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Identity in Communities and Networks

Young women, Instagram and creating identity

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to understand how young women create their identities in relation to others in online environments. I will argue that young women shape their identities in regard to the sociological influences created by others, peers and audiences alike, through the performing of their identity and the impression that they control and monitor of these displays of identity. I will discuss this using Goffman’s work on performance identity and impression management in relation to social networking sites like Instagram to show how young women are affected and influenced by others perceptions and impressions of how they display their self and their identity towards others online.

There are many ways in which young women use the internet to create, expand and learn about their identity online. Young women use social networking sites such as Instagram as a place to perform and create their identities among their peers and for an audience. I will be discussing how these young women use social media sites, and in particular Instagram, to shape and construct their online identities and use this to create a sense of belonging and connection to others to either solidify or reject an identity with the use of performance as identity and the use of impression management.  

The idea of identity as performance is discussed as the way in which individuals create and construct their identities and is also the case for young women on social media sites such as Instagram. Goffman (1959 as cited in Pearson, 2009) suggests that individuals use the idea of identity as a performance for others to view online. Users of social networking sites project a certain identity that they believe their peers will find appealing in some way based on their social environment and what they perceive of their audience. Boyd and Heer (2006 as cited in Pearson, 2009) also suggests that within online environments, the individual is more aware of their sense of self and this leads to an increased sense of performance for their peers. Due to this idea of adolescents being more self-aware online confirms the idea of identity as performance as their interactions through social media sites like Instagram, by liking and sharing photos to their followers allows these individuals to perform their identity for their perceived audience. Goffman (1959, as cited in Pearson, 2009) argues that performance can be used to understand and explore the ways in which people interact and engage with each other. This can, in turn, be used to understand how individuals and in particular young women interact and engage with each other within social networking sites such as Instagram. To understand identity as a performance, it must be analysed regarding the interactions between individuals and how they engage. Within social networking sites, this must be done by viewing the ‘front-stage’ which is what can be seen of the person’s performance which is created and then displayed, and the ‘back-stage’ is what is not generally seen, where the individual tends to let their guard down, when they aren’t performing for an audience but may be closer to their true authentic selves (Pearson, 2009). This idea of performance online, however, is separate from a traditional performance as the performer in this case cannot see the eyes of their audience, they are unaware of exactly who their audience is at all times, whether or not they are people that they have personal relationships with or if they are outsiders looking in. Pearson (2009) states that young women develop a sense of identity through the online culture surrounding their peers and what is considered the norm online. They learn through following others sense of identity such as celebrities and people that they follow through sites like Instagram and then they may adapt or change their online performance from their interactions with others and the reactions they receive from showcasing their identities through social networking sites. Pearson (2009) argues that identity is something that the individual can create, consciously manipulate and direct towards a particular audience or group of people to interact with this intended audience while performing a new aspect of their identity to try out to ascertain a desired response. These online performances to create identity are significant to the development of character of the individual as they develop strong and weak ties with their audience through time, emotion, intimacy and reciprocation between them which allows the audience to feel a deeper connection with the artist or individual and makes them appear more authentic and trustworthy. Hodkinson (2015) states that users need to remain constant in their interactions and updates of their online identity to remain relevant which is instrumental in building their identity in the fast-paced lives of social media users. Geurin-Eagleman and Burch (2016) state that it is common for young women to use a mixture of front stage and backstage performances on social media suggesting a mixture between a performed identity that is controlled and intended to leave a particular impression and performances that are more authentic and show more details about the lives of the artist away from the camera to relate to their audience through communicating, interacting and engaging.

Impression management is used within social networking sites such as Instagram as a way for young women to identify with their peers, create a positive identity online and use this as a way to control or self-manage what identity is being put forward to users. Goffman (1959, as cited in Newman & O’Brien, 2008, p.120) suggests that there are two ways in which impression management is received by others: the actions that they give and then what message this action then gives off to other individuals and how they interpret it. Sylvester (2019) discusses the ways in which the performance of the self, and impression management is used online in social media sites like Instagram through the use of young women using their bodies creatively to construct their identity and what part Instagram plays within this transformation of emotional growth. Sylvester (2019) states that for an artist to be successful online, they must create a persona through which they tell their narrative and must appear credible and authentic to their audience. Goffman (1959, as cited in Newman & O’Brien, 2008) states that the way in which individuals can create a persona that controls the impression that is given off to another person is through the individuals appearance and manner. Iser (as cited in Sylvester 2019, p.65), states that reality and fiction are not opposites anymore, they are in fact, part of a group containing the real, fictive and the imaginary which Sylvester (2019) states relates to the ways in which users interact across multiple social media sites and helps to create the narrative of the persona that is interconnected and authentic. Goffman (1959, as cited in Sylvester, 2019, p.95) states that individuals should be thought of as actors who create and re-create their identity or represent their self. The increasing loss of boundaries between what is classed as the front and back stage within social media sites allows users portraying their identity to monitor and view how people react to their projected self and can adapt this to show a preferred sense of their authentic self (Sylvester, 2019). This then raises questions about how identity is presented online and how this changes how users interact socially online. It is also impacted by how an individual believes they are being perceived by their audience and how this relates to young women controlling what they share to Instagram and what lasting impression they want to leave on their audience. Caldeira (2016) suggests that Instagram helps to restore the original meaning of photography as a way of recording an event or memory while also discussing how the idea of authenticity is undecided when it comes to how truthful a person can be when taking portraits as they hold the power to change aspects about what to share with the potential audience and what to hide, therefore sharing a constructed self as to manage the impression that they send out to their audience. When deciding what aspects of themselves to share online, young women consider the opinions of other users, how they will react to what is shared, what they will perceive or what impression they will take about their identity and because of this it could be posed that the creation of self and identity is in part controlled by the audience and what reactions the individual wants the audience to take away from their performance. Sylvester (2019) argues that the perceived self of the artist or user online is not real as it is constructed by the audience and the author. Sylvester (2019) also states that the audience makes preconceptions due to stereotypes and what they currently understand about consumer culture and that it greatly affects what we decide in an online environment and therefore what we perceive as real or authentic about an artist’s identity online. Sylvester (2019) states that the “photographs, video films, the work they produce and social media interaction infuse the meaning of their identity” (p. 102). Another aspect that is also reiterated throughout is the idea of performativity is an ongoing development for the artist and is seen as a number of stories that are repeatedly enforced to construct identity and a constant stage of development and learning to continually achieve this (Butler 1999, as cited in Sylvester, 2019, p. 103).

Performed identities are either confirmed or rejected based on how they are received or resisted within social networking sites like Instagram. Buckingham (2008) and Corsaro & Eder, 1990, as cited in Mascheroni et al. 2015, p.1) states that “identities are constituted through interactions with others, by means of both identification and differentiation from the peer group” with identities considered as a social process amongst peers. Mascheroni et al (2015) also agree with the idea of impression management within social situations to determine the aspects of an individual’s identity that work in social contexts amongst their peers to learn what is appropriate online behaviour regarding rules of online interactions, and what to disclose to others. Although there is a learning curve for both genders online at a young age, there can be a distinct disadvantage and double standard when it comes to how young women are perceived of and represented online. Due to the social pressures within our culture about how we look, many young women feel these pressures online to appear and conform to a certain appearance because they want the impression that they make on others to be accepted by their audience and their peers (Mascheroni et al., 2015). Mascheroni et al. (2015) argues that “conformity to beauty standards and peer conventions is rewarded with peer validation and social legitimation as expressed by the number of likes, which are then equated to a marker of one’s popularity.” Although young women must navigate cultural norms and what is considered appropriate in social networks amongst peers to find the ways that they want to project their identity and what impression they want to make towards others, they do have the ability to reject or accept these identities.  

Another instance where young women or adolescents use social networking sites to showcase their identity is when they do so in a way that rejects stereotypes or identities that have been projected onto them by taking the power of posting into their hands and pushing back against these ideals to cement their own identity. Murray (2015) argues that discussions of selfies being posted on social networking sites tend to view women as narcissistic or lonely for this behaviour while some young women think of it as empowering and a means to take back control of their lives and bodies from the primarily male-focused media. Murray (2015) also states that taken on their own, these images might not seem like much but considered as a whole it is “like a radical colonization of the visual realm and an aggressive reclaiming of the female body.” Murray (2015) suggests that what these women are aiming for is to receive acknowledgement and be noticed for how they have created their identity and for showing uniqueness and representations of people that often remain unseen. While there may be many young women that conform to the ideas of perpetuating the norms of appearance online and acting a certain way to gain attention or ‘likes’, there are also many young women who choose to reject this idea of identity (Mascheroni et al., 2015). Sylvester (2019) suggests that the way in which young female artists on social media such as Instagram, use the narrative of their identity as a way to question the way in which we perceive others and reject dominant ideologies and use Instagram and other social networking sites to test these identities. There are multiple case studies of women establishing their own gaze and taking back control of how others view their content and their identity within Murray’s work. One individual, Francesca Romeo, creates a firm and empowered female gaze within her portraits, it is forceful in the way that it establishes a female viewing experience and exploits the traditional male gaze which she takes for herself. Vivian Fu, who is also mentioned within Murray (2015) takes selfie-style photographs that challenges ethnic stereotypes and helps to show her strength regarding the ways in which she chooses to perceive of her own identity and the way she wants others to view her compared to what she considers as an overshadow of the person she actually is, largely due to stereotypes and chooses to regard her photographs as her own type of personal rebellion. Lastly, a third photographer named Matties produces portraits relating to health issues, relationships, fashion and body modification. Throughout her photos, there is the ever-present ideal to be accepted regardless of her race (half-Pakistani and half-white) and focuses greatly on beauty and her struggle with eating disorders. Matties wants to capture the effects of when an individual is faced with having to accept their body and wanted to share it from her point of view which she believed was not shown in the media. These examples illustrate the ways in which young women can solidify or reject an identity with the use of their performance and the way they control the impression that their photos make on other users. Murray (2015) states that “the range of physical and ethnic types speaks to the devaluing of women who all-to-often fall outside of the normative beauty standards promoted by Hollywood and the fashion industry.” Women choosing to redirect and reject these conforming beauty standards, in turn help to provide a safe space for women of all different types to feel comfortable within their identities and help them to create a more healthy and positive relationship with their identities online.

Through the use of performance as identity and impression management to direct the ideas that are being expressed online, young women can create and shape their identities amongst their peers and for an audience. This can be achieved through many social media sites including Instagram by considering cultural norms online for constructing identity and whether or not these individuals choose to reject or solidify their identity through these ideas of identity.

31 replies on “Young women, Instagram and creating identity”

Hi Sarah!
I was looking forward to your paper as I explored a very similar topic with my paper about adolescent online identity. I agree with your points about how young females shape their identities due to sociological influences of peers and their audience. One of my favorite sources, Dr Amy Guy, in The Presentation of Self on a Decentralised Web (2017), discusses identity on social media at length. She agrees with your argument that youth adjust their identity to construct positive feedback from their desired audience. She also argues that their online persona and offline self are the same and not separate entities, as they are the same person operating both intertwined identities. Would you agree with this statement? Why/why not?
I liked the way you brought up impression management, and talked about the effort that goes into carefully curating performances. I also enjoyed your argument about performed identities in regards to being confirmed or rejected by the community. It’s great the amount of well thought out points you brought up, it looks like you really researched your paper!
It would have been nice to see clear, bolded titles throughout to section it off, as well as references at the end to explore your topic further, but the paper was still done well!
A theorist named Ernst Gombrich explores how photographs represent reality in his book the Image and the Eye (1958). Even though it’s older, it’s still very relevant today. He discusses how photos are just a representation, but are often mistaken for the real thing. Would you agree that the majority of young females don’t recognise that social media is not real life, thinking that these fake posed bodies are realistic portrayals?
Thanks for the great read!
Anne-Marie

Dr Amy Guy’s thesis can be found here: https://rhiaro.github.io/thesis/
A PDF review of Gombrich’s Image and the Eye can be found here: http://www.math.chalmers.se/~ulfp/Review/ImageEye.pdf
And if you want to read my paper, you can find it here: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2020OUA/2020/04/27/you-no-longer-need-to-go-to-europe-to-find-yourself-youth-and-forming-identity-using-social-media-communities/

Hi Anne-Marie,
Thank you for your feedback. I am really looking forward to reading your paper! I will definitely look further into Guy’s work on The Presentation of Self on a Decentralised Web and look forward to hearing your interpretation within your paper. I’m not sure exactly where I stand on the idea of the online persona and offline self as being the same or entirely different, I think that it depends on the situation and what aspects of ourselves we put forward online. I think that I prefer to view it more as a fractured sense of self as in we portray aspects of ourselves that we deem to be our true selves but we may still be managing this impression online and it may differ slightly from our offline self. I didn’t discuss this in detail because I wasn’t sure that I could convey my thoughts about this aspect concisely to a reader, but I am glad that you brought it up! It will give me time to go back and think on this topic further!
Thank you for your comment about the references, I’m glad to hear that you thought the paper was thought out and researched well. I’m sorry for the lack of references, somehow that completely missed my mind. I will attach them to the end of this comment for your reference if you wish to view them.
I like the idea that you brought up about Ernst Gombrich and how photos can often be mistaken for the real thing. I would agree that many young females would consider these posed photographs to be considered as realistic portrayals of the self as I think that these images are pushed onto young females to be received this way through the media and that it may be easier for them to accept them as realistic portrayals than to think any further on what impression they are being given by these images.
Thank you so much for your feedback!
References:
boyd, d. (2017). Why youth heart social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham, (ed.), Youth, Identity and Digital Media, (pp. 119-142). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.1162/dmal.9780262524834.119

Caldeira, S. (2016). Identities in Flux: An Analysis to Photographic Self-Representation on Instagram. Observatorio, 10(3), 135-158. https://doi.org/10.15847/10320161031

Greenfield, P.M., Evers, N.F., & Dembo, J. (2017). What Types of Photographs Do Teenagers “Like”? International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning, 7(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCBPL.2017070101

Goffman, E. (1959). Supporting Identity: The presentation of self. In D.M. Newman & O’Brien, J (Eds), Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life Readings (7th ed., pp. 120-129). Pine Forge Press. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TlIAzT5uT-IC&oi

Hodkinson, P. (2015). Bedrooms and beyond: Youth, identity and privacy on social network sites. New Media and Society, 19(2), 272-288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815605454

Hummell O’Donnell, N. (2018). Storied Lives on Instagram: Factors Associated with the Need for Personal-Visual Identity. Visual Communication Quarterly, 25(3), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15551393.2018.1490186

Mascheroni, G., Vincent, J., & Jimenez, E. (2015). “Girls are addicted to likes so they post semi-naked selfies”: Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of identity online. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 9(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2015-1-5
Murray, D. (2015). Notes to self: the visual culture of selfies in the age of social media. Consumption Markets and Culture, 18(6), 490-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2015.1052967

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a Stage: The performance of identity in online social networks. First Monday, 14(3). https://firstmonday.org/article/view/2162/2127

Sylvester, S. (2019). The theatre of the selfie: Fictive practices of the Instagram Artist. Body, Space & Technology, 18(1), 61-107. http://doi.org/10.16995/bst.315

Tempel, L.R. (2015). Danah boyd: It’s Complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 249-250. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0512-3

Hey again Sarah!
I just replied to your comment on my paper, so it feels like a good time to respond to you. I wish WordPress gave us notifications when people reply!

I agree with what you said about us changing ourselves subconsciously online, with impression/identity management. You responded really well to my question! I think that we all do it online, whether we realise it or not. Honestly I think we do it in the physical world as well, that’s mainly why I argue there is no authentic identity online (and offline!).

I meant intext references, but thank you for attaching them!

Great answer! I do think more awareness of manipulated images would be so helpful for all.
Today as I was watching another video by an internet historian (I’m addicted!), she brought up “flex” culture: showing off to your followers what you have. She mentioned how it’s often fake, and these people are deeply in debt. Some female Instagram “flexers” will pay to film content in a house they don’t own. You can rent a private plane to take photographs in – giving your followers the impression you own one. Followers don’t see the other side of this and are led to falsely believe that these are real things. This relates to your topic through the construction of a false Instagram identity. Do you think that the way popular female Instagrammers are portraying themselves has the potential to become extremely harmful in the future? Worse than it is now? And do you think they should be more accountable to how they influence people?
Anne-Marie

The video I was talking about is here if you want to watch it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh0wc3rMCq8

Hi again!
I’m having the same problem with my replies as well. Completely missed them.
Thanks so much! As identity is ever-changing it does make it very hard to pinpoint our identity, let alone whether or not we are being authentic! I do like your opinion on this though and would agree that could definitely be true as well!
Wow, that’s a really interesting topic! I am forever amazed at the ways that people conduct themselves just to appear a certain way online. (It sounds like way too much effort in my opinion). I can see why it would be easy to believe for some followers. I definitely think they need to be more accountable in the impression they leave on others, especially youth. It is so unhealthy for them to grow up in an environment where they are led to believe that these things are normal and that they need to be or appear the same way. I would hate to think how many young women think that they need to behave the same as many of these popular Instagrammers. I see the way that social media and online environments effect young people specifically within my family (I have a 13 year old brother and a 9 year old niece who are starting to explore online environments) and how they think they have to behave for others. My niece has recently joined TikTok and is obsessed with recreating popular videos of dances and things that seem out of hand for a child her age. I would hope that more of these online celebrities would consider who they are making content for and what example they are setting for the younger generation.
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

This is a really interesting subject. The ongoing theme of ‘performance’ really struck me, leaving me unsure where the ‘authentic self’ is in the midst of all of this. I understand that identity is fluid and adaptable, but where does the individual’s true authentic self rest in the midst of all this performance? Is it manipulated to a point that it is no longer visible, is it lost completely, or is it always accessible in the ‘back stage’ environment? Has the use of social media exacerbated the idea of ‘front stage’ and ‘back stage’ to the point where it is problematic?

There was one quote that I found particularly poignant: “This idea of performance online, however, is separate from a traditional performance as the performer in this case cannot see the eyes of their audience, they are unaware of exactly who their audience is at all times, whether or not they are people that they have personal relationships with or if they are outsiders looking in.” (para. 3) The idea that these young women are putting on a show for an unknown audience really struck me. I feel it’s always been like that to some extent. Is the idea of ‘performance’ more pronounced with social media? Given that you’re drawing on Goffman’s work from 1959, it’s probably safe to assume that this is something that young women have been doing for a long time!

I agree with Anne-Marie that sub-headings would help guide the reader. I felt a bit lost sometimes and needed to re-read to find my place. I liked the discussion around the three individual Instagram accounts towards the end of the paper, but would have enjoyed a detailed case study to really understand how the theory you discuss works in practice. Could you post the Instagram account names for the three examples you give – I did find Vivian Fu, but Francesca Romeo and Matties were a bit more difficult to locate. I want to be sure I’m looking at the right accounts!

Thanks Sarah,
Anna

Hi Anna,
I’m glad that the idea of performance within my paper helped you to question the ways in which the authentic self is presented within social networking sites and in offline environments. I like your point about whether or not social media has exacerbated the idea of the front and back stage of performance to the point where it is problematic and I would think this is cause for further research within this area to determine whether or not it has reached this point.
Thank you for the feedback about the sub-headings to guide the reader. After re-reading the paper without the stress of a deadline, I can see how that would make things much easier for you and other readers. Sorry about the confusion regarding the accounts from Murray’s work, I accessed these through his paper. Noorann Matties is @noorannmatties. Vivian Fu is @vivianisvulgar. I couldn’t find Francesca Romeo’s Instagram as Murray doesn’t mention it specifically and focuses more on her formal portraits rather than her Instagram images. This is because in the article she states that she feels that posting to Instagram feels more like an advertisement compared to her formal portraits. Romeo’s website is http://francescaromeo.com/gallery/index.html if you would like to view more and the link for Murray’s article: https://doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1080/10253866.2015.1052967
I’m happy to send you any further references if needed. Thank you for your feedback.
Sarah

Thanks for those additional references Sarah! I’m going to have a look at them now 🙂

Hi Sarah,

I enjoyed reading your paper, you have obviously done quite a bit of research on the issue of identity in online performances.

I am of the same opinion as Anna & Anne-Marie with regards the headings and also a list of references – especially would have been good to have been able to look at the three examples you gave so could see the way those women had portrayed themselves.

I also agree with Anna that the quote you cite regarding not being able to see their audience is very pertinent. The other quote that struck me was that of Murray (2015) in the last paragraph before your conclusion,

“the range of physical and ethnic types speaks to the devaluing of women who all-to-often fall outside of the normative beauty standards promoted by Hollywood and the fashion industry.”

Made me think of Rebel Wilson, who although has a nice face, would probably fit into the category of “who falls outside the Hollywood glamour girls” but to me is attractive through her hilarious, bubbly personality and I think comes across as more authentic than some of those Hollywood glamour girls.

As I was reading your paper I couldn’t help thinking that if these performances are perfected in the hope of achieving a positive reaction are they genuine or just construed for the audience they assume will be judging them? And is it healthy to be trying to create an approved of persona or to present yourself as you feel you are regardless and break the stereotype representations?

Thanks Sarah, you created food for thought.
Lee

Thanks for

Hi Lee,
Sorry about the lack of references, I will include the list within the comments so you can access them. It somehow completely slipped my mind to post them on here. I’m glad you enjoyed it and that an example came to mind of women who fall outside of the beauty standards which I think shows how these standards can be so unrealistic. It is nice to know that my paper made an impact (no matter how small) on how you think about identity and its authenticity online. I also agree that women like Rebel Wilson do come across as far more authentic than many women who are controlled by these Hollywood beauty standards and are far more realistic representations of women for young women to look up to.
I was hoping to achieve in directing thoughts towards the authenticity in online identities so I’m glad you came to that conclusion, Lee. It is interesting but also difficult to understand how identity is shaped and constructed by others and to what extent this identity can really be authentic or true to the owner when it is designed with a particular audience in mind.
Thanks for your feedback, Lee. I’m looking forward to reading your paper!
Sarah

References:
boyd, d. (2017). Why youth heart social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham, (ed.), Youth, Identity and Digital Media, (pp. 119-142). MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.1162/dmal.9780262524834.119

Caldeira, S. (2016). Identities in Flux: An Analysis to Photographic Self-Representation on Instagram. Observatorio, 10(3), 135-158. https://doi.org/10.15847/10320161031

Greenfield, P.M., Evers, N.F., & Dembo, J. (2017). What Types of Photographs Do Teenagers “Like”? International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning, 7(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJCBPL.2017070101

Goffman, E. (1959). Supporting Identity: The presentation of self. In D.M. Newman & O’Brien, J (Eds), Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life Readings (7th ed., pp. 120-129). Pine Forge Press. https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TlIAzT5uT-IC&oi

Hodkinson, P. (2015). Bedrooms and beyond: Youth, identity and privacy on social network sites. New Media and Society, 19(2), 272-288. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444815605454

Hummell O’Donnell, N. (2018). Storied Lives on Instagram: Factors Associated with the Need for Personal-Visual Identity. Visual Communication Quarterly, 25(3), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/15551393.2018.1490186

Mascheroni, G., Vincent, J., & Jimenez, E. (2015). “Girls are addicted to likes so they post semi-naked selfies”: Peer mediation, normativity and the construction of identity online. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 9(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2015-1-5
Murray, D. (2015). Notes to self: the visual culture of selfies in the age of social media. Consumption Markets and Culture, 18(6), 490-516. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253866.2015.1052967

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a Stage: The performance of identity in online social networks. First Monday, 14(3). https://firstmonday.org/article/view/2162/2127

Sylvester, S. (2019). The theatre of the selfie: Fictive practices of the Instagram Artist. Body, Space & Technology, 18(1), 61-107. http://doi.org/10.16995/bst.315

Tempel, L.R. (2015). Danah boyd: It’s Complicated: The social lives of networked teens. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 249-250. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0512-3

The three examples within Murray’s work:
Noorann Matties is @noorannmatties. Vivian Fu is @vivianisvulgar. Francesca Romeo’s website: http://francescaromeo.com/gallery/index.html

Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your reply and for posting the references – it was more so that I could see the three Instagram examples that you mentioned in reference to Murray’s (2015) article. It definitely helped for me to understand the context better now that I have looked at them.

I have to say it wasn’t what I had expected. I still thought that they would be more “posed” instead of the raw material that they actually posted, in particular Frances Romeo’s. That was pretty disturbing stuff! I’m not so sure I would call it empowering women, although I understand what you were saying that it was through a woman’s gaze as opposed to a man’s but to me it just showed that she encounter’s some people who live within a sad side of society. Her comments at the end of her photos fairly well summed that up.

I am more in line with you and Chloe that I’d rather share with family and friends than putting up for public viewing but I also feel that if that’s what someone wants to do, for whatever reasons, that’s their prerogative (and there are plenty of opportunities online to do just that) I just don’t think I’ll ever be one of them. 😊

Thanks Sarah,
Lee

Hi Lee,
Haha, sorry about that. I was panicking. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to attach references on here!
Yes, I can understand what you mean regarding whether or not it is empowering women. Their ideas of identity could definitely be interpreted multiple ways, I think. I agree, I felt that Romeo’s photos in particular were of a different sort compared to Vivian Fu and Noorann Matties.
Identity is very complicated online and I think it is much easier to just interact with people who would have a clearer idea of my identity offline too.
Thanks! All good about the double comments, I thought I had done that the other day too.
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your reply and the references – it was really so that I could have a look at the three examples you gave as part of Murray (2015) article. Now that I have had a look it has helped put into context what Murray and yourself have said.

Have to say it was not what I expected. I still thought, even though they were exemplified as “rejects stereotypes or identities that have been projected onto them by taking the power of posting into their hands and pushing back against these ideals to cement their own identity” I was still expecting “posed” presentations and not the raw material that they posted, in particular Frances Romeo’s. Quite disturbing content! Not sure that I would describe it as empowering women, although I understand and appreciate where you state “creates a firm and empowered female gaze within her portraits, it is forceful in the way that it establishes a female viewing experience and exploits the traditional male gaze which she takes for herself” but I thought it more showed the seedier, despairing side of life that she encounters within her own. The comment at the end of her photo pretty much summed it up. I thought it rather sad.

I’m with you and Chloe though. I’d rather share with family and friends not on a public forum but each to their own – so long as it doesn’t become compulsory! 😊

Thanks Sarah,
Lee

Sorry Sarah, you are not seeing double. The first post disappeared and so I thought it had some how cancelled so I typed it up again! It has been a long day. 😊
Cheers Lee

Hi Sarah,

An interesting look at how young women use Instagram and why they might use the platform in these ways. As a woman in my early twenties, I don’t use Instagram myself — I started an account a couple months ago to keep up with friends and different public figures but never posted anything and quickly decided it just wasn’t for me. Now I’m thinking about why I’ve never really connected with Instagram the same way many others in my demographic have.

The bit where you mentioned how many young women feel pressure to fit themselves into a mold of beauty made me think of a couple things. Firstly, I’ve seen criticisms of how much pressure young women to confirm regarding what many seem see as a popular online counter-culture look “e-boys/e-girls” in that even though it’s supposed to be counter-culture it’s still a very polished and carefully considered look. E-boys and e-girls typically dye their hair bright colours, wear makeup, wear outfits that are fashionable, and seem to care about their appearance just as much as most other young people online do. It also made me think of a Buzzfeed-esque article I read a couple years ago talking about teen girls who were posting selfies where they had pimples, stretch marks, etc. and didn’t alter their pictures to remove these things as if it were a movement and radical.
Chloe

Hi Chloe,
I understand what you mean about the disconnection between yourself and Instagram. I feel the same way at times. I enjoy viewing many posts within the site but find I don’t often post much myself as I struggle with my identity offline and with an online persona. I feel as though the way I interact online sometimes feels vastly different from who I am offline or feels strangely like a fracturing of self, like only the better aspects can be highlighted for an online audience and then wonder if it’s easier to not be involved.
I wonder that too, whether or not these ideas of pushing back against stereotypes are perhaps just another way to conform to what is expected of us or if it could actually be considered different. I do think that regardless of how badly people may want to push against these boundaries, there may always be a limit to how far they are willing to go based on what perception they think they will give to others.
Thank you for your perspective and giving me something else to wonder about.
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
I find with Instagram that it feels too much like performance, personally. I don’t take many photos in the first place, and if I want my friends to see something I can just send it to them? But I’m not much of texter or anything anyway, I prefer to catch up in person when opportunities to come up. And I don’t think much of what I get up to is worth sharing?

I agree with you that people will only push boundaries based on what they want people to think about them. So I think that means different people will push boundaries further than others. Some people want others to think of them as rebellious or not caring of what people think? So I think those people will push boundaries further than others.
Chloe

Hi Chloe,
I agree. It is much more simple and direct to personally send photos and things to friends rather than posting through Instagram and other sites. I like the fact that you are sending it directly to the people you want for their opinions. I also find that after a while you can collect people in your friends lists or followers that you aren’t close with and I don’t see any reason to give them updates on my life. If people want to know what you’re getting up to, they’ll ask. I think that most of the things that I get up to aren’t worth sharing either and would just be another thing filling someone’s feed that’s not needed.
I understand what you mean about pushing against boundaries and I’d have to agree. It definitely all comes down to what impression people want to give others.
Sarah

Hey Sarah,

Great paper and really eloquently written, I enjoyed the flow and tone of your work and found it very insightful. I agree that more break ups of text would make your essay easier to follow however despite this, your argument stayed on track.

I do agree that online personas, especially on such popular platforms like Instagram and TikTok are carefully curated identity to be viewed by an audience. Like Sylvester stated in your essay, while there are certainly authentic aspects that one can share online, the choices of what to share are influenced heavily by their understanding of consumer culture – these decisions are both constructed by the author and audience. Because of this, I feel as though many users on Instagram have reservations on what they post and how they portray themselves, although they may strive to be authentic and appear to be authentic to their audiences. Hence photoshop, filters and the pressures to dress and look a certain way that aligns with what is trending.
I have spent a bit of time on TikTok lately (I am not proud), and the debate of authenticity and criticism appears a lot more than I had ever seen on Instagram. Perhaps because TikTok has a younger audience, is a video based platform where originality depends on more than a carefully curated outfit post. I have seen a lot of comments left on videos comparing users to other popular uses and criticisms of original content. It appears everyone is compared to someone else. Did you come across any of these clashes in performance and identity in your research? As young people are so present on these social media accounts, they become what they consume and include that in their own performances. Do you think this is problematic offline? Is social media like Instagram shaping identity for the better or is it preventing them from exploring their true authentic selves offline?

Laura

Hi Laura,

Thank you for your feedback! I will definitely consider that in future. I’m glad you agree that identities are carefully constructed representations of self and that this is in part created by the audience and the author. The idea of authenticity is of course subject to the audience, based on the impression they receive from the author, which I agree can definitely lead to pressures for the individual to perform their sense of self in a particular way to captivate their audience.
It is interesting to hear that authenticity and criticism appears quite frequently on TikTok. I will admit that I don’t know a lot about TikTok as yet, but I would be interested to hear the ways in which this differs from other social networking sites like Instagram. From my understanding, there are many instances where people copy other popular accounts videos, though I’m not entirely sure why this is. (Most of my knowledge of TikTok comes from my niece so please correct me if I’m wrong). I didn’t come across any specific clashes like you mention in my research and maybe this will be a good place to start for future research and further understanding. I found that in this area, the research that I had accessed felt broad, as in they didn’t generally discuss issues of originality and clashes between users who were compared to others. I definitely think this is an area that would need much more research to answer that question properly. Thank you for your unique insight!
I think that it has potential to be problematic offline if young people are too quick to consume what is impressed upon them. I think it depends on the individual and their influences as to how they shape their identity online and how this bleeds into their offline self. If there are good influences to help shape and structure their identity online it may have a positive impact on their outer world perhaps? That is a difficult question to answer and could probably use more research on my part to better answer it. Thank you for your questions though, you have definitely given me a lot to think about!
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

You have put across a very compelling case of how young women are taking their online presence very seriously, performing and managing their profiles.

I like the ideas that you put forward of, “taking the power of posting into their hands” and “rejecting stereotypes”. These ideas are important, as in theatre in the physical world as well as in online communities, because you tell the world who you are in your own words.

From your research, do you think the interactions of most young women on Instagram are done under pseudonymity or real transparent identities? Why? In my paper, I engage with the idea of “pseudonymity’s double-edged sword effect”. What are your thoughts?

Well done on an excellent paper and engaging ideas!

Bayayi

Hi Bayayi,
Thank you for your feedback. I agree that these ideas are important for constructing your identity and showcasing that to others and I’m glad you thought so too.
I think that this depends on the type of content they are trying to produce and what impression they want to make on their audience. I felt that there were many instances within my research where many young women preferred to use pseudonyms to cover their identity as some of the content they were producing could be problematic to their offline self if found by others (generally employers or extended family), usually due to more explicit content produced. Most of the examples included within my research focused on real identities rather than pseudonyms but I understand the appeal of both within these networks and the content that was being shared to help construct their identities. I look forward to reading your paper regarding pseudonymity’s double-edged sword effect’!
Thank you and good luck with your paper!
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

I really enjoyed reading this! I think you’ve made a sound argument on the importance of social media platforms for the construction and solidification of identity, and your paper certainly challenges the notion that we ultimately can’t control how others perceive us 😉 knowing this dynamic is at play on these platforms, it makes one further question how much of what we see is actually ‘authentic’. Should we be questioning everyone/everything we see online? And can we really take anything at face value?
You mentioned in particular that while some individuals use Instagram to validate and adapt their projected and authentic selves, others use the platform as a tool to reject social norms and take back control of their identity. These differences between validation and empowerment are very intriguing and I think social media platforms like Instagram can definitely get a bad rap because of the former. I imagine that attempts to conceal or adapt our identity to suit other’s expectations isn’t super healthy for us anyway, so it really would be great to see further movement towards the use of these platforms for empowerment, and the expression and celebration of identity and authenticity! 😊

Great paper, Sarah. Thanks for interesting read!

Kind regards,

Vanessa

Hi Vanessa!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I liked your statement of ‘Should we be questioning everything we see online?’ Honestly, if we started doing this we would never see the end haha but I do think it definitely raises some important questions of just how far do we go with the idea of authentic identity and how would we ever imagine of classifying things online as authentic or not?
Thanks! I feel that many social networking platforms can generally be a mixture of the two for many individuals. Some users may seek validation online and others may want to prove something, it all depends on the individual and how they decide to use it. I do agree that Instagram can definitely get a bad rap as being a site that people go to for validation. It can be easy to reach that conclusion based on the fact that it is a site based on communication through photos, many of which are going to be self-portraits.
I do agree that it would be great to see sites such as Instagram as a way to celebrate identity!
Thanks so much for your feedback!
Sarah

Hi Sarah!

Yeah, I agree. Maybe just a general attitude of caution in the online space is the way to go? It certainly is hard to definitively say that anything is ‘authentic’ or ‘inauthentic’ and then further to try and classify or verify it in an online space.

It does come down to the person, and then of course the fact that it’s obviously their account and they therefore have that freedom to use it for what they wish, whether that is validation, business, empowerment, money, fame, etc. But then maybe that’s part of the beauty of it, that there is that diversity on these platforms and that we do have the freewill and creative freedom to use it in just about any way we wish to! 😊

Thanks Sarah!

Kind regards,

Vanessa

Hi,
What a great point to make! There is definitely beauty in the fact that within these online communities there is the diversity for anyone to perform on these platforms however they please! It is much more interesting for users to have creative freedom and therefore the ability to surprise others within these networks!

Hello Sarah, thank you for your contribution to the conference, it was an interesting read and your coverage of identity as performance and impression management was both informative and enlightening. As far as the concepts of ‘front-stage’ and ‘back-stage’ aspects of performativity are concerned, are there any particular affordances in the system design of Instagram itself that improve young women’s capacities in those regards? Have you come to any conclusions as to what could perhaps be improved/changed in the system itself to provide any? You also touched quite heavily on performance for audience and peers, with the audience being defined as somewhat amorphous and unknown/unknowable, and peers remaining somewhat ill-defined, although my impression is that it is (mainly) other young women. Is this correct? As has previously discussed in the comments your paper raises questions about “true” authenticity with regards to online identities and many negative societal pressures that are applied to young women online. I appreciate the overall positive tone of your paper, but were you able to dig up any data on the possible negative effects of those factors during your research? I feel like using the number of likes as a proxy for popularity could have a potentially detrimental psychological impact, particularly on formative minds. Once again, thank you for your effort and a job well done.

Hi Talep,
Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
That’s a great question! I didn’t come across areas within the design of Instagram that would allow the front-stage and back-stage performances but I do think this would be a great area for further research into the way Instagram may be adapted to improve a better connection between the two aspects of performance. It is difficult as Instagram is a predominantly visual site, that I think pushes more users into the front-stage performance to see how it could be vastly improved to include other sides of identity simultaneously. If you have any suggestions that you have thought of with regards to this, I’d really like to hear them. Thank you for challenging aspects of my paper and making me think out the box. This was not an area that I had overly considered or come across in my research, so I really welcome the different perspective!
Yes, I would agree that is most likely correct. Sorry for the confusion. I think what I meant to do with regards to the audience being unknown was directed more towards users with larger amounts of followers and needing to always appear a certain way or give of a certain impression. I can see how this would have contradicted itself.
I did have more sources on the negative effects of Instagram, some of which related to the amount of likes and how this effected users. I did not touch on a lot of the negative effects as when I received my feedback for the draft, I was leaning towards being too balanced within my paper and not really taking an argumentative position and I was trying really hard not to do that in my finalised paper. I do see how the negative effects would be useful to this topic, however.
Thanks so much!
Sarah

Hi Sarah! This was a super interesting paper, it was a really deep dive into online identity which is something I find fascinating. This part of your paper intrigued me: “…reality and fiction are not opposites anymore, they are in fact, part of a group containing the real, fictive and the imaginary…” and I was wondering whether you had come across anything relating to hyperreality? It’s something I see come up every now and then as a fringe topic and it seems relevant here.

I really liked your section on how young women are being active agents in their identity, I think that’s a really important part of it. Thanks for your paper!

Hi Samuel! Thanks so much! I really liked that quote too when I read it! I’m sorry, I hadn’t come across anything relating to hyperreality within my research but it definitely sounds like something I should look into!
Thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it!
Sarah

Hello Sarah,

I thought your paper was engaging and well researched topic. Great work on writing about something that is important in today’s society. The point you discussed “Performed identities are either confirmed or rejected based on how they are received or resisted within social networking sites like Instagram” is very true and significant in how individuals use the platform. Although I did notice there where some paragraphs were a little hard to read but overall a good effort in writing your paper. I would be interested to know your thoughts on whether Instagram is a platform that can be used effectively by young women or most people today?.

Kaye

Kaye

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking conference paper, I found it to be an interesting read.

My own paper considers similar issues, however considers performances of gender identity in relation to stereotypes and norms that are perpetuated by social network sites (SNS), specifically Instagram.

Burns (2015) has published some relevant work that could add some further insight to your argument. She discusses the ways in which women represent themselves through selfies, and the ways in which institutional and cultural filters interpret selfies as a gendered form of social discipline. To go down this route we also need to consider the non-linear, imbalanced power structures that exist on social platforms, and the ways in which this impacts self-representation by young women online. Duguay (2016) asserts that such power isn’t exerted in a linear fashion across social network sites, and is a heavily nuanced lens with which to consider identity construction. Power structures on social networking sites are essentially a form of social control that naturalise values amongst groups of users. To deeply consider the myriad ways young women perform identity online, we must also have a solid understanding of the power structures shaping their actions and curtailing their agency.

Burns, A. (2015). Selfie control: Online discussion of women’s photographic practices as a gendered form of social discipline (doctoral dissertation). Loughborough University.

Duguay, S. (2016). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer visibility through selfies: Compar- ing platform mediators across Ruby Rose’s Instagram and Vine presence. Social Media + Society, April-June, 1-12.

Thanks again for the insightful piece.
Jasmine

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