The Stage That Is Instagram: How Social Media Allows People to Become Actors and Create a Performance Through Online Identity
- Introduction
When the world was first introduced to the World Wide Web, users were only able to play a passive role, as it was a “read-only” platform (Getting, 2007). This was socially and technologically significant at the time, but the emergence of Web 2.0 and its social media platforms allowed users to play a more active role in the communication, collaboration and participation that occurred online (Hirshberg, 2014). This encouraged users to create and share content, as well as interact and communicate with each other, leading to the growth in social media platform usage. Virtual communities were able to be formed on these social media platforms, with each platform offering a different service and purpose to users. The freedom that the Web 2.0 offered users allowed them to create and construct their own online identity. Users are able to portray their real identity, meaning they portray the same personality as they portray in the real world, or they can create a completely different identity, and perform a certain image they want other users to see of them on social media platforms. Creating an online identity that is different from one’s true self can stimulate networking and participation on social media platforms, but can also lead to harmful outcomes. This can include the destruction of a user’s self-perception and awareness due to beauty standards and expectations portrayed on social media platforms, and even wrongful behaviour such as cyberbullying and identity theft. This paper will explore how the introduction of social media platforms, specifically Instagram, has allowed users to perform an online identity and how this has an effect on one’s perception of self.
- Creating and Performing Identity on Instagram
The act of creating and performing an identity is not a new concept, as it is used by people as a way to fit into their social environment and interact with others. Instagram provides users with freedom and control, which encourages and enables them to perform an alternate online identity towards others (Pearson, 2009). These performances are created with the imagination of the individual, portrayed by the way they communicate online and the stage they create for their online identities to perform. The line between online identity performance and real-life identity has started to become blurred on social media platforms, with the characteristics being shared among both identities, leading to private information being shared to unknown users (Pearson, 2009). Users with a public online identity are aware of their audience, thus performing in a way that is most suitable and favoured by their audience, which can further create contrast between online identity and their actual identity.
- Online Socialisation and Communication
Creating and performing an online identity on Instagram allows users to establish connections, whether they be weak or strong, by sharing shared characteristics, values, ideas, and beliefs (Pearson, 2009). The connections made by sharing these factors encourage an increase in close relationships and strong bonds, as well as engaging on an emotional level. The online performances of users that are blurring the boundaries between private and public identities make their audience feel as if they have an intimate connection with the performer, and may even form an emotional attachment. These connections are what would be considered strong connections between performer and audience, but the online performance of identity is also vital in forming a diverse network through also maintaining weak connections, as well as the strong ones. The stages that performers perform their online identities on act as a node within a network, in this case, Instagram. This means that performers are able to perform an online identity towards their target audience, while also simultaneously being an audience member towards other performers (Pearson, 2009).
As part of the performance, the connections made in online communities can be manipulative, as it is important to be able to understand the identity of the other person in order to be able to understand and evaluate their interactions, but these interactions can be completely fabricated in an online identity. The vagueness of online identities on social media platforms can make it difficult to completely understand a performer’s true personality or social roles, such as beliefs and values. Thus, creating and performing online personalities or personas can potentially be deceiving for their audience, such as promoting unattainable beauty or lifestyle standards, presenting a false public image, or even going to the extreme of malice acts such as scams. These deceptive actions can be damaging to the integrity of online communities (Kollock & Smith, 1999).
However, online communities have been able to ward off deceptive identities by establishing communicative signals and expressions that expose malice personalities. This has helped maintain trust and security within socialisation between users. This leads to the influence of social media platforms on how users create their online identities within their communities, particularly in regard to the concept of visual socialisation (Gündüz, 2017).
Good, effective communication is essential in order to remain in a group or community. On social media platforms, the socialisation function of users is fulfilled through actions such as uploading content, commenting and responding, and confirming information, to name a few (Gündüz, 2017). In digital environments such as social media platforms, users are encouraged to create an online identity that reflects trust, familiarity and intimacy, as these ensure effective socialisation, which leads to creating a social presence in a community.
- The Creation of Multiple Online Identities to Portray Various Versions of Self
“Finstas” are a recent term referring to fake or subsidiary Instagram accounts, where users are able to portray an online identity, that is unassociated with their main account, to a selected, often intimate, audience (McGregor & Li, 2019). McGregor and Li (2019) found that the main reason for the creation of Finsta accounts among adolescent users derived from a desire for privacy, in comparison to their main account, a place to freely express and share information and opinions without the risk of getting in trouble with a wide audience, and a place they can share and show their real life; their real identity. Finstas may be considered an emotional outlet of catharsis for adolescents, making it a safe space for them to rant, get emotional, and expose their private, personal identity to a selected few of their closest friends (McGregor & Li, 2019).
On their main account, users may feel the need to perform a perfect online identity where they edit photos, use filters, and write intriguing captions with hashtags to attract the attention of more potential audiences. But with Finstas, users can post unedited photos with no filters without the fear of getting judged, detailed captions expressing their emotional state, especially when they are in a negative state of mind. Users post this private, sensitive content assuming their intimate audience will keep the information private (McGregor & Li, 2019).
Finstas are a new way for users to connect with a selected audience in a controlled online space where they do not have to perform an online identity, and can truly express themselves. Finsta accounts play a new but vital role in the social lives of adolescents looking for a space they can express themselves and be authentic without the pressure or fear of judgement from performing an online identity.
- Personality and Moral Expression Through Online Identity
Society has made it challenging for young people to establish a sense of self and identify their values when what is considered right or wrong within the community is constantly changing (Bers, 2001). In terms of Instagram, public accounts apply pressure to users to perform an online identity that portrays and expresses the personality and morals that are expected from their community, and society. But, as previously mentioned, Finsta accounts create an environment that allows young people to express and portray their true personality, morals and beliefs, which then allows them to explore and learn about their true identity, specifically in terms of personal and moral values. The intimate community users create, with their followers being made up of close friends, and the topics they explore, share, and express, are vital in self-expression and finding their identity. Intimate self-expression can be intimidating on a public Instagram account where a user performs a certain online identity, but a Finsta account can encourage users to develop a sense of self through exploring the personal and moral values of their intimate community and find what they believe to be right and wrong. The freedom Finsta accounts provide without the eyes of a large audience, users are able to explore and express beliefs and values without the fear of being judged or discrimination.
- The Issues and Disadvantages of Anonymity on Instagram
The introduction of the Internet has led it to become the center of communities and networks established online and on Web 2.0 platforms, where people are able to create and perform an online identity. One of the issues that arises in terms of creating and performing an online identity, is that the freedom to create an online identity provides the performer with a certain level of anonymity, which allows them to hide and withhold certain characteristics of their identity. In terms of social media platforms such as social media, users are able to remove certain information that may identify them to others, or they may consider themselves anonymous due to their lack of information or activity on the platform (Christopherson, 2007).
This anonymity online can unfortunately lead to malice behaviour such as bullying, threats towards certain individuals, and other anti-social behaviour (Christopherson, 2007). The ability to create online identities allows users to perform these hateful acts without being identified or associated with the identity in real life.
However, users are also able to use this anonymity to keep their identity private, which can be beneficial for an individual’s mental wellbeing as it allows them to have control over who they have contact with on a platform (Christopherson, 2007). This allows people to express unconventional or nonconformist ideas, values, or beliefs. The user’s view of life may change, potentially leading to a change in behaviour to improve their life. For example, a person of Asian descent may express their views and opinions on discrimination against the Asian race through their Instagram account, from what they have experienced or witnessed. By keeping their identity anonymous, they can freely express and share their voice without the fear of further discrimination or backlash from others in their physical, everyday community.
- Conclusion
In conclusion, users in the online environment will continue to create and perform an online identity as it allows them to present a parallel identity with full control, and at times, full anonymity. The performance of an online identity has started to blur the lines between the public and private identity of an individual and the community they present to. It also allows performers to create multiple online identities to represent various versions of themselves, and by freely expressing and sharing values and characteristics with others online, users are able to explore and discover different aspects of their sense of self. Social media platforms allow users to explore social issues and values, which can help to discover personal and moral values. However, one of the issues of online identities on social media platforms is the ability for users to hide certain aspects and characteristics of their identity, also allowing them to express unconventional views and opinions without being personally identified as they are able to hide within a large community of other users online.
References:
Bers, M. U. (2001). Identity Construction Environments: Developing Personal and Moral Values Through the Design of a Virtual City. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 10(4), 365-415. https://www-jstor-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/stable/pdf/1466738.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A759d31cf07f5b0afe6687d826f29c7ee
Christopherson, K. M. (2007). The positive and negative implications of anonymity in Internet social interactions: ‘‘Onthe Internet, Nobody Knows You’re a Dog’’. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(6), 3038-3056. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222428988_The_positive_and_negative_implications_of_anonymity_in_Internet_social_interactions_On_the_Internet_Nobody_Knows_You%27re_a_Dog
Getting, B. (2007). Basic Definitions: Web 1.0, Web. 2.0, Web 3.0. Practical Ecommerce. https://www.practicalecommerce.com/Basic-Definitions-Web-1-0-Web-2-0-Web-3-0
Gündüz, U. (2017). The Effect of Social Media on Identity Construction. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 8(5), 85-92. https://www.richtmann.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/10062/9694
Hirishberg, P. (2014). First the media, then us: how the internet changed the fundamental nature of the communication and its relationship with the audience. OpenMind. https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/first-the-media-then-us-how-the-internet-changed-the-fundamental-nature-of-the-communication-and-its-relationship-with-the-audience/
Kollock, P., & Smith, M. (1999). Identity and Deception in the Virtual Community. In P. Kollock, & M. Smith, Communities in Cyperspace (pp. 37-68). https://smg.media.mit.edu/people/Judith/Identity/IdentityDeception.html
McGregor, K. A., PhD., & Li, J. (2019). FAKE INSTAGRAMS FOR REAL CONVERSATION: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE HIDDEN SOCIAL MEDIA LIFE OF TEENAGERS. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(2) https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/fake-instagrams-real-conversation-thematic/docview/2188171313/se-2
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
Hi Shelle,
It was an interesting paper to read. And to me even more so, because Instagram is something that’s part of my social life to a large extent. I agree on the pointers discussed in your paper, specifically about the bullying and spamming via anonymous online identity on instagram. Moreover, the point on portraying various versions of the self is spot on! I know people with whom this aspect of social media can be relayed to. I enjoyed reading your paper, all the best and well done I’d say.
It was a neatly written and clearly justified brief paper. 🙂
Hi Riya,
Thanks for the feedback!
Anonymity can be really scary online and it gives people the ability to do malice acts such as bullying without getting caught or suffering the consequences. This can be damaging for any victim, but it is very worrying when the victim is still very young. With it being normal for even primary school kids to have social media accounts, and numerous cases of high school students taking their lives from cyber bullying, I strongly believe that more education needs to be put in place for young, and older, students about how to communicate safely online and create their own safe online environments (such as keeping account private while being a student). The attacker should also face harsher consequences and there should be ways for their identities to be revealed in the case of malice acts taking place.
In terms of having various identities, when combined with anonymity can be very dangerous, but I think is important to be able to express and explore one aspect of an individuals whole identity towards an audience of likeminded people who will understand their beliefs, values, and opinions.
I’m glad you enjoyed my paper! Thank you!
Hi Shellee ,
I really enjoyed your article where you describe in detail the process of how customers use instagram (from the user creating an account to the user creating a show through their online identity).
You have also expressed very clearly the disadvantages that people have in performing their identity.
Your post has inspired me to create a Finsta account to share my life freely without fear of revealing my privacy! Thank you！
Thanks for your comment Sining!
Social media is heavily influencing users and how they portray their identities.
Creating a Finsta will allow you to express your feelings, opinions, and views without the fear of what others will think of you, or direct attacks towards you.
Personally, I feel that people are very sensitive to what people say and tend to take it apart to pieces, then attack or ‘cancel’ them just because the view or opinion is different from what society sees is ‘right’. This can be seen mostly with celebrities who comment on an event or someone, then apologise or take back what they said because of the heat and backlash they get online. These celebrities should stick to what they said and standby it.
For example, Drew Barrymore was ‘cancelled’ and apologised the other day for bringing up the Johnny Depp – Amber Heard trial on her talkshow. All she did was voice her opinion on the coverage of the trial being all over the internet, on HER talkshow, but the audience criticised her for talking about it and she apologised. The audience held back her expression of identity.
In contrast, Lili Reinhart commented on Kim Kardashian promoting extreme dieting at the MET Gala and expressed her disappointment on her Instagram, but she has stuck by her belief, values, and opinion, and has not apologised (and she doesn’t have to!). This is an example of a celebrity establishing their identity online using Instagram.
This is just one of the ways I believe social media has ruined free speech online, but a minority of younger generations are fighting for it back.
I’m glad you enjoyed my paper, and hope you are able to find and express your identity on your new Finsta!
Hi Shellee,
Your perspective on identity performance via Instagram is well explained. I do find it sad that users feel the need to curate to the extremes that they do. I think while we all do this to an extent, the levels of performance almost seem to border on deception for me (not for everyone and all the time) because of fear of reprisal and cancel culture.
You might like to read my paper, as it offers a different perspective on anonymity, where it allows users to experiment with identity and there is less fear of reprisal. Similar to yours in that their ‘real’ accounts are much more curated, but for the opposite reason of not being discovered.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/ioa/184/negotiation-of-privacy-and-social-media-to-explore-lgbtqia-identity-and-advocate-for-their-communities/
Thanks, Tracy
Thank you for your feedback Tracy!
I would love to read your paper for another perspective.
Hi Shellee,
I really enjoyed reading your paper. I agree that social media allows for a curated self and often, it can feel unauthentic due to editing and filtering. I have recently heard of the new app called BeReal which does the same thing as Finsta. I think that these apps are a great way to express yourselves without feeling the need to overly perfect yourself for the internet!
I have also recently learnt about Bree, who was a video blogger on YouTube. It turns out that she wasn’t even real and it is shocking to know that all her interactions were fabricated. If you haven’t heard of this and you are interested in finding out more about her, here is the link to her first YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-goXKtd6cPo&ab_channel=lonelygirl15
You mentioned that anonymity may lead to cyberbullying. Are there any ways to prevent this or ways in which it can be combatted?
I also want to know, to what degree can they deceive their followers without them knowing? What are the consequences if their real self is found out by their follower?
Hi Shellee, this was such an interesting paper! I agree that we perform on social media and create characters to reflect our identity. On Erica’s point of BeReal, I think the concept of the app is great, it is taking steps to create a more authentic social media. However from what I have seen from other users, I do think that there is this idea of competition in the app to have the better photo than your friends, it still has that pressure to have the best photo. Is it engraved in our minds now that social media is always a competition or can we break that thought pattern with apps like BeReal?
Hi Eleanor,
Thank you for your comment!
In regard to your question, even with apps like BeReal and users creating Finstas to be more authentic, I personally believe that it has become a permanent part of societal thinking that the way we present ourselves on social media must be the perfect versions of us.
Yes, people may post the irregular ‘No Make-up Selfie’ to promote authenticity and ‘real-life’ on Instagram, but I believe majority of content will always be the perfect version of ones self that they want others to see. I also believe followers will compare each other and try to one up each other on their social status. It is a part of human nature to compete with each other, and even if movements towards authenticity are able to make an impact, I think that people will then compete over who’s authentic lifestyle is better. For example, a person of higher social status may post a photo of their ‘authentic’ everyday breakfast, with lots of fruit, eggs, toast, coffee, a yogurt, etc. But a middle class person who works 9-5 may not have time in the morning for a relaxing breakfast, so their ‘authentic’ breakfast is a coffee and protein bar. In this way, people who are better off may want to show off how much better their standard of living is (same as they do now), and people of lower class feel the need to compete.
I hope this answers your question.
Thank you for your feedback!
Hi Erica,
Thank you for your comment!
I had never heard of BeReal or the YouTuber Bree, so it was really interesting to know more about them. Thank you for sharing them with me!
In terms of cyberbullying, educating young people would be the most direct way, and I am sure there are many programs run by organisations who visit schools. But this method seems very old and out of date now, and most students probably don’t even take the talks seriously. So what I would suggest to organisations who are promoting anti-bullying is to think of new, interactive ways to teach younger people about preventative methods. For example, programs targeted towards older primary school students may want to present their content in animation form. It will maintain the students’ attention and most likely leave an impact on them. I remember Constable Care doing a puppet show at my primary school, but once I got into high school and we had speakers presenting talks, I barely remember what they were trying to teach us.
To answer your second question, Instagram allows you to create your account without identity verification, thus, it allows people to create completely anonymous accounts. From just looking at a screen it would almost be impossible to identify an anonymous account, but in some cases where the police get involved due to a some sort of crime or harassment occurs, they are highly likely to be able to trace the owner of the account. Once the identity of the harasser or criminal is found, the victim may be able to ask law enforcement to take action, thus suffering legal consequences.
I appreciate your input. Thank you!
Hi Shellee,
This was a very informative read! I really enjoyed it. I agree that anonymity online can mean that people can express themselves without having to be held accountable for what they say, like talking about past experiences of discrimination and abuse, like you mentioned. But you can’t ignore that there is also a dark side to online anonymity. Not being held accountable for what is said or done online could backfire at innocent users. This could mean that bullies could easily get away with cyberbullying. Catfishing is another such instance. Don’t you think online anonymity also brings up the question whether these identities we see are authentic or not?
My paper is written about the dark side of online anonymity, using catfishing as the central focus. So, if you have the time, it will be greatly appreciated if you could check it out!
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/ioa/445/the-dark-side-of-online-anonymity/#comment-1517
Hi Shellee,
I really enjoyed reading your paper. I agree with the sentiments you include through out your piece. Performative identities online, specifically on Instagram, have positive aspects and drawbacks which people are currently trying to navigate. I found your example of Finstas interesting as it is a term I was previously unaware of. I wonder if the popularity of Fintas will increase with users feeling more comfortable posting certain content on them rather than their main account. I would imagine that Fintas build a strong niche community geared towards a specific type of content such as fan accounts.
You might like to read my paper about identity on Instagram. It explores the issues of identity on Instagram related to environmental activism on the platform.
https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2022/ioa/1009/filtering-the-environment-how-instagram-is-impeding-proactive-local-conservation-efforts-and-breaking-our-connection-with-nature/
Thanks for an interesting read!
Hi Shellee,
I found your paper really interesting. It would be interesting to explore the relationship between persona and content on Instagram. I think there might be a desire for profiles to be more authentic, particularly after Covid and that online meetings have given us more of an insight into “real life” at home. Be Real is probably an example of this and it will be interesting to see if authenticity becomes more of a driver in social media in the coming years. Great thought provoking ideas in your paper.
Hi Shellee,
This was a great read and I found it quite informative!
The ability to create an anonymous profile is such a powerful and dangerous tool that many people take for granted which I am glad you wrote about. The sense of protection and disguise derived from the facade of an anonymous account can cause people to do many things they would not do in person which can be positive and negative. Do you think the idea of authenticity will become a ‘trend’ in recent times with the increase of blog-styled/day in the life videos on social media?