1: ONLINE SELF
How do people present & profile themselves via SM?
Media landscape:
● Traditional / old media = tv, newspaper, magazine, radio
● New / digital & social media
○ New (digital) media = internet
○ Social media = web 2.0 → increasingly interactive + multimodal
Digitalisation: digital culture offers new opportunities & sets new requirements for how we
communicate.
Page et al. - what is social media
Social media = internet based sites and services that promote social interaction between
participants.
Model to compare types of SM with other channels of communication:
● Kaplan & Haenlein: social presence & media richness
→ media-related characteristics intersect with the choices that people can make
within particular SM sites to disclose more or less info about themselves
, Belk - the extended self
Extended self = we see possessions as a part of ourselves.
● We don’t only get attached to people / pets, but also to material goods which
therefore become part of our identity
● Possessions are personalized, but why?
→ they act as memory markers (photo’s, gifts, souvenirs)
→ we use them as cues to show others who we are / want to be
5 changes as a result of digitalization that affect our ideas about ‘self’ & ‘possessions’:
Dematerialization ● Possessions are invisible & immaterial / stored in hard disks,
devices or clouds
● We can make our possessions public & share them with an
audience
→ info, communication, books, music, games, messages
Reembodiement ● We can take on whatever persona we wish
● At first we are anonymous online, no judgment about our
appearance (disembodied)
● But because of social media, we can present ourselves more
beautifully / attractive / different from who we are
(reembodiement)
→ using photoshop, avatars, effects
Sharing ● Sometimes we overshare due to disinhibition effect
(of private life & possessions) ○ Inhibitions are lower / eliminated online
● Sharing and determining that something is ‘ours’ creates a
sense of belonging to a group
→ sharing pictures on FB
Co-construction of self ● We are more and more connected to others
● Our self-image is increasingly shaped by (interactions with)
others
● We seek affirmation in SM, of ourselves as well as our
relationships
→ comments on Instagram
Distributed memory ● Online saving & archiving of memories = outsourcing
memory
● Memory is shared with others = collective memory
● Digital clutter: why discard digital possessions?
● Digital immortality / legacy: immortal virtual self
, FOMO:
● Danger of technology as an extension of our social lives → contstantly wanting to
know what others are doing.
● We compare ourselves with fake persona’s because people mostly share good things
● Consequence:
○ Continually confronted with what we do not have / where we are not present
○ Restlessness, dissatisfaction, feelings of regret
Socialbesity = if you cannot live without your smartphone, because you want to monitor
social media at all times.
Nomophobia = abnormal dependency of your smartphone.
- You experience an irrational fear of not having your mobile phone at hand, losing it or
having no signal reception.
Phantom vibration syndrome = the perception that you feel your cell phone vibrating or
hear it ringing, while in fact it’s not.
Schlosser - SD vs SP
Ongoing debate regarding whether people disclose their true selves on SM or whether they
present an idealized / socially appropriate version of themselves.
Self-disclosure Self-presentation
Verbally communicating personal information Goal-directed activity of controlling
about the self to another person, impression information to influence the impressions
on the other is not important formed by an audience about the self, goal
is to impress someone
SM characteristics that increase SD: SM characteristics that increase SP:
● Anonymity → talking about sexual ● Asynchronicity→ taking several
problems in online health forums pictures before one is sent / posted
● Reduced information richness → vs a video call
disclosing personal secrets in written ● Multiple audiences → sharing your
communication, but not in telephone breakfast with a friend on whatsapp
call / personal conversation vs sharing it with all your followers
● Audience feedback → negative
comments to an honest picture
● SD & SP are opposites
● SD / SP are not mutually exclusive
- SP might also comprise true facts about the self
- But the facts are communicated with the goal to impress others
How do people present & profile themselves via SM?
Media landscape:
● Traditional / old media = tv, newspaper, magazine, radio
● New / digital & social media
○ New (digital) media = internet
○ Social media = web 2.0 → increasingly interactive + multimodal
Digitalisation: digital culture offers new opportunities & sets new requirements for how we
communicate.
Page et al. - what is social media
Social media = internet based sites and services that promote social interaction between
participants.
Model to compare types of SM with other channels of communication:
● Kaplan & Haenlein: social presence & media richness
→ media-related characteristics intersect with the choices that people can make
within particular SM sites to disclose more or less info about themselves
, Belk - the extended self
Extended self = we see possessions as a part of ourselves.
● We don’t only get attached to people / pets, but also to material goods which
therefore become part of our identity
● Possessions are personalized, but why?
→ they act as memory markers (photo’s, gifts, souvenirs)
→ we use them as cues to show others who we are / want to be
5 changes as a result of digitalization that affect our ideas about ‘self’ & ‘possessions’:
Dematerialization ● Possessions are invisible & immaterial / stored in hard disks,
devices or clouds
● We can make our possessions public & share them with an
audience
→ info, communication, books, music, games, messages
Reembodiement ● We can take on whatever persona we wish
● At first we are anonymous online, no judgment about our
appearance (disembodied)
● But because of social media, we can present ourselves more
beautifully / attractive / different from who we are
(reembodiement)
→ using photoshop, avatars, effects
Sharing ● Sometimes we overshare due to disinhibition effect
(of private life & possessions) ○ Inhibitions are lower / eliminated online
● Sharing and determining that something is ‘ours’ creates a
sense of belonging to a group
→ sharing pictures on FB
Co-construction of self ● We are more and more connected to others
● Our self-image is increasingly shaped by (interactions with)
others
● We seek affirmation in SM, of ourselves as well as our
relationships
→ comments on Instagram
Distributed memory ● Online saving & archiving of memories = outsourcing
memory
● Memory is shared with others = collective memory
● Digital clutter: why discard digital possessions?
● Digital immortality / legacy: immortal virtual self
, FOMO:
● Danger of technology as an extension of our social lives → contstantly wanting to
know what others are doing.
● We compare ourselves with fake persona’s because people mostly share good things
● Consequence:
○ Continually confronted with what we do not have / where we are not present
○ Restlessness, dissatisfaction, feelings of regret
Socialbesity = if you cannot live without your smartphone, because you want to monitor
social media at all times.
Nomophobia = abnormal dependency of your smartphone.
- You experience an irrational fear of not having your mobile phone at hand, losing it or
having no signal reception.
Phantom vibration syndrome = the perception that you feel your cell phone vibrating or
hear it ringing, while in fact it’s not.
Schlosser - SD vs SP
Ongoing debate regarding whether people disclose their true selves on SM or whether they
present an idealized / socially appropriate version of themselves.
Self-disclosure Self-presentation
Verbally communicating personal information Goal-directed activity of controlling
about the self to another person, impression information to influence the impressions
on the other is not important formed by an audience about the self, goal
is to impress someone
SM characteristics that increase SD: SM characteristics that increase SP:
● Anonymity → talking about sexual ● Asynchronicity→ taking several
problems in online health forums pictures before one is sent / posted
● Reduced information richness → vs a video call
disclosing personal secrets in written ● Multiple audiences → sharing your
communication, but not in telephone breakfast with a friend on whatsapp
call / personal conversation vs sharing it with all your followers
● Audience feedback → negative
comments to an honest picture
● SD & SP are opposites
● SD / SP are not mutually exclusive
- SP might also comprise true facts about the self
- But the facts are communicated with the goal to impress others
