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Growing up online: Social Media’s failure to protect underage users.
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Abstract: As social media becomes more and more a part of everyday life for kids and teens, there’s growing concern about what all this online time is doing to their mental health, sense of identity, and privacy. Apps like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat give young people fun ways to be creative and stay connected with…
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The Social Media Panopticon. Eroding Identity, Choice and Genuine Friendship.
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Abstract This paper explores how social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram function as digital panopticons, fundamentally reshaping identity, agency and authentic relationships. Drawing from Bentham’s panopticon theory, the analysis explores how users are simultaneously observers and the observed, compelled to curate false identities. The emergence of performative identity as a survival strategy…
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Beyond the Filter: Instagram’s Hidden Influence on Identity Performance
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Abstract This paper demonstrates how Instagram’s algorithmic architecture shapes social norms and user self-presentation, focusing on the platform’s role in mediating digital identity. While Instagram markets itself as a space for authentic self-expression, its algorithm invisibly prioritizes specific types of visual and behavioral content, effectively guiding how users perform their identities online. The algorithm encourages…
Hi Chai Xiao Wei, Thank you for your kind words and thoughtful question! You’re right—I focused mostly on society’s role,…