Social Networking Websites and the Construction of Identity.

Thomas Erickson claims that personal websites are created and used to construct identity. At the time the article was written the technology and culture of personal websites was just starting to be explored. Within today’s society the phenomenon has moved from personal websites to social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace. This essay will look at the ways in which Erickson’s notion of identity construction is evident within the media of social networking websites. To understand how identity is constructed, a comprehensive understanding of identity must be established. This essay will explore the humanistic theory of identity and discover how it relates to the social networking websites Facebook and Myspace.

There are many debates as to what constitutes identity and the self. The humanistic theory of identity claims that people have “a kind of double consciousness.” People have a social self that conforms to the social roles required of it, as well as a true or “background self which chooses to act out the roles and which monitors the success or failure of the performance.” Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell describe the relationship between the social and the true self as that of an actor performing on stage. The actor has two levels of consciousness, the consciousness of the character that the actor is performing and the “actor’s real self.” The self of the actor is removed from that of the character portrayed on stage, however it is still present on the stage.
The social self is fluid and can change quickly if the need arises where as the true self develops at a slower pace. The true self takes time to grow and mature; thus it is over the life span of the individual that the true self becomes fully developed. The individual establishes the true self through the “quest for self-fulfilments and self actualization,” as part of the social interactions and expectations of everyday life. Liliana Cabral Bastos, and Maria do Carma Leite de Oliveira claim that a large part of the identity of a person is an understanding of their “autobiographical continuity.” Due to the slower development of the true self it is through the true self that this sense of biography is expressed. The “stability” of the identity can be measured through the continuity of the biography that is communicated to others.
Psychologists have noticed that people act and hold themselves differently within different instances and situations. This observation leads to the idea that people act out different social roles that are required. Within the humanist theory it is the social self that acts out the social roles or personas. The roles executed by the social self include those within the family and education, as well as those in one’s professional, religious and recreational life. The roles are prescribed through the activities, behaviour and appearance that are socially accepted. It is through social interaction and discovery that the social self learns the expectations surrounding the different roles it must perform.
When unmodulated by a mature true self, the social self can be seen as a “victim of social circumstance” and shallow . Critics argue that, when on it’s own, the social self is a superficial representation of identity. This criticism does not take into account the importance of the social self in negotiating the role and social status of the individual within society. The social self learns the notion of “‘face:’ the positive attributes that a person claims for [themselves] in the course of social interaction.” The individual is able to view the positive elements of their identity in relation to those around them, as well as compare and question the identity of others. One media through which identity is constructed is through social networking websites.
Research has shown that people spend a considerable amount of time using, updating, and socialising on their social networking website. Within today’s society social networking websites have become exceedingly popular. Myspace has an estimated 66 million unique viewers, with 25 percent under the age of 18. A study conducted by Steve Jones, Sarah Millermaier, Mariana Goya-Martinez and Jessica Schuler found that of the 200 high school students surveyed, 81 percent used Myspace and were spending an average of 72 minutes per day “sending, posting and reading bulletins.” With such a large proportion of the population engaging in social networking websites it is important to construct a strong online identity.
Identity is constructed on the social network websites, such as Facebook, through a variety of means. A description of the individual’s identity is established through both text and image. Identity is constructed through the self-descriptive narrative that the individual reveals. The individual can reveal this information through various different categories. The ‘about me’ section generally gives a short biography of the individual. This will include past events as well as a brief summery of their current life situation and worldview. The autobiographical element of social networking websites portrays the true self of the individual. As such social networking sights help to build Bastos and Oliveira’s afore mentioned “autobiographical continuity”.
Identity can also be constructed through the various ‘favourite’ media that the individual reveals. The forms of media include lists of favourite movies, TV shows, and books. People often annotate this list, revealing why certain medias appeal to them and linking this to personal memories and experiences. In doing this, the user reveals more biographical information, allowing the list to become and indicator of identity.
One of the strongest tools used to construct identity on social networking websites is the image; in particular, the profile picture. Frederic Stutzman’s study concluded that around eighty percent of Facebook users included a profile picture on their profile. Within Jones et. al.’s study a similar result was found; 61.5% of the those that had a profile picture used a portrait as the identifying image while a further 14.4% had an image of the individual with a friend or partner.
For the construction of an online identity, the profile image of the individual is of great importance. When one navigates to the profile it is the first thing that that the observer sees. Jones et. al.’s study found that people quickly gained racial, sex and age information from the profile picture alone. The television program Triple J TV: The Hack Half Hour documents the life of sixteen-year-old Sophie, a prolific user of the social networking website Myspace. Sophie tells how she spends a lot of time dressing up and taking pictures of herself. After taking out all the blemishes in Photoshop the images go online. Sophie claims the success of the photos can be measured by the feedback that others leave on her profile.
One similarity between the personal web pages that Erickson describes and social networking sites is the ability to link to other pages. Erickson claims that on personal web pages one indicator of identity is evident through the links to “interesting people and places.” Social networking sight, Facebook allows people to ‘become a fan’ of various things. These things can range from celebrities to television shows and movies, from emotions to food and places, the weather or the seasons. The viewer of the profiles can gain an understanding of identity through the media that the individual feels is interesting enough to share with the online community.
The profile picture is not the only image uploaded onto social networking sights. People keep an album of images. In the case of Facebook, one may have several albums, divided into different categories. This album allows the user to add another layer to their ‘autobiography’ by including pictures of events and memories that are important to them. This may include parties, friends, weddings; images of ones own childhood or children. In publishing these images, the user reveals information about themselves, the things they enjoy as well as their personal history. These images are often annotated, both by the person who posts them, and the viewers, adding further layers of meaning and a deeper understanding.
The social identity created on social networking websites is often viewed as shallow or false due to its highly controlled and constructed nature. This author however, would argue that social networking allows for a deeper, richer identity. Social networking creates a platform on which all people can build and create an autobiography. In the past, autobiography has been limited to books, which lack the opportunity to grow and evolve, or to diaries that are often kept private and go unread. A page on MySpace or Facebook is ever evolving, subject to the influences of friends, family and society. This evolution is visible to the general public and thus becomes a true representation of the growing identity.

Jonathan Potter and Margaret Wetherell comparison of identity to the actor on the stage is particularly relevant to the construction of identity, through the medium of social networking. At first glance, the ‘persona’ or social self, created on Facebook or MySpace appears shallow, just as the character portrayed by the actor is ‘false’. When one looks through this superficiality however, the ‘true self ‘ can be seen beneath just as an actors self is apparent even in the portrayal of another. As such, social networking not only constructs the social self; it creates a platform through which the true self can evolve.


Bibliography and References:


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Doyle, Brendan, (director), Triple J TV: The Hack Half Hour – My Face, Australian
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Erickson, Thomas, “The World Wide Web as Social Hypertext,” 1996, http://www.plaint.org/Tom_Erickson/Social_Hypertext.html (accessed 20 September 2008)

Jones, Steve, Sarah Millermaier, Mariana Goya-Martinez and Jessica Schuler, “Whose space is Myspace? A Content Analysis of Myspace Profiles,” First Monday, Vol. 13, No. 9, September, 2008

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Potter, Jonathan, and Margaret Wetherell, Discourse and Social Psychology: Beyond Attitudes and Behaviour, Sage Publications, London, 1987

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