Construction of self has changed drastically today, perhaps more so with the explosion of digital experiences online. This digital identity construction is about how people appear, build and maintain their web-based identity, which often is not the same as their ID in the physical world because you can have different features.
Virtual environments, especially social media, provide users the opportunity to choose who and how much of themselves to share, and to discreetly control how others may perceive them. For example, on Instagram, individuals frequently share about their successes, interests or lifestyles to affect the potential perceptions. This selective replay can consist in an idealized self, different from offline self.
Digital environments also have the benefit of anonymity allowing individuals to present themselves as different personas and try out novel types of communication without the limitations of their offline identity. For instance, anonymous sites such as Reddit provide a space for users to be frank and share their true identities openly.
Moreover, individuals often maintain multiple identities across different platforms. On LinkedIn, someone might present a professional image, showcasing their achievements and network. On the other hand, the same individual may resort to a less formal identity on Instagram, posting about personal interests and a casual daily life. This malleability of digital identities does, however, give people the ability to discover and experiment with different aspects of their selves, such as that of gender, sexuality, and cultural identity, in a way that could prove to be difficult and even unpalatable in the real world.
The mechanisms of social approval (e.g., likes, shares, comments, and followers) underlie the formation of identities online. Such feedback can either confirm or shape people’s presentation of self and often results in a more polished and idealized version of themselves. Algorithms on such websites (e.g., Facebook, Instagram) also endorse certain identity characteristics by bringing together members of the same interest group or community and, consequently, strengthening particular aspects of identity.
The harvesting and application of personal information by digital companies for advertising and surveilling purposes also have a direct application in the social construction of digital identity. This continuous watching can lead people to feel spied upon, and therefore to present themselves online in a particular way. In contrast to face-to-face communication, online identities generate a lasting digital record – the contents of online activity may persist, potentially, for an indefinite time. This knowledge influences the way people build their on-line identities, being aware that their on-line posts may lead to lasting effects.
Society, Culture, Mediatization” by Knut Lundby, highlights these dynamics. Lundby emphasises how digital environments reshape the traditional boundaries of identity presentation, allowing for multifaceted expressions of self.
Summing up, digital spaces provide a specific space for identity construction, such as selective self-presentation, anonymity, multiple identities, and social information. At the same time it’s clearly influenced by the impact of digital surveillance and the unavoidable remnants and traces, respectively offered and problematic to reinhabit, the online self images.
