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Identity Theory in a Digital Age
Abstract
This chapter shows how identity theory is useful in theorizing digitally mediated sociality and how new technological advancements push the identity theory model. Beginning with social structures, it examines how social media platforms are at once “open” and “closed,” posing questions about the availability of identities for social media users. It addresses the identity processes of performance and verification, disentangling the ways that users both gain and relinquish control over their identity meanings. It shows how the outcomes of identity verification processes—self-worth, self-efficacy, and authenticity—help explain complex and sometimes contradictory findings about the relationship between digitally mediated interaction and psychological well-being. It concludes with two areas of emergent research within identity theory: multiple identities and identity change, for which social media provoke essential questions and provide important sources of data. The chapter shows that advances in social media studies dovetail in theoretically fruitful ways with advances in identity theory.
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Davis, J. L., Love, T. P., & Fares, P. (2019) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0190272519851025 · Cited by 206
Self-citationFujita, M., Harrigan, P., Soutar, G. N., Roy, S. K., & Roy, R. (2020) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.050 · Cited by 42
Jang, Y. J., & Kim, E. (2022) · Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research · doi:10.1177/10963480221140019 · Cited by 36
“A person is likely to engage with brand communities not only to express key aspects of the self but also to ensure social connectedness on social media (Davis, 2016; Hibbert et al., 2013).”
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Ogbanufe, O. (2021) · Computers & Security · doi:10.1016/j.cose.2021.102340 · Cited by 34
Francis, L. E., & Adams, R. E. (2018) · Symbolic Interaction · doi:10.1002/symb.383 · Cited by 27
The Fragmented Self: Having Multiple Accounts in Instagram Usage Practice among Indonesian Youth
Purwaningtyas, M. P. F., & Alicya, D. A. (2020) · Jurnal Media dan Komunikasi Indonesia · doi:10.22146/jmki.58459 · Cited by 17
Maltby, J., Rayes, T., Nage, A., Sharif, S., Omar, M., & Nichani, S. (2024) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0307164 · Cited by 32
Identity Processes in Face-to-Face and Digitally Mediated Environments
Carter, M. J., & Asencio, E. K. (2018) · Sociological Perspectives · doi:10.1177/0731121418786247 · Cited by 11
Authenticity, Digital Media, and Person Identity Verification
Davis, J. L. (2019) · Identities in Everyday Life · doi:10.1093/oso/9780190873066.003.0006 · Cited by 11
Self-citationThe coaching experience as identity work: Reflective metaphors
Steyn, L., & Barnard, A. (2024) · SA Journal of Industrial Psychology · doi:10.4102/sajip.v50i0.2132 · Cited by 10
A Social Identity Theory of Digital Identity
Bingley, W., Worthy, P., Wiles, J., & Haslam, S. A. (2026) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/17456916261419813 · Cited by 17
“These digital footprints can be persistent or permanent (Davis, 2016; Erickson, 1999) and often encode information about not only personality (Lambiotte & Kosinski, 2014; Vazire & Gosling, 2004) but also group membership, as demonstrated by a systematic review that found that demographic details…”
InfluentialSmith, C. H. (2020) · Philosophical studies series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-50585-1_3 · Cited by 10
Persistent Identity Threats: Emotional and Neurological Responses
Miller, B. J., Kalkhoff, W., Pollock, J., & Pfeiffer, M. (2019) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1177/0190272518812081 · Cited by 5
Museums’ digital identity: key components
Povroznik, N. (2024) · Internet Histories · doi:10.1080/24701475.2024.2333094 · Cited by 4
“In the digital age identity theory inevitably draws attention to the features associated with the digital transformation of the world, institutions, organizations, people, and individuals (Davis, 2016).”
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Dyer, H. T. (2020) · Cultural studies and transdisciplinarity in education · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-5716-3_2 · Cited by 6
Shadow (Profiles) in the Dark (Patterns): Who Locked Your Digital Self?
Rychwalska, A. (2022) · IEEE Technology and Society Magazine · doi:10.1109/mts.2022.3173320 · Cited by 3
Comic Theory: A New, Critical, Adaptive Theoretical Framework for Identity Presentation
Dyer, H. T. (2020) · Cultural studies and transdisciplinarity in education · doi:10.1007/978-981-15-5716-3_6 · Cited by 2
Self-Comparison in the Digital World
Moningka, C. (2020) · Advances in human and social aspects of technology book series · doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-1063-6.ch012 · Cited by 1
A study of an online cyber identity course designed on the basis of the community of inquiry model
Sancar, R., Atal, D., Kuşcu, E., & Yıldırım, F. B. (2023) · Journal of Educational Technology and Online Learning · doi:10.31681/jetol.1198525 · Cited by 2
Zinchenko, Y. P., Шайгерова, Л. А., & Shilko, R. S. (2019) · Gercenovskie čteniâ: psihologičeskie issledovaniâ v obrazovanii · doi:10.33910/herzenpsyconf-2019-2-109 · Cited by 1
Fujita, M. (2019) · UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) · doi:10.26182/5d1ac80e7b9d7
Smith, C. H. (2020) · Philosophical studies series · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-50585-1_13
“Importantly, however, individuals regularly perform many different identities depending on the situation, with various identities (or combinations of identities) being more or less salient in a given context (Davis 2016, p. 139).”
BackgroundAuthorship in Fanfiction: Textual and Paratextual Analysis of Identity Performance.
Mottet, L. (2021) · IRIS
Sancar, R. (2023) · Educational Media International · doi:10.1080/09523987.2023.2183570
“Work performed by Eichelberger and Leong (2019) finds that lecturers are affected by beliefs regarding online students during the online instruction process.”
Background"I am no number": Humanizing Digital Identities
Rychwalska, A. (2023) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2023.259
Wardhana, A. W. P., Tiara, A. T. L., Sugihartati, R., Asmiyanto, T., & Wibowo, M. P. (2024) · Jurnal Abdi Insani · doi:10.29303/abdiinsani.v11i1.1468 · Cited by 1
“…oleh Jenkins (2006) dalam mendefinisikan keikutsertaan masyarakat dalam melanggengkan penggunaan dari ruang digital; konsep “Digital Identitiy” oleh Davis (2016) yang akan dipergunakan untuk membahas penyimpangan pembentukan identitas digital; konsep “Subjective Knowledge” oleh Zins (2006) untuk…”
BackgroundSocial Psychology and Media: A Sociological Account
Davis, J. L. (2025) · Handbooks of sociology and social research · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-93138-3_21
Self-citationConceptualising Multi-level Entrepreneurial Digital Identity Construction on Social MediaPreprint
Sziegat, H., & Lobo, R. C. G. (2025) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.5611935
Digital Dharma: Translating Upanishadic Wisdom for the Age of Social Media
Srinivasan, R., & Aithal, S. (2025) · Poornaprajna International Journal of Emerging Technologies (PIJET) · doi:10.64818/pijet.3107.8486.0008
Identität, Selbstdarstellung und Eindrucksbildung in digitalen Kontexten
Döring, N. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-18017-1_8-2
The Long Run: 50 Years of Identity Theory Development, Refinement, and Future Directions
Serpe, R. T. (2026) · Social Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1177/01902725261441136
“More work is needed to examine how structural changes in the digital age shape how role, person, and group identities are engaged (Carter and Asencio 2019; Davis 2014, 2016, 2019).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Davis, J. L.
- Corresponding author
- Davis, Jenny L.
- ORCID
- Davis, Jenny L.
- Venue
- New Directions in Identity Theory and Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Published
- 2016-01-09
- Pages
- 137-164
- OpenAlex
- W2508252052
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 18.41
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Oxford University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
- Keywords
- identity theory, digital identity, social media, identity verification, identity performance, self-worth, self-efficacy, authenticity, psychological well-being, multiple identities, personal transformation, social networking sites
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