In this lecture, we learnt about three main topics – interactionism, impression management and the mediated reality, which I will be discussing in this article.
Interactionism and Impression Management
Interactionism is a theoretical framework that emphasises how people’s daily interactions with one another form the foundation for societal development. Instead of concentrating solely on the function of society, it highlights people as social agents. Our interactions with others along with our consumption of online media ends up becoming a part of our identity. Although David Gauntlett particularly focuses on the basis of gender and sexuality in his book, his general opinion on Identity theory is that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our own identities. For example, domestic or romantic dramas show us how neighbours, friends and lovers interact. We, as audiences, therefore, construct our lives and identities based on what we see in the media from the third person’s point of view. (Gauntlett, 2008)
When we discuss interactionism, the theory of impression management is often brought up, in which Canadian psychologist, sociologist, and writer Erving Goffman first presented the idea of in the 1950s. He contended that we present a number of masks to other people, staging and manipulating our appearance because we are constantly focused on how we come across. We are always attempting to provide the most positive picture of ourselves (Goffman, 1959). This creates a sense of performance – subconsciously or not, we know how to perform and act according to the situation we are in. A good example of this is when we go for a job interview. We intentionally wear formal clothing and speak professionally to create and uphold this idea that we are ‘intelligent’ and ‘knowledgeable’ and therefore are qualified for the job. We may have many other qualities that are excellent for the job, but we prioritise the showcasing of our experience and put it at the forefront as that is what we know is the main factor in potentially being hired.
We can also see impression management in the corporate world. Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives are an intriguing example. Firms frequently employ these to cultivate a favourable public image and aim to positively influence public opinion by projecting a sense of responsibility as ethical corporate citizens through their demonstration of social and environmental welfare.
Interactionism in the digital world
The constant evolving of information and communications technology results in our communication with others being a hybrid of both face-to-face and media-involving. According to Couldry and Hepp, ‘our daily communication comprises much more than direct face-to-face communication: mediated communication – by television, phones, platforms, apps, etc. – is interwoven with our face-to-face communication in manifold ways. Our face-to-face interaction is continuously interwoven with media-related practices: while we talk to someone, we might check something on our mobile phones, get text messages, refer to various media contents’ (Couldry and Hepp, 2016).
Reference list:
Gauntlett, D. (2008) Media, gender and Identity an introduction. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
Goffman, E. (1959) The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.
Hepp, A. and Couldry, N. (2016) The mediated construction of Reality. Chicester: Polity Press.
Hi Akankash. I really enjoy reading your blogs as you always attach a video at the end to make your writing more engaging. I find that impressionism management is a huge focus in our modern world as everyone appears to be perfect, happy, and put together according to their social media. People only post the best photo that has been selected from a batch. I wonder if you feel like platforms such as BeResal have actively challenged this and have taken steps to make our online impressions appear more genuine?
Hi Bailey – interesting question. I am an active BeReal user myself and will say that at its first launch, BeReal was solely for the purpose of uploading a photo at the time the alarm goes off – literally ‘being real’. The sole intention was to show what you were doing in that moment with no filter hiding anything, unlike other mainstream social media platforms like Instagram where everything that you see like posts and stories, are intentionally posted to create a certain impression. However, in recent updates from BeReal, they have launched new features that, in my opinion, defeat its original purpose.
1. You can now delete an already uploaded BeReal if you don’t like it
2. You can post two more BeReals, also known as Bonus BeReal’s, only on the condition that you post your first BeReal on time.
Features like this slowly diminish the originality of the photo, or the ‘realness’. In fact, I have heard many of my friends say that they find the app useless or not fun or original as it is just like any other social media platform.
Hi Akanksha,
Your take on this topic really helped me understand and learn better about the identities in the digital world. Your blog made me question several things about the social media but one question stuck to me and I would like to know your opinion on it. So, it has been mentioned several times that people are very different in real life than on social media, specifically talking about how they are “real” in real life and fake in the digital world. Do you think it is due to the bubble that the audiences have created that everything and everyone on a digital platform should be perfect and politically correct or do they naturally assume that they have to act a certain way to maintain their image online because people are always watching each and every move?
Hi Srushti! I actually think that it is a bit of both. I also think that this need to be perfect on social media, even when it comes down to personal beliefs, is a consequence of cancel culture on social media. Many consumers have seen how quickly celebrities and other influential figures get cancelled over a small slip-up, so I think that has ingrained a fear for local people too that they must present themselves in the most positive, ‘un-cancellable’ way possible as they do not want it to tarnish their reputation.