Self-presentation & Impression Management

Good (2013) analyzes social media platforms as a modern day “digital carryover”

from personal scrapbooks, where thoughts and feelings and a window into personal lives are shared with others. Social media profiles, like scrapbooks, are highly social texts where users engage in impression management, identity performance, and express taste, often with the intention of highlighting social status (Good, 2013). The self as ‘social actor’ is projected visually via photographs where users implicitly engage in “showing without telling” who they are, according to Zhao et al (2008). If one’s social network speaks to a particular social class or cultural identification, then Facebook acts as a means to construct identity implicitly. Sharing digital articles or videos on a friend’s profile wall, and engaging in other exchanges of media, is a social performance that expresses shared interests, cultivates commonality and builds rapport among contacts (Good, 2013).

Zhao et al. (2008) distinguish several modes of self-presentation techniques on Facebook that range from implicit, such as the placement of the self within peer groups, to explicit, such as written descriptions of interests in the ‘About Me’ section, to a middle ground where cultural identification is created by aligning the self with ‘liked’ company pages, for example. According to their study, implicit identity claims were the most common type of self-presentation tactic on Facebook (Zhao et al., 2008). Interestingly, almost 40% of the sample used in the study had a profile picture placing the self within the context of a group, indicating an effort to construct a group-oriented social self, perhaps not surprisingly as “showcasing one’s social relationships is a major purpose of using Facebook” (Coons & Chen, 2014). Activities that reflect a well-rounded, sociable and fun-loving individual were highlighted most frequently, including sports, art, and travel. Kang & Schuett (2013) applied the constructs of social influence theory to understand why tourists share experiences and information on social media post-travel.

The researchers found that users who identify and feel a sense of belonging with

members of a social media community and who internalize the norms and expectations of the social media community are more likely to share tourism experiences with others. A 2016 study examining blogging motivations of Chinese tourists confirmed this finding.

Wu & Pearce (2016) found a sense of belonging to an online social community, and an enjoyment of the respect and recognition received through these environments proved a main impetus for sharing travel experiences. Secondary motives included altruism (posting to help fellow tourists), social status and achievement (self-promotion, pride), and self-documentation (writing to record travel stories). Social status is also highlighted as an incentive for using TripAdvisor to share post-travel reviews in a 2017 study by

Mkono & Tribe (2017b). The authors categorize ‘the socialite’ as one of five ‘roles’

played by TripAdvisor users. The socialite’s main motivation is to display status through social and cultural capital acquired while travelling, such as exclusivity (i.e. staying in expensive destinations, dining at restaurants with prior reservations), sophistication (distinguishing class through high culture, such as museums and art galleries), and name-dropping (associating the self with celebrities who have shared hotel / restaurant

experiences, thereby asserting their social hierarchy). Furthermore, tourists who highlight positive aspects of their travel are likely to generate positive feedback and greater

attention from social media friends, especially when stories are selectively presented (Kim & Tussyadiah, 2013).

The construction of a socially desirable self is a deliberate manipulation of tools and techniques that place the self within social environments to achieve certain

performance goals (Zhao et al., 2008). Our use of social media to this end and “…our fascination with creating digital self-portraits is indicative of our collective coming of age where we as a culture are discovering that we have voices online and can express

ourselves rather than simply accepting the mass media’s views of the world” (Rettberg, 2009, p. 463). Identity construction, however, involves a cyclical, iterative process of symbolic interactionism, whereby endorsement from others is a crucial component in maintaining and managing a sense of self (Zhao et al., 2008). “Positive remarks from others are more effective than self-praise” (Zhao et al., 2008) in ensuring one’s social media identity is validated. Belk (2013) reiterates the importance of affirmation seeking in the process of co-constructing the self. A study of 13 teenage girls found a total of 2,055 photos uploaded to Facebook between them over the course of one-month, and

those photos garnered a total of 2,356 comments (Drenton, 2012, as cited in Belk, 2013).

As discussed, part of the task of managing impressions is ensuring the likelihood that others will respond in accordance with our desired image. The performance of self-identity can be jeopardized if others’ interpretations and our assessment of those interpretations are off the mark (Goffman, 1959).

Furthermore, Robinson (2007) concurred that Goffman viewed the self as strategically producing multiples selves for multiple performances, depending on the audience and image deemed credible. Facebook, for example, allows users to construct customized performances targeting particular viewers by blocking certain parts of their profile to others, thereby tailoring their self-presentation to suit the audience (Zhao, Grasmuck & Martin, 2008). Performance consists of two modes of communication:

conscious and intentional signs and expressions, which are ‘given’, and those that are mostly unconscious or reactive, or ‘given off.’ (Goffman, 1959). We come to know ourselves by how others react to us, and others serve as a mirror in which we see ourselves (Zhao, 2005). The mirror defines the self as a reflection generated by others which is paired with their judgment. “In other words, our sense of self is really our perception of society’s evaluation of us” (Robinson, 2007, p. 94-95).

In a netnography study of 346 Facebook users, Farquhar (2013) used Goffman’s performance of self as a social-psychological framework to understand the presentation and interpretation of social media identities. Interestingly, research points to the tendency for others to seek out information regarding identity online that is not directly from the user, or presenter, but rather that comes from others who interact and respond to the user.

Findings indicate that Facebook users align themselves with particular groups and also

avoid identifying with other groups in an effort to control identity and “ontological security” (Giddens, 1991, p. 187). Having a secure sense of self is important and even more reassuring when it is validated by others. We are “judged by the company we keep,” according to Farquhar, (2013, p. 448); therefore, identification with the ‘right’

groups becomes critical to maintaining a desirable self-image and eliciting validation from members. Perhaps not surprisingly, Facebook users seek acceptance “by presenting themselves in the best possible light” (Farquhar, 2013, p. 447), often through the use of exaggerated performance techniques, such as over-simplified, unambiguous images that manipulate impressions and reduce uncertainty in identity.

In terms of interpretation, Facebook users rely on schemas to organize and relate to others’ profiles, perhaps due to an overabundance of identity-geared information on the site (Farquhart, 2013). In a study by Farquhart (2013), profiles that were judged as

‘successful presentations’ by their peers tended to be simple, direct, and contain

‘positive’ imagery, such as sociability, athleticism, and a sense of humour, especially about oneself. Other impression management techniques found in the results include the deliberate selection of a profile picture, tagging or hyperlinking others’ profiles to posts or photos, adding comments to images, and untagging or leaving out unflattering images (Farquhart, 2013).

Schau and Gilly (2003) emphasize the importance of symbols in forming an

“intentional and tangible component of identity” (p. 387) wherein “the social actions required for self-presentation are consumption oriented and depend upon individuals displaying signs, symbols, brands and practices to communicate the desired impression”

(p. 387). Impression management requires a manipulation of signs to create and maintain

an embodied representation of identity; however, “digital association blurs the

distinctions among the material, the immaterial, the real, and the possible” (Schau and Gilly, 2003, p. 387). Expressions of digital identity, such as photographs and blog archives therefore become the “digital crumbs that we leave behind in a digital age”

(Belk, 2013, p. 488). We can check impressions of our identity based on feedback received from online interactions; for example, how many ‘likes’ or positive, self-affirming comments a photograph or post receives. “Every time we check our social media sites we are effectively checking to see who we are, who we were, and who we seem to be becoming” (Belk, 2013, p. 492). If ‘the medium is the message’, as

communications theorist Marshall McLuhan famously purports, the nature of Facebook as an “ego-centred” social tool encourages users to craft their profiles and actively

manage interactions in line with the communication norms of that platform and their own self-image (Eftekhar, Fullwood & Morris, 2014, p. 166). “For the Internet constantly asks us: ‘Who are you?’ ‘What do you have to share?’” (Belk, 2013, p. 484).