Since the introduction of Social Networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and MySpace, millions of users have been attracted to the platforms and have changed the sections into their daily practices. The existence of various SNSs with various technological advancements supports a variety of methods and interests. Facebook, for instance, helps in the maintenance of pre-existing social networks alongside assisting strangers to connect based on shared interests, views, everyday language, religion, sex religion or nationality. Apart from facebook allowing users to meet and interact with strangers, it also enables users to articulate and makes public their profile to users of the same site. The visibility of an individual’s profile includes links to other members such as family and friends creating a network of connections between individuals. These connections among people serve different functions and objectives such as providing a source of emotional and financial support, information about jobs, other people and the world at large.
The sharing of interests by using Facebook as a platform of exchange of information leads to the emergence of Internet Mediated communities (IMCs). An online community is a setting where people can meet and communicate with each other online (Preece et al. 2003). A society comprises of people who share social interactions and some links between individuals or groups. In cyberspace, as individuals with the same interest in their communication channels merge, they form an internet community symbolically delineated by a topic of interest. These communities create, collaborate and contribute to their knowledge and wisdom.
The concept of IMC exists in many definitions. According to Oldenburg, third places are neutral grounds where community members meet and reject all discrimination, developing a sense of inclusion rather than exclusivity. In the conversation of the third place is the central activity characterized for being open when most other sites are closed. ICMs are always strongly related to its cyberspace but do not necessarily correspond to it. The IMC consists of actors playing different roles while an organizer is the mentor of the community’s place. A member is an individual with formal membership in a particular community. A moderator coordinates all the activities inside a community’s area. A supplier is an individual or a firm that transacts commercially in a community’s location and internault is an individual who is interested in an IMC, visits its website is not a formal member.
IMCs are organized into topics of interest which enhances their members to perceive the available resources in a community’s space. The core objectives of an IMC are identifying the reasons, and the audience for its existence sets a mission, and by sharing its history, it develops an identity.IMC also shares problems, languages, and tasks hence help in the distribution of knowledge. The online communities also emerge in different forms with some similar to public places like a park or a street, where members do not feel a strong personal commitment to the online community while others closely-knit and participants of these communities feel a strong bond between each other and therefore return regularly. The sizes of the communities vary from a few members to hundreds of thousands. Larger communities have to be more formal and include roles and conventions, whereas smaller online communities might be more flexible and informal (Butler et al. 2002). Different theories try to explain the broader interaction within the IMC, and they include Social Presence theory (SPT), Social Information Processing (SIP) and Social Identity/ Deindividuation (SIDE) Theory (Spears and Lea 1992).
The Social Presence theory deals with the ability of the mediating technology to create a sense of co-presence during a communication process. The degree to which the mediated communication conveys social presence determines how people interact with each other. The Social Presence theory helps us to understand how the different types of mediating technologies affect the way by which individuals get to interact and communicate with each other on Facebook. For a better understanding of communication between communicating partners, social presence is an essential tool as a higher social presence indicates better understanding between the communicating partners and vice versa. Social presence includes verbal cues, body language, and facial expressions. Mediating technologies are limited in that they cannot convey non-verbal or voice-cues. This restriction influences the character of the communication in that it becomes more difficult for communicating individuals o acquire a sense of social presence between the communicating partner(Culnan and Markus 1987; Walther 1993).
An example is that text-based communications do not provide a basis for the exchange of facial expressions and voice recognition to obtain the tone. Also, the lack of seeing the other person’s physical presence influences substantially the way people communicate as people can hide their inner feelings and expressions away from the people they are engaging. The absence of these characteristics can result from misunderstanding, the sense of togetherness and the warm and supportive atmosphere is stressed continuously and mentioned within the messages exchanged to prevent people from misusing the trust and supportive atmosphere within the online community (Pfeil and Zaphiris 2007).
The Social Information Processing theory (SIP) concentrates mainly on the lack of non-verbal cues in CMC. According to this theory, any communication lacking a physical presence, visual and audible signals does not necessitate the existence of friendship or close relationships. SIP Theory states that CMC is as useful as a face-to-face conversation for establishing closeness and friendships between communicators. The theory further explains that relationships between communicators can grow to unprecedented heights only if people reveal information about themselves and in return uses the same information in building the impression of the other person. CMC can benefit from verbal and textual cues despite the restriction of the lack of non-verbal cues. When communicators have learned to adapt to the situations, relationships, and friendships maintained by CMC can be as strong as their offline counterparts (Walther 1992). Besides (Walther,1996) explains further the existence of hyperpersonal perspective in which relationships are characterized by close and more intimate ties than what they are online.
The Social Identity De-individuation (SIDE) theory explicit the social and psychological dimensions of CMC and conclude that CMC does not per definition restrict social activities. According to this theory, CMC and group forming in CMC settings are highly influenced by social group norms. Individuation is established by the use of visual contact, profile pictures and proximity whereas de-individuation occurs when communication lacks these characteristics. Postmes et al. (1998) state that, social identity develops in an online community when its members are in a state of de-individuation. This means that individuals do not see themselves as individuals in a group by interacting with others but by establishing a ‘we’ feeling in which the awareness of individuals into switched into a group perspective. People act according to the social identity determined in their respective community or group, and this shift from individual to social status allows people in an online community to take on a new aspect of their identity.
In consideration of our self-identities, individuals define and see themselves as being unique. Every individual plays a crucial role in ensuring that they represent who they are and the direction in which their lives take. The self-identity entails the totality of knowledge and understanding people gain about them as they develop in areas such as personalities, attitudes and capabilities, intellectual and physical attributes interests and relationships. People learn self-identities in two ways; first, development through self-awareness whereby thoughts, feelings, behavior, current needs, and future goals are examined. Because people are social beings, an essential part in their development involves finding a place in the social and cultural context in which they live, and the feedback from that social world plays a significant role in the evolution of one’s self-identity. The dramatic expansion of the social world in the last decade from families, friends, neighborhood and schools to an almost-limitless universe is mainly due to a proliferation of the Internet and social media. By the fact that it’s difficult to understand how these external forces are gaining a disproportionate influence over people’s self-identities, they are mainly accelerated by the recent explosion of technology shaping our self-identities in ways we are least aware of.
One of the most significant ways in which technology is changing self-identity is through the shift from being internal to externally driven. The sheer ubiquity and of the technological advancement in social media sites such as Facebook has taken over the influence, unlike previous generations where forces that influenced our self-identities were positive; parents, peers, schools, communities, and media mostly sent secure messages about who we are and how we should perceive ourselves. Currently, the things have changed to the other extreme whereby the latest technology such as Facebook mostly governs profit motive rules and energetic influences. Technology has shaped self-identities of the current generation in two ways: popular culture and social media.
Popular culture no-longer reflects on our self-identities as it does not provide feedback about how essential our self-identities are in the reality of our lives. Instead, popular culture portrays or shapes as on who it wants us to be by tapping into our most basic needs so that we feel good about ourselves, accepted and attractive, disregarding the fact that elf identity shaped by popular culture serves its own best interest rather than what’s best for us. This self-identity is not an actual reflection of who we are.
Secondly, facebook, a social media platform has caused has to shift away from expressing our self-identities and towards building facades of ourselves considering on how people will perceive us and how can one ensure they view him or her positively. This shifts the use of Facebook for many towards acceptance, popularity, status, and by extension, self-esteem through their profiles and postings. For one to fulfill his or her affiliation needs, the majority of people get possessed by virtual forces driving them to make social comparisons between themselves and the individuals they come across in the social media sites. These insinuations in individuals to compare themselves to others are often triggered by several social networking sites which lead individuals in carrying out self-evaluations and do the slightly, comparison .the comparisons are usually based on social classes, social roles, beauty, popularity, wealth accumulation, and other social factors.
There are two types of comparisons that people engage in social platforms, upward and downward comparisons. The upward comparison involves a comparison between an individual and those superior from him while downward comparison entails comparison between an individual and those inferior to him or her. Lockwood and Kunda (1997) say that upward social comparisons can be inspirational for people as they focus on replicating their comparison targets behavior and attitude. It has been observed however that upward comparison can make individuals feel weaker and inferior in society hence having a direct contribution in lowering their self-esteem.
Through Facebook, we see our identities as to those we will like to have or to what we want people to see rather than we are. People then feel fueled or compelled to promote an individual’s self-identity through Facebook. The existing relationship between person and persona, private and public deteriorates and gets scrapped off ultimately making self-identity a means of acceptance and status.
However, on the contrary, in striving for approval in our social lives through technological platforms such as Facebook and in seeking uniqueness, people sacrifice their true self-identities and shape their characters fit with what the digital world views as being an acceptable identity. The consequences of using Facebook as an emerging technology range from dramatic changes within individuals to shift in character from internally-driven to externally driven.
In conclusion, Facebook has changed the way people interact with each other and how they display their self-identities. People generally copy or fake their identities on Facebook to conform them to a given group or CMC, and thus, their real characters are not displayed in their Facebook profiles, status, and timelines.
References
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Hi HLVo,
I found your paper quite interesting as I also briefly mention Facebook and the identities users portray on the platform on my own paper. To some degree I do agree with your arguement, that Facebook is used as a platform in which individuals use to portray themselves in the way they want to be seen, but I also think that, unlike Tindr – a platform used to connect with strangers and potential partners – users have more motivation to portray the best versions of themselves to attract a potential partner, Facebook is used to connect with pipeline connections. Since these users, or ‘Facebook friends’ already know the individual in real life, rather than ‘faking’ their identity online, I believe that instead they are choosing to only show the best versions of themselves, and choosing bits and pieces of their identity.
Thanks for taking the time to read my comment, if you have the chance, I explore the way Tindr users attempt to balance their authentic and real self presentations.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/03/finding-the-balance-between-the-authentic-and-ideal-self-in-the-self-presentation-of-users-on-mobile-dating-app-tinder/
Hi there!
Great work with on your conference paper. I thought you did a really good job at defining the necessary terms at the beginning of your paper. The section you wrote about the Social Presence theory was really interesting., asI’ve never really heard of it being discussed with that label. Same with upward and downward comparison. I learnt a lot from your paper, so thank you!
Enjoy the rest of the conference!
Hi HLVo,
I do agree with your argument that Facebook has changed the way people used to communicate and portray their self-identities. However, it bothers me as myself on my facebook, I’ve put my nickname as my display name instead of my real name. And the reason is not because I want to fake my identity but rather it’s because in my social circle, all my friends know me by that name. And I’m aware that there re people who use facebook for professional purposes however there is LinkedIn for that which is a more suitable platform. Also how can I forget to mention the facebook scandal about having our data being monitored which caused a revolution in the web 2.0 world. So sometimes, it’s better to play safe rather than exposing everything. That’s just my point of view though and I would like to know your views on my perspective.
I think that it is perfectly fine for anyone who wish to display their nicknames instead of real names on Facebook. I myself did it in the past but I remember one time Facebook asked me to edit my profile name because it “didn’t sound real”. I’m sure there are reasons why Facebook would prefer you use your real name on your profile.
About privacy, everything you post on Facebook or any other page on the internet is no longer yours alone, and I mean everything whether it is photo, location, food preference even! So I only use Facebook as a messenger tool nowadays because everyone uses it. Most importantly, I only have 1 very formal, almost business-man-like photo as a profile pic so my friends know who they are talking too.
Cheers and thank you for your comment.
Hey there! This was such an interesting read 🙂 what you’re saying about identities and it’s influences on Facebook is something that makes me think about how I portray myself on social media. Some parts of it can feel very performative but I guess the benefit of being a student that studies the Internet means I am aware of this. I can’t help however but wonder what the impact this would have on the younger generation who don’t know better and simply use facebook as a way to portray themselves online. I wonder if this would damage or benefit a young person growing up with this kind of social circle? Would love to know your thoughts
I agree that young people and older people (like my parents, or somebody’s grandparents) are more naive and do not know how serious the consequences may be when they overly expose themselves on Facebook. But again, just like everything else in life, you do not stop doing things because you were told not to, you stop when something bad happen. So young people will eventually grow up and old people will…erm…grow… wiser! Yes wiser! Haha that’s the word.
On a high note, youngsters are learning so much from Facebook and can get access to so many opportunities now then I used to when I was younger. I would say the benefits outweigh the damages. To give you an example, my little brother can earn some serious money from buying and reselling sneakers on Facebook?
Hey there! This was such an interesting read 🙂 what you’re saying about identities and it’s influences on Facebook is something that makes me think about how I portray myself on social media. Some parts of it can feel very performative but I guess the benefit of being a student that studies the Internet means I am aware of this. I can’t help however but wonder what the impact this would have on the younger generation who don’t know better and simply use facebook as a way to portray themselves online. I wonder if this would damage or benefit a young person growing up with this kind of social circle? Would love to know your thoughts
I agree that young people and older people (like my parents, or somebody’s grandparents) are more naive and do not know how serious the consequences may be when they overly expose themselves on Facebook. But again, just like everything else in life, you do not stop doing things because you were told not to, you stop when something bad happen. So young people will eventually grow up and old people will…erm…grow… wiser! Yes wiser! Haha that’s the word.
On a high note, youngsters are learning so much from Facebook and can get access to so many opportunities now then I used to when I was younger. I would say the benefits outweigh the damages. To give you an example, my little brother can earn some serious money from buying and reselling sneakers on Facebook.
Hello there,
Very interesting read indeed. Your CP enabled me to grasp the how the behaviour of people has changed rather radically since the advent of Facebook and even other social networking sites.
The part on the Social presence theory was very insightful as I had never passed through that before and a very interesting piece of knowledge and concept.
What’s your final take on the changes social networks brought to people’s lives? Was it for the better or the worse? Or in between?
Regards,
Keshav
Do not hesitate to check out my paper on : https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2019Curtin/2019/05/09/social-media-influencers-defining-construction-of-identit/
Hello,
I have read your paper and found that this is a very common issue that we have in Mauritius. Often people would have a nickname rather than their real name or often they would post pictures so that others gets an idea of their lifestyle. On point that you wrote down is “The self-identity entails the totality of knowledge and understanding people gain about them as they develop in areas such as personalities, attitudes and capabilities, intellectual and physical attributes interests and relationships.” – what are the factors that influences people to display certain behavior on their facebook profile page ? Do users conform with celebrities ? Let me know what you think !
Regards,
Shaf Sookharry
I think that it is perfectly fine for anyone who wish to display their nicknames instead of real names on Facebook. I myself did it in the past but I remember one time Facebook asked me to edit my profile name because it “didn’t sound real”. I’m sure there are reasons why Facebook would prefer you use your real name on your profile.
About privacy, everything you post on Facebook or any other page on the internet is no longer yours alone, and I mean everything whether it is photo, location, food preference even! So I only use Facebook as a messenger tool nowadays because everyone uses it. Most importantly, I only have 1 very formal, almost business-man-like photo as a profile pic so my friends know who they are talking too.
Cheers and thank you for your comment.
I think that it is perfectly fine for anyone who wish to display their nicknames instead of real names on Facebook. I myself did it in the past but I remember one time Facebook asked me to edit my profile name because it “didn’t sound real”. I’m sure there are reasons why Facebook would prefer you use your real name on your profile.
About privacy, everything you post on Facebook or any other page on the internet is no longer yours alone, and I mean everything whether it is photo, location, food preference even! So I only use Facebook as a messenger tool nowadays because everyone uses it. Most importantly, I only have 1 very formal, almost business-man-like photo as a profile pic so my friends know who they are talking too.
Cheers and thank you for your comment!