All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The performance of identity in online social networks

Authors

  • Erika Pearson University of Otago

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v14i3.2162

Keywords:

performance, ties, networking

Abstract

This paper discusses how ideas of performance can be used to conceptualize the play of identity formation on social networking sites (SNS). Linking Goffman's theories of social performance with Granovetter's notion of the social tie, this paper will argue that identities on SNS are deliberately constructed performances that straddle the frontstage and the backstage, the public and the private, and in doing so both support and rely upon webs of social connections which engage with fluid or playful identity constructions.

Author Biography

Erika Pearson, University of Otago

Erika Pearson is a lecturer in communications at the Department of Film, Media and Communications, University of Otago, New Zealand, focusing on digital and visual culture, new media, and social interaction online.

Downloads

Published

2009-02-25

How to Cite

Pearson, E. (2009). All the World Wide Web’s a stage: The performance of identity in online social networks. First Monday, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v14i3.2162