Self-Presentation in Social Media: Review and Research Opportunities
Keywords:
self-presentation, social media, impression management, context collapse, selfies, social networking sitesAbstract
This paper reviews existing research on self-presentation in social media in order to inform future research. Social media offer seemingly limitless opportunities for strategic self-presentation. The composition of an impression manager’s audience from one platform to the next varies across social media platforms, impacting and often complicating the attainment of self-presentation goals in the midst of context collapse. Social media users can employ a variety of strategies in an attempt to reach their goals and successfully influence how others perceive them. Although we have learned much from this body of literature, a more comprehensive theory of self-presentation in the hypermedia age is needed to further advance this area of research. Recommended variables to consider in online self-presentation include individual variables, culture/group membership, motivations, channel-specific variables, self-presentation content generated by self and others, as well as effectiveness of self-presentation.
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