Position The “true” self cannot be realized through social media, nor is it an illusion. An individual's actions performed through the communicative use of social media do not accurately describe the nature of the self due to internal and external limitations. Definitions To adequately evaluate and support the opposition that social media does not affect the self, it is important to develop a basic definition of the following key terms. Social media is an umbrella term that defines various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, images, video, and audio (Kagan 2008). It includes the set of online communication channels dedicated to community-based input, content sharing and collaboration (Wigmore 2012). Simply put, it states that social media as a whole conducts conversations with people online. These conversations involve the use of:⁃ Blogs, micro-blogs (over 200 million blogs currently active.)⁃ Online chats (they are now integrated with social networks and message boards.)⁃ RSS, widgets (39% of users online subscribes to a feed.)⁃ Social networks, Social Bookmarks (57% of users have signed up to a social network.)⁃ Message boards, forums⁃ Podcasts (iTunes introduces the possibility of uploading original content).⁃ Sharing sites Videos (Includes over 65,000 videos posted daily.)⁃ Photo-sharing sites (55% of people have uploaded photos to a website.)⁃ Virtual worlds (Platforms like Second Life boast over 1.5 million residents.)⁃ Wiki (There are currently almost 4 million articles on the web.) The use of social media has become a fundamental element in the way we communicate and is only developing further with...... middle of paper ..... .pt as it states that one retains one's true self rather than the incoherent self-concept; which is false. It is impossible to have immutable fundamental substances and have the same consistent identity in all phases of our life. This evidence for the invalidity of this argument is found in the explanation of the previous concepts. Conclusion "To find yourself, think with your head." - Socrates. You can go an entire life without being able to fully realize your true self. This is why several social communities turn away from the influence of technology and focus on finding their ideal self through the use of spiritual rituals. (e.g. Buddhist communities use the art of meditation to find themselves). Social media is an effective tool that advances the cognitive development of individuals, however, it cannot take sole responsibility for realizing one's true self.