Leary (1996) is another important scholar, whose work on self-presentation influences this study. He presented a long list of tactics for self-presentation: self-descriptions, attitude statements, public attributions, remembering and forgetting, nonverbal behavior, social associations, conformity and compliance, the physical environment and other tactics. I will focus on the key tactics which are of relevance to this study and can be observed in the presentation of online identity.
Starting off by description, it is how people use words to self-present themselves. The words they choose give an indication and tell more about what they like or don’t like; their values; affiliations; and,
how they see themselves. He goes on further to describe the process they use as selectively presenting true information about themselves.
Applying this online, self-description is the words users use to describe themselves in the about or introduction sections of their profiles. A second tactic he describes is what individuals express through attitude statements to influence the impressions other people have of them.
Applying this online, attitude statements can be what individuals post on their home page or the specific topics they tend to focus on or share on their profiles. A third tactic is conformity and compliance, in which individual’s behave in ways that are consistent with social norms and others’ preferences. Applying this online, it can be developing,
presenting or sharing content that is in line with social norms. A fourth tactic is social associations, whereby individuals publicise their
connections with famous or successful social units, such as sports teams, celebrities or other popular artists. Applying this online individuals publicize the link they have with famous people. They do this by following them, becoming fans, liking and commenting on their content and sharing any content they post on their own profiles. I will draw on Leary’s tactics as they may offer insights on the way
influencers and their fans present themselves online and help to explain the relationship between influencers and the online identity of youth.
2.2.4. Processes to construct online identity and self-presentation Social media provide individuals with the processes to present themselves online and perform. These processes empower youth to relate to others and to the world in powerful ways (Buckingham, 2008). I will focus on Facebook mainly because it provides a range of processes to establish an online identity. To use YouTube users simply need a Google account. Instagram users can log in with their Facebook accounts or create a new account which includes, similar to Facebook, a profile photograph, account name and a small description called bio.
Specific processes to construct online identity in Facebook include constructing the user profile or account, selecting and using
photographs, sharing and other processes. Identity per se is not observable but behaviour online can be observed. The way in which individuals use these processes constitutes their online identity. In the following, I will look with more detail into each of these processes.
The first process is constructing a profile. It is a key process for self-presentation and reself-presentation of identity. Its management may be considered as a performance within Goffman’s dramaturgical approach (Cover, 2012; Goffman, 1959; Jaschinski & Kommers, 2012). In the profile, users display information about themselves, share content and display their connections (Boyd & Ellison, 2007; Uski, 2015). Visitors to a profile can make use of profile information to form an impression (Gosling et al., 2011). Users are free to customise their privacy settings so that they select what their audience gets to see (Davis & Weinstein, 2017). Manago el al. (2008) point out that profiles can represent a
number of things: either the authentic self or selected aspects of the self or an idealized self or people can experiment with a number of possible selves. This all represents a possibility of selective self-presentation i.e. individuals can choose which identity cues they claim in online environments to create a certain impression (Ellison, 2013;
Walther, 2011). Livingstone (2008) found that the way in which teenagers construct their online identities evolves over time, with younger teens emphasizing more aesthetic elements of their profiles and older teens aiming for more austere profiles that emphasize their connections with others.
The second process, which is the starting point for a profile, is the selection of the profile photograph of the user. The photograph acts as a core identity marker (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009; Mallan &
Giardina, 2009). According to Wynn and Katz “Who-I-am tends to be expressed in a photograph” (1997, p. 320) i.e. identity is presented in a photograph. Lobinger and Brantner echo this and state: “Selfies and self-photographs are important elements with regard to identity work and the construction of authenticity in online environments” (2015, p.
1848). Photographs indeed can be a true representation of the person.
The profile photograph appears in the top left corner of the profile.
This photograph is what appears every time the user interacts on their own page or with others on their pages. There is also a cover
photograph, which is the larger photograph at the top of the profile, above the profile photograph. There are timeline photographs, in addition to the ability to create and assemble albums to encompass groups of photographs.
Photographs are part of the user’s personal visual narrative and are key to self-presentation (Friedrichsen & Mühl-Benninghaus, 2013). Zhao et al. (2008) describe how Facebook users predominantly show rather than tell their identities; implicitly than explicitly. Ellison et al. (2006) describe photographs used on the profile as providing support to claims made in what is written; people use photographs to express what is important to them. Selecting photographs is a key process within online identity construction. In addition, people tag others in photographs. Pempek et al. (2009) found that self-presentation was one of the most interesting things their participants found about Facebook and 62.64% of Facebook users considered posting photographs to express who they are. Krämer and Winter (2008) set out to explore the relationship between self-reported offline personality traits and online self-presentation in profiles. They found that self-efficacy with regard to impression management is strongly related to the number of virtual friends, the level of profile detail and style of personal photograph.
Strano (2008) looked at the choices people make when choosing public profile photographs on Facebook, and found that older users change their profile photographs less frequently than younger users and are more likely to display photographs of themselves alone.
The third process is sharing; what individuals share on their profiles.
Sharing content is a means to show social associations with others as mentioned previously in Leary’s (1996) fourth tactic for
self-presentation. What individuals share reflects their ideas, thoughts and who they follow.
There are a myriad of other processes to construct an online identity on Facebook such as putting together a short biographical description of the user (Intro), posting to the users wall, deciding which connections can post to directly, and providing user updates with their latest news and activities. Users have the ability to comment on others’ posts, updating statuses, liking of pages and the act of ‘friending’ other people (Manago et al., 2008; Walther, 2011). Recently, the ability to post stories was added as a new process on Facebook. Stories on Facebook allow individuals to share photographs and videos with their friends and followers that will only be available to their selected audience for 24 hours (Facebook, 2019).
Processes on YouTube include users liking a video and/or comment under it, whilst on Instagram, users can love or comment on posts by people they are following and also share their own updates or
highlights using stories and hashtags and repost the content of others.
2.2.5. The role of others in co-construction of online identity