Social media is perhaps one of the most powerful uses of immaterial labor of all the virtual platforms. On a single device, an individual can maintain contact and relationships with an innumerable amount of people in various places at once. By creating a social media identity, an individual is able to sculpt a “self” in the virtual space, which can be then interact and be viewed by other individuals participating in the same space. “‘Users strategically formulate a profile, reach out to followers, and reveal personal information to increase attention and thus improve their online status’ (Senft 2013)” (Marwick, 138). In many cases, people’s virtual status and the self that exists within the virtual world seems to replace their real world self, and much of their real world life is dedicated to supplying information and material to enhance their social media self. 

    The virtual self, created by social media, is only a fraction of who the real world self actually is. The virtual world has transformed the way that individuals view themselves and others. So much of people’s real world identity depends on the success of their social media accounts, like, how many followers one has or how many picture “likes” a person receives. This materialistic success can have dramatic implications in the real world. Individuals gain social media fame based solely on numbers, and real world famous people rely on social media to keep fans updated on important (and even not so important) aspects of their lives. Social media allows users to get a first hand look into the behind the scenes life of friends, family, celebrities, and total strangers. Social media connects people and makes them feel closer together and united. Social media encourages day to day interactions with other individuals within the virtual space and by maintaining and updating one’s virtual self, individuals can present a specific picture of their “self” out to other social media users. 

Social media allows users to construct a world that is merely a fragment of reality, and allows users to build their virtual identity however they choose and depict how they would like to be viewed. There is a large amount of value placed on getting followers, friends, views likes on posts on social media, and people use various methods to increase their popularity within the virtual sphere. Social media users absorb the information presented to them by the social media identities and make deductions about that person’s real life based off of their virtual “life.” For some, their social media identity is whom they are most known for, and others base their real world identity and value off of their popularity on social media. Social media has the power to transform the way that people interact and treat each other and themselves in the real world. The influence that social media has on people's real world lives is discussed in further detail by Theresa. The effort that goes into creating, maintaining, and developing the virtual social media self serves to build and maintain relationships between individuals and work to maintain the power and influence of social media on the culture.