The Self-Curated Online and Offline Identities: One and at Odds

“Self-portraiture is something one should never get involved in, since it is wrong to lie

even though one endeavours to tell the truth.” – Ingmar Bergman

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The concept of constructing one’s identity has been being considered since the 1950s…

In 1959 Erving Goffman described self-presentation as the intentional and tangible component of identity. Social actors engage in complex intraself negotiations to project a desired impression. This impression is maintained through consistently performing coherent and complementary behaviours. (1) Image via Modman

Technology is adapting, providing us with better tools to present our self-image and allowing us to shape who

we are and highlight specific features in ways we couldn’t do as easily offline. (2)

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The expansion of digital technologies has opened up a new arena for managing and censoring the

self. Technology has created virtual worlds in which consumers can present themselves using

digital rather than physical referents. (1)

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The way we form identity itself has changed, as social media networking revolutionizes the way we interact and construct perceptions of ourselves. It offers us new ways to connect with one another, present ourselves, and other activities that are critical to identity formation and expression. (3)

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One can infer quite a bit about somebody’s

personality by perusing his or her website, blog, profile, or even an e-mail address. Our profiles have become giant identity claims. (4)

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What someone posts, especially photographs, contains visual and other forms of clues that can tell a thousand different things about them. (5)

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Online profiles have become extensions of the self. But digital personas run the risk of becoming

more important to an individual than the real world persona – a stand-in for one’s physical self. The shift to prioritizing documentation for online

sharing is evidence of this. (6)

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As real as our online lives have become, our online identities remain separated from the physical lives we maintain in the real world, at a distance that is hard to bridge. The disparity between the physical self and the digital self can create a false sense of identity and even a false sense of self-esteem. (7)

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The digital world, particularly social media, gives us even greater control over our self-

representational messages and mediation of identity cues. It offers up new opportunities for

sharing self-presentational content, or “branding” oneself online, creating a persona. (3)

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Digital presence is a form of conspicuous self-presentation where every element is chosen for its semiotic potential. Ideal values are revealed more clearly and personal information is replaced with modified or fabricated details more congruent

with a desired self. (1)

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Our online selves represent our ideals and eliminate many of our other real components. (8)

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Social media also causes a shift away from expressing our self-identities and toward

constructing facades based on the desire for others to perceive us positively. (9)

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As a rule, people want to create positive impressions and will act in ways consistent with

this goal, meaning they will take advantage of the opportunities presented by mediated

communication to do so. (3)

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This impression management, how users self-present themselves and how they develop

impressions of others, is prevalent on all facets of communication. (10)

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One mediates their identity contextually based on their audience – how one wishes people to perceive them.

The digital world facilitates audiences 24/7, so the mediation of the self is constant.

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Self-awareness and self-expression give way to impression management and self-promotion. (9)

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We engage with the concept of the “looking-glass self,” that says we develop our sense of self based

on the perceptions of those we interact with. (2)

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Some studies suggest the emphasizing of positive presentation involved in curating a social media

profile (in striving for an ideal self and acceptance from peers) may be a pathway to increased self-

esteem and self-awareness. (3)

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However this can backfire when engaging in social comparison to peers who are also projecting

uniformly positive and self-promotional boasting. (3)

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Ultimately the social media effect creates a false sense of self and self-esteem. (8)

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The line between person and persona, private and public self become blurred or erased completely and the so-called self-identity becomes a means

of our acceptance and status. (9)

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Everything about your online persona should be reflective of your offline person; your real self can

and should align with your ideal self, and how others perceive your identity shouldn’t modify it.

(8)

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Unfortunately the digital world makes this very easy to forgo.

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Works Cited 1)  Jensen Schau, Hope, and Mary C. Gilly. "We Are What We Post? Self-Presentation in Personal Web

Space." Journal of Consumer Research 30 (2003): 385-404. Web. 8 June 2015. 2)  Erickson, Christine. "The Social Psychology of the Selfie." Mashable 15 Feb. 2013. Mashable, Inc.

Web. 8 June 2015. 3)  Ellison, Nicole. "Social Media and Identity." Foresight: Future Identities DR.3 (2013): 1-21.

Government Office for Science. Web. 8 June 2015. 4)  Ouellette, Jennifer. "Personal Identity Is (Mostly) Performance." The Atlantic 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 9

June 2015. 5)  Bilton, Nick. "Tinder, the Fast-Growing Dating App, Taps an Age-Old Truth." The New York Times 29

Oct. 2014. The New York Times Company. Web. 9 June 2015. 6)  Turkle Sherry. “The Documented Life.” The New York Times 16 Dec. 2013. The New York Times

Company. Web. 8 June 2015.

7)  Chayka, Kyle. "The New, Improved Online Friendship." New York Magazine 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 June 2015.

8)  Green, R. Kay. "The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online?" Huffington Post 8

July 2013. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. Web. 8 June 2015. 9)  Taylor, Jim. "Technology: Is Technology Stealing Our (Self) Identities?" Psychology Today 27 July

2011. Sussex Publishers. Web. 9 June 2015. 10)  Zytko, Doug, Quentin Jones, and Sukeshini A. Grandhi. "Impression Management Through

Communication in Online Dating." CSCW'14 Companion (2014): 277-80. Web. 8 June 2015.

All images sourced from pixabay with public domain licenses