‘The presentation of self in the online world’: Goffman and the study of online identities

BULLINGHAM, Liam and VASCONCELOS, Ana (2013). ‘The presentation of self in the online world’: Goffman and the study of online identities. Journal of Information Science, 39 (1), 101-112.

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Abstract

This paper presents an exemplification and discussion of the contemporaneity of Erving Goffman’s work and of its applicability to the analysis of identity and presentation of self in the blogging and Second Life (SL) contexts. An analysis of online identity and interaction practices in 10 different cases of bloggers and SL inhabitants and of their online spaces is presented in terms of: expressions given; embellishment as a minor form of persona adoption; dividing the self; conforming and ‘fitting in’; and masking, anonymity and pseudonimity. The key finding of the research is that, contrary to engaging with the process of whole persona adoption, participants were keen to re-create their offline self online, but engaged in editing facets of self. This emphasizes the key premise in Goffman’s work that, when in ‘front stage’, people deliberately chose to project a given identity. It is concluded that Goffman’s original framework is of great usefulness as an explanatory framework for understanding identity through interaction and the presentation of self in the online world. Equally, the online environment, with its enhanced potential for editing the self, can offer opportunities to contribute to the further development of the Goffman framework.

Item Type:	Article
Research Institute, Centre or Group - Does NOT include content added after October 2018:	Library Services
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551512470051
Page Range:	101-112
Depositing User:	Liam Bullingham
Date Deposited:	14 Aug 2013 09:29
Last Modified:	18 Mar 2021 23:45
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7217

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