a highly relevant reminder for this dissertation, and we will come back

to contexts of socialisation in a later chapter when we deal with the rise of social networking online.)

Despite the staggering levels of consumable symbols available to us, there are a few caveats. Authors on

the subject are quick to warn that whilst identity can be constructed through consumption, we should

avoid efforts to codify the effects of different symbols on different identities.32 This postmodern approach

takes into account the fact that whilst on the surface certain objects might relate to certain identities for

specific reasons, there are a multitude of other factors at play in any instance of consumption and as such,

we can never be completely sure what a person means to do with their identity by consuming a certain

product.

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Consumption as a practice has many forms, but in directing our focus towards the consumption of media,

we must touch on the practice of collecting, which in itself can be considered a form of consumption,

albeit one slightly extracted from the intended purpose of the media being consumed. Walter Benjamin’s

writings on his own collecting practice give a useful insight into the mind-set of a collector.33 He reflects

at length on the driving force behind his collecting practice and what his collection (of books in this case

rather than recorded music) means to him. The key aspect of collecting that is of interest here is the

building up of an archive, one that contains a set of keys to the collector’s memories. As a collection

expands, we associate the items collected not only with their objective meaning in the collection, or their

content, but also with our identity at the time of entry into the collection. For example, a person might

purchase a set of new books when moving into a new house, and through browsing the collection years

later, may recall their sense of self at the time of purchase.

The notion of an archive of a person’s life story, the history of who they have been, comes up in several

texts relating to identity over the course of a person’s life.34 Existential crises are an inevitable part of

human life, especially in a world that has been trained to question everything and take nothing for

granted. This basic insecurity about the significance of our own existence, and a desire for some form of

continuity after death leads to a desire to know we have existed at all. The idea that a part of our self-

concept is a sense of who we have been (the knowledge that we have lived, existed and made our mark on

the universe) is one that I feel is worthy of closer examination. The need to carve out an identity generates

other dilemmas too, and studies have looked to codify the extent to which we attempt to fit in with our

social peer groups35, and the means with which we attempt to set ourselves apart.36 These studies found

that all people are different in their need for uniqueness, and this must be acknowledged in any study of

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identity construction; while this may provide an irritatingly unstructurable answer for some, it should

reassure others that humans cannot be so simply understood and predicted.

Moving on to media consumption, the true focus of this work, we find the most readily available writings

on the subject of media use and identity focus on adolescents, which fits in with Erikson’s outline for

psychosocial development.37 Larson’s study of private media use by adolescents reveals some key

insights into identity construction in young people, notably that private music consumption enables young

people to explore different possible identities, as part of the process of questioning identities handed

down to them by their parents.38 A key point here is that emotional stability in adolescents seems to be

linked, at least in part, to identity security. It has been argued that different possible selves and identities

have associated emotions that go along with them,39 so it makes sense that emotional response to music

can be useful in the exploration of different possible identities. This is backed up by the complementary

observation that identity security is a huge source of anxiety for young people.40

Larson has also argued that music, as a whole is something highly relevant to adolescents, because it is

generally aimed at more specific demographics: teens listen to music aimed at teens and therefore relate

well to it.41 In the context of adolescent identity construction, authors have noted that identification with a

sub-culture is one of the easiest ways in which a person can create and support a sense of their own

identity.42 Because of its proliferation throughout our society, music makes for an ideal shared

consumption symbol around which to build a sub-cultural community.43 All of these assertions are

reinforced by Shankar et al. who show that music plays a huge role in identity construction, emotional

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security, social interaction, peer group association, demarcation of uniqueness amongst young people, all

filtered through narratives of socialisation and catalogued in a retained archive of cultural artefacts that

can be used as a key to unlock narratives of who we are and who we have been throughout our lives.44

The final element of identity construction is identity projection to others. In order to achieve this, the

personal archive of the record collection can be put on public display for others to see.45 From here, others

can view the collection, using their own knowledge of the subject matter and the owner of the collection

to infer associated meanings on either the collection or the collector.46 Larson also reminds us to avoid

judging the effects of music on identity construction based on the overt messages of the music; instead, it

is the individual’s response to music, rather than the music itself that helps in the construction of

identity.47 The fact that we cannot objectively codify music’s effect on identity has led academics to

advocate the study of individual narratives of consumption in order to understand the relationship

between music consumption and identity construction.48 It is here that we can tie together several of the

elements of consumption discussed earlier, notably those of collecting, and the building of a personal

archive. Music collections are something that are generally retained over the course of a lifetime, for a

multitude of reasons49 and it is because of this that, the analysis of personal record collections can yield

detailed narratives of a person’s life, and the ways in which their identity has evolved.50

Drawing all of the theories of identity construction together, I would like to put forward the following

loose model for identity construction through music consumption:

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● Music is one of a multitude of cultural symbols that can be drawn upon (consumed), by people

throughout their lives51.

● By purchasing a CD, LP or tape, a person incorporates new meaning into his or her own self-

concept, extending the self through the act of consumption.52 Through private media use, a person

is able to experiment with different possible identities, using their emotional response to different

musics53 to explore possible selves.54

● Regardless of the effect it has on identity, the music accumulated over the course of a lifetime

serves as a personal archive of a person’s identity project which can be explored in order to

satisfy a need to feel as though one has existed, and been someone over the course of this

existence.

● Through the display of physical manifestations of music consumption, in the form of records on a

shelf, a person is then able to publicly associate themselves with a set of cultural symbols in an

attempt to project a sense of who they are.55

● Other people are then able to view this collection, and build a picture of the owner’s identity

based on their own inferred meanings of these cultural symbols.56

From this proposed model of identity construction, we can see that the music collection, the archive of a

person’s consumption is the key to the relationship between music consumption and identity. The

following chapters will explore the impact that the changing landscape of music consumption in the

digital age has had, and will have on this model of identity construction.

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