Self Presentation tactics.

 Social media are applications that enable people to interact with each other and build social networks that increase social capital (Barnes, 2008). Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) defined social media more theoretically as “a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content” (p. 64). Spannerworks (2007) gave a similar working definition of social media as new kinds of online media that share most or all of the characteristics of participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness. 

Comm (2010) suggested that the “social” part of social media means that “publishing is now about participation” (Comm, 2010, p. 3). Those who use social media sufficiently create not only content, but also conversations, and those conversations combine further to create communities (Comm, 2010). Results from focus groups among adolescents in urban Chir indicated that IM, SNS, blogs, and microblogs were their four most widely used social media. 

The results were absolutely in accord with the statistics reported by CNNIC showing that in 2011 and 2012, IM, blogs, microblogs, and SNS were the four most popular online communication applications among adolescents in China (CNNIC, 2012, 2013). Therefore, the social media this study focuses on consists of IM, SNS, blogs, and microblogs.

Self-Presentation :

Goffinan (1959) was among the fust to acknowledge that individuals need to present themselves to others as acceptable person. He described how the self-as-performer has a basic motivational core, and how people can be strategic in managing the impression they give. Individuals wear masks, play roles and present themselves in the ways they see themselves or in the ways they desire to be seen by others (Goffinan, 1959).

They engage in complex intra-self negotiations in order to project the desired impression and maintain it through consistently performing coherent and complementary behaviors (Schlenker, 1980; Schneider, 1981). Gilmore and his colleagues defined impression management as “conscious or unconscious attempts to influence images during interaction” (Gilmore, Stevens, Harrell-Cook & Ferris, 1999, p. 322). Individuals manage their impressions when they wish to present a favorable image of themselves to others (Bolino, Kacmar, Turnley & Gilstrap, 2008).

Thus, the concept of impression management is based on die assumption that individuals have an inherent need to be accepted and included, and therefore act accordingly (Leary, 1996). Self-presentation serves the goal of impression management (Goffinan, 1959). Therefore these two concepts are inseparable and interchangeable (Tedeschi & Riess, 1981). Jones and Pictman (1982) proposed that individuals typically use five self-presentation tactics: self-promotion, ingratiation, supplication, intimidation and exemplification (Jones & Pittman, 1982).

The opportunity to manage impressions has been advanced by new communication technologies (Walther, 1993). In the Internet era, people can make and remake themselves, choosing the details of their online impression (Mnookin, 1996). Adolescents now can manage the impression they make through social media in in any ways. These impression management opportunities come with the visual anonymity of the social media, providing users much greater degree of freedom (Joinson, 2003).

People can manipulate various characteristics online to present Jiemselves as more bounteous, more friendly, or more likable than in daily life (Chester, 2004). Dominick (1999) found that tale five impression management tactics proposed by Jones and Pittman (1982) in offline communication extended to the online setting of personal home pages. One feature diar distinguishes online self-presentation from self-presentation in daily life lies in the full control users have over their published information, allowing the self-presentation to be more strategic (Kraner & Winter, 2008).

Online self-presentation can be based on longer and more systematic considerations than in a lively self-presentation (Leary, 1996). Thus, users can highlight certain aspects of themselves (Marvick, 2005) or think about which photos convey the best images of dienselves (Ellison, Hennio, & Gibbs, 2006). Studies showed diat people tend to exaggerate and are not always honest when they present themselves online.

For example, “Fakesters” publish fake profile information in SNS and pretend to be more interesting and successful (Boyd, 2004). Some individuals just switch between their “real” self and their “fake” self on SNS (Jung. Youn, & McClung, 2007). Thus, users actively participate in SNS to manage their impression (Kramer & Winter, 2008). Indeed, social media provide an ideal place for self-presentation. In IM, users can manage their impression through chatting with others, trying to be more humorous, more interesting, or more knowledgeable.

They can also provide an explanation to friends. IM if they did something wrong or deliver an apology if they hurt others. In SNS, users can manage their impression by creating personal profiles, uploading photos, writing on others’ walls, or commenting on others’ files In blogs and microblogs, users can manage their impressions through writing diaries, sharing their personal lives everywhere, or showing their care and friendliness to friends by connecting on others’ blogs of microblogs.

Supilar to Jones and Pitunan (1982), Jung. Youn and McClung (2007) discussed four self-presentation tactics in blogs:

1) demonstration of competence revealing that de bloggers showed their abilities, performance, and qualifications indirectly;

2) supplication indicating that the bloggers deprecated Uiemselves indirectly and showed weakness to others.

(3) exemplification showing that the bloggers tend to be self-disciplined and devoted to others; and 

4) ingratiation demonstrating that die bloggers showed humor and familiarity in the blogs.

Rosenberg (2009) also studied the management of online impressions, and identified four self-presentation tactics used in Facebook: manipulation, damage control, self-promotion, and role model. Many other features might also contribute to online self-presentation in social media. For example, more friends presented on one’s profile leads to a positive evaluation, popularity and pleasantness were greater when profiling owners bad a larger number of linked friends (Kleck Reese, Behnken, and Sundar, 2007).

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