The construction of identity in a real world.
Social media is now a big part of our lives as platforms such as Instagram allows us to share videos, pictures and experiences through stories. However before we post we often chose what image of ourself we want people to see. This raises questions on how we show ourself online. Are we showing our real identity or are we creating a certain image for others to see ?
One theory thats helps explain this point is Erving Goffman’s idea of presentation on self as in his book “The presentation of self in everyday life (1959)” Goffman compares social interactions to a performance, where people take on different roles depending on the situation. He also introduces the idea of impression management. This means trying to create a certain impression of ourselves. This includes front stage and backstage behaviour. This is when we present different aspects of ourself on who watching. Front stage is how you behave and present yourself when other people are watching while backstage is how you behave when you are in private and don’t have an audience. For example on instagram, front stage is the photos and videos you have selected to share. While backstage is your everyday life that you don’t usually post.
Another concept that helps explain how people present themselves online is Marwick and Boyd (2010) idea of context collapse. This means that different groups of people like friends family and work colleagues can all see the same social media content. For example if you have called in sick at your work place to go on a holiday with your friends, they might not like your employer and work colleagues to see photos of the holiday on instagram. This shows how people may chose what they share online depending on who might be watching.
However presenting ourselves differently online does not necessarily mean that we are being fake or dishonest. people naturally behave differently depending on the situation and the people around them. Social media simply gives us another way to manage how others see us. For example someone might only choose to share positive moments from their life like only their achievements and success but without showing every personal struggles and the mistakes.
In conclusion, social media plays an important role in how people construct and present their identities online. Goffman theory of the presentation of self helps us understand how people manage the impressions they give to others, while Marwick and Boyed idea of context collapse shows how different audiences can influence what people choose to share. I believe that online identities do not always show the full picture of someone life. As people often select what they want others to see and think of them. However this dies not necessarily mean their online identity is fake, but rather that it represents only one part of who they are.
References
Goffman, E. (1959) The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
Marwick, A.E. and boyd, d. (2010) ‘I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience’, New Media & Society, 13(1), pp. 114–133.
Robinson, R. (n.d.) How to Keep it Real on Social Media: Authenticity 101. Redroc Austin. Available at: https://www.redrocadvertising.com/insights/how-to-keep-it-real-on-social-media-authenticity-101 (Accessed: 2 November 2026).
