PRESENTATION OF SELF THEORY BY ERVING GOFFMAN: SOCIAL MEDIA
Human interaction is one of the most common experiences that individuals go through daily. Besides, people can observe various aspects of others, such as the way they dress, talk, and facial expression, among others. These observations are used by the individuals to give judgment as it indicates the way people presents themselves to the world. According to Goffman, social interaction has a certain similarity with the theatre, with people being the actors in stage taking different roles in the play (Goffman 1956). On the other hand, the audience is the people who do observations and react to performance. This paper will discuss the self-presentation of the use of social media in modern society.
Self-presentation is the way individuals express themselves or behaving in a manner that will create the desired impression from other individuals. In the current world, the emergence of the internet and the advancement of technology has shifted social interaction from the common face-to-face to unique styles in social platforms that can be expressed in terms of photos and statuses (Crossman 2019). However, the element of self-presentation is the same in all of them because people act in the way they want others to perceive them.
According to Goffman, like in theatrical performance, which has a front stage and back region. Social interaction has actors who are the individuals who are aware of what they are required to do and the expectation of others from them which thus, influence their behaviors. On the other hand, the back region represents the area where individuals can relax, be themselves, and play their role when they are in front of others (Crossman 2019). In social media, individuals post photos, videos, or anything they think of, while the viewers react to it. However, what is shared in social media is usually controlled to some extent by how others will take it.
Besides, the interaction of individuals in a social setting is driven by the act to impress others. This is because people try to present themselves in a way that will prevent the embarrassment of others or themselves. Thus, they play their roles and work with others collaboratively to ensure that everyone understands what is supposed to happen in a certain scenario, what to expect from others, and how they should express themselves (Crossman 2019). For example, when working in a retail shop, the seller understands that he/she needs to be friendly, similar to Uber drivers, mainly to prevent poor judgment and possibly losing customers. This can also be related to the family where the elder brother or sister is expected to act in a certain manner in front of other siblings; this awareness results in conformity.
In the modern generation, various development has occurred concerning the way individuals present themselves. Besides, the introduction of smartphones with in-build cameras and the ability to access fast internet, together with changes that have occurred in media technologies, have altered the way individuals remember, capture and communicate images of their daily lives (Nesvadba 2017). The current social media platforms have given the users the ability to have access to a broader audience who can be able to view their photos, videos, and their updates, and thus, it has a significant influence in the manner they interact with them.
Furthermore, the action of capturing images using phone cameras has become increasingly popular. The commonest one is the selfie camera, which enables individuals to be able to view how the photo will be like before they take and share in the social media (Iqani & Jonathan 2016). Besides, the image might comprise various cues that may have the ability to express a specific message in the photos. Thus, it has become a convenient visual expression tool in social media. According to Boetker-Smith (2015), it represents the continuous sharing of photos by individuals who do not necessarily think that the selfies they post are a reflection of oneself, but they are well aware that it is the reflection of representation of oneself.
Additionally, self-presentation has become part of individuals in the current generation. The availability of various platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn has made individuals play different roles in the majority of them. For example, adding family on Facebook, talking and adding followers on Instagram and Snapchat, critiquing on Twitter, and having a professional account on LinkedIn. Therefore, it allows individuals to play different roles that can be perceived differently by observers. Besides, the photos shared online, together with the notion of conventional beauty and perfection, have been found to be closely associated with the majority of beauty pictures posted by women (Aerni 2014). The majority of women in western cultures also believe that their appearance is the fundamental factor in their self-definition. Therefore, they try to look better through posing, flexing, or smiling hence attracting attention.
Conclusively, self-presentation in social interaction is a common element of daily living. However, behaviors expressed to the outside world mainly depends on the expectations of others and the role played by the individual to meet them. Besides, social media in modern society has enabled individuals to interact with a more significant number of people, which also influences how they dress, talk, behave, and look.
REFERENCES
Aerni, Marianne. 2014. "The passionate'sharing'of creative women: A Study of self-portrayal on Facebook and Instagram".
Boetker-Smith, Daniel. 2015. “ I SELFIE THEREFORE I AM”. [online] Available at: http://vaultart.com.au/ISS10/SELFIE.php [Accessed 2 Nov. 2019].
Crossman, Ashley. 2019. "An Overview Of Goffman's 'The Presentation Of Self In Everyday Life'". Accessed November 2 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-3026754.
Goffman, Erving. 1956. "The presentation of self in everyday life. University of Edinburgh." Social Sciences Research Centre.
Iqani, Mehita & Jonathan E. Schroeder. 2016. "# selfie: digital self-portraits as commodity form and consumption practice." Consumption Markets & Culture 19, no. 5 (2016): 405-415.
Nesvadba, Noe. 2017. “THE PRESENTATION OF SELF IN THE DIGITAL WORLD: GOFFMAN AND THE STUDY OF WOMEN’S SELF PORTRAYAL ON INSTAGRAM THROUGH SELFIES”.
