The DOI matches its Crossref record; 94 of the 94 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Self-Presentation in Social Media: Review and Research Opportunities
Open accessAbstract
This paper reviews existing research on self-presentation in social media in order to inform future research. Social media offer seemingly limitless opportunities for strategic self-presentation. Informed by existing self-presentation theories, a review of research on self-presentation in social media revealed three significant context and audience variables that were conceptualized in a model. First, three affordances of social media – anonymity, persistence, and visibility – were discussed, as research has revealed the moderating effects of these affordances between self-presentation goal and the self-presentational content shared in social media. For example, one might expect that social media users are more likely to present their actual selves under conditions of less anonymity, more persistence, and more visibility. On the other hand, the freedom associated with more anonymous, less persistent, and less visibility social media may lead to idealized self-presentation. The second finding revealed the impact of other-generated content in the form of likes, comments, tags, and shares on social media users’ self-presentation content, mediated by how they choose to manage such content.The third theme concerned the moderating effect of context collapse on the relationship between goals and self-presentation content. The composition of an impression manager’s audience from one platform to the next varies across social media platforms, impacting and often complicating the attainment of self-presentation goals in the midst of merging networks of people. Social media users have adopted varying ways to navigate the complexities of context collapse in their pursuit of self-presentation. Although we have learned much from this body of literature, a more comprehensive theory of self-presentation in the hypermedia age is needed to further advance this area of research.
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“However, on Instagram and Snapchat, adolescents observe the self-presentation practices of not only their close friends but also more distant peers and present themselves to these differing subaudiences accordingly (Hollenbaugh, 2021; Stsiampkouskaya et al., 2021).”
From The Impact of Social Norms on Adolescents’ Self-Presentation Practices on Social Media (2024) · cites this paper as Hollenbaugh, 2021
In the citing paper
“Adolescents striving to convey a particular impression of themselves must also manage the content and actions of others, such as their photographs and videos, their likes, and their comments (Hollenbaugh, 2021).”
From The Impact of Social Norms on Adolescents’ Self-Presentation Practices on Social Media (2024) · cites this paper as Hollenbaugh, 2021
Citations
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Defining affordances in social media research: A literature review
Ronzhyn, A., Cardenal, A. S., & Rubio, A. B. (2022) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448221135187 · Cited by 431
Social media: A digital social mirror for identity development during adolescence
Pérez-Torres, V. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05980-z · Cited by 147
“Additionally, audience feedback about self-presentation on social media contributes to shaping self-concept and identity through multiple social interactions (Hollenbaugh, 2021 ; Meier & Johnson, 2022).”
InfluentialGerbaudo, P. (2024) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448241304106 · Cited by 142
Digital Mirrors: AI Companions and the Self
Kouros, T., & Papa, V. (2024) · Societies · doi:10.3390/soc14100200 · Cited by 66
Steinsbekk, S., Nesi, J. L., & Wichstrøm, L. (2023) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2023.107859 · Cited by 66
Metadata
- Authors
- Erin E., H., & Kent State University, U.
- Venue
- Review of Communication Research
- Publisher
- UK Zhende Publishing Limited Company
- Published
- 2021
- Volume
- 9
- Pages
- 80-98
- ISSN
- 2255-4165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3138399093
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 94
- Citations by year
- 2026: 40 · 2025: 55 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 33.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Review of Communication Research (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- 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
- self-presentation, social media, impression management, anonymity, persistence, visibility, context collapse, audience, audience management, social media affordances, hypermedia
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