Online Self-Presentation on Facebook and Self Development During the College Transition
Abstract
Self-presentation, a central element of young people's identity development, now extends from face-to-face contexts to social networking sites. Online self-presentation may change when youth transition to college, faced with the need to reclaim or redefine themselves in the new environment. Drawing on theories of self-presentation and self development, this study explores changes in youth's online self-presentation during their transition to a residential college. It also examines associations between online self-presentation and students' self-esteem and self-concept clarity. We surveyed 218 college freshmen (M age = 18.07; 64 % female, 79 % White) at the beginning and again at the end of their first semester. Freshmen's Facebook self-presentation became less restricted later in the semester. Broad, deep, positive, and authentic Facebook self-presentation was positively associated with perceived support from the audience, which contributed to higher self-esteem contemporaneously, though not longitudinally. Intentional Facebook self-presentation engaged students in self-reflection, which was related to lower self-concept clarity concurrently but higher self-esteem longitudinally. Findings clarified the paths from multifaceted online self-presentation to self development via interpersonal and intrapersonal processes during college transition.
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One short-term longitudinal study did not reveal a significant correlation between getting feedback on social media and self-concept clarity.
“Nevertheless, one short-term longitudinal study did not reveal a significant correlation between getting feedback on social media and self-concept clarity ( Yang & Brown, 2016).”
From A Systematic Review of Social Media Use and Adolescent Identity Development (2025) · cites this paper as Yang & Brown, 2016
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- Authors
- Yang, C.-C., & Bradford Brown, B.
- Affiliations
- University of Memphis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Yang, Chia-chen
- ORCID
- Yang, Chia-chen
- Venue
- Journal of Youth and Adolescence
- Published
- 2015-11-03
- Volume
- 45
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 402-416
- ISSN
- 0047-2891 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6601
- OpenAlex
- W2231379217
- Cited by
- 262
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 36 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 21 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 49.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Youth and Adolescence (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (1878D41)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Keywords
- online self-presentation, Facebook, transition to college, self-development, self-esteem, self-concept clarity, identity construction, first-year students, audience support, self-reflection, residential colleges, social networking sites
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self Concept, Social Perception, Universities, Internet, Social Networking
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