THE PRESENTATION OF SELF ON SOCIAL MEDIA

It is interesting to know how?social media provides a forum for?self-presentation.?Instead of expressing our true identity, we construct an image of ourselves and project how we want to be viewed on social media.

Erving Goffman, the twentieth century's most prominent American sociologist. His analysis of symbolic interaction is his most well-known contribution to sociology. He wrote the book on?dramaturgical analysis,?The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, in which he discusses the social construction of self in a society that considers being a stage, with all men and women-only actors performing on the stage in their daily lives. The Dramaturgical theory of Goffman strengthens the idea that people portray and glamorise their character rather than presenting an actual version of themselves. That is, instead of displaying or revealing their genuine selves, users present a moulded and edited version of it. This dramaturgical viewpoint is based on a highly debated idea that focuses on two metaphor stages: first, "the backstage" which is the private that is also known as the preparation of performance and second, "the front stage" which is the public that can be further elaborated as a presentation of the performance.?

Goffman's idea?of identity and social performance can be traced back to self-presentation, which is?regarded as the purposeful and physical component of identity. According to Goffman's research, "any type of social encounter where people have the urge to influence the perceptions that other people make of them". This concept is?exclusive to social media as?it has taken a?new meaning of how we restructure and manipulate the content we post on social media platforms. The essential concepts for categorising social media defined by Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) are self-presentation, self-disclosure, social presence, and media richness.

Social media has given rise to a new public arena in which people might have several identities. It enables them to express themselves in a variety of ways, bringing value to their genuine self. It's difficult to deny that Goffman's thesis is still very relevant in today's time. This new medium has also provided a fertile ground for the creation of new versions of oneself. People have been able to establish a new portfolio of audiences by using personal homepages, links, digital biographies, blogs, images, and status updates. This new medium enables people to reveal previously concealed aspects of their identity.

Hogan elaborated the front stage as "seeking to present an idealised version of the self according to a specific role," but the rear stage is the scenario where "we undertake the real effort to maintain appearances". As a result, the most significant role on social media is the front stage. The concept of access control on social media sites (for example, limiting access to information on a certain group, such as friends) can be viewed as the backstage.

Erving Goffman's work clearly states the context of social media where thousands of people use Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube every day to create a new identity for themselves. Also, it is depicted in one of the Chompoo Baritone's excellent photo series, where the harsh truth behind Instagram photos were shown that how individuals utilise photo manipulation and Instagram photographs to make their life appear more spectacular than they are. A habit that surely sets high expectations for their followers. Cropping and photo modification may make everyday scenes appear spectacular.?

References

1. Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media.?Business horizons,?53(1), 59-68.
2. Hogan, B. (2010). The presentation of self in the age of social media: Distinguishing performances and exhibitions online.?Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society,?30(6), 377-386.
3. Hilarious behind-the-scenes of the perfect instagram photos by chompoo baritone kala barba-court September 22, 2015 (Blog).
4. Goffman, E. (1978).?The presentation of self in everyday life?(Vol. 21). London: Harmondsworth.