“Persona, the aspect of someone’s character that is presented to or perceived by others” (As defined by Goggle. It isn’t really a word that doesn’t get used much these days in every day conversation but the concept is portrayed quite often in modern media. Video games such as the appropriately named “Persona” series by Atlus uses Personas as supernatural beings controlled by humans to fight demons.

Box art of the Persona 3 video game, portraying a person and their alternate self.
Now, that is quite far fetched. But what is a persona in a real life setting? As stated earlier it is the aspect of someone’s character that is presented to or perceived by others. Think about it. Do you have a persona that you like to show to in public? Do you wish to be perceived in a specific way? Of course this links into social media. Social media has become so popular over the years, it’s essentially a public profile for billions of people worldwide. With so many users of social media and the huge focus on connecting with other users, people use these platforms to convey their public online persona. Heck it’s even gotten to the point where employers are looking at Facebook profiles of applicants.
Quite fascinating really. So what does this say about the modern generation? With the enormous amount of users monthly, it’s clear that a lot of people want to be seen, they want to be known. Now, generally speaking, Facebook only allows people that you have added as friends to view your posts but platforms such as Twitter, are completely public. So all the thoughts and posts are posted with the intention of being seen. With all of that being said however, regardless… Some things should stay private.