Facebook Identity Formation: Observing the Dramaturgical Evolution of 'Self'

TL;DRAbstract

This study explores the relationship between online Facebook identities in relation to face-to-face, or offline, identities present in the social world. A two-month observational study of Facebook participant’s profiles was conducted to determine how online identity was formed and what connection the offline world has to the Facebook platform. Typologies and persona categories were developed to explain how users navigate the online world and engage with techniques of self-presentation to produce a favourable impression. The main findings that developed out of the study were three-fold: 1) Online interaction on Facebook is rooted in the offline, in that content from the offline informs Facebook interactions and physical profile features; 2) Strategies of self-presentation occur online – as they do offline – but online presentation is performed through typology and persona qualities; online user behaviour is exhibited through ‘type’ definition, and development and management of identity

Chat with Paper

AI Agents for this Paper