The Presentation of Self on Online Social Network Platforms from the Perspective of Dramaturgical Theory

Yantong Jin; Yaqin Tian; Hongjie Wu

doi:10.2991/assehr.k.220105.204

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The Presentation of Self on Online Social Network Platforms from the Perspective of Dramaturgical Theory

Taking WeChat Moments and Anonymous Question Platform “Tape” as Examples

Authors

Yantong Jin¹^{, a,*}^{, †}, Yaqin Tian²^{, b}^{, †}, Hongjie Wu¹^{, c}^{, †}

¹Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China

²The University of Manchester, Great Manchester, United Kingdom

^b

yaqin.tian@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

^c

3180106415@zju.edu.cn

^†

These authors contributed equally.

^*Corresponding author. Email:^a3180101345@zju.edu.cn

Corresponding Author

Yantong Jin

Available Online 17 January 2022.

DOI: 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.204 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Erving Goffman; dramaturgical theory; online social networking; self-presentation
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to illustrate the underlying relation between Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory and people’s self-presentation on online social networking platforms. Erving Goffman suggested that people “perform” in accordance with their social environment and desirable image in social life, like “actors” perform on “stages”. The technological development and emergence of online social networking changed the traditional mode of communication. Therefore, people’s behavior on the online “stage” is considered to be distinct from face-to-face communication. This study presents the basic idea of dramaturgical theory. It uses WeChat “Moments” and anonymous question box “Tape” as two contrastive cases to demonstrate how people present themselves on real-name stage and anonymous stage in the context of Goffman. The conclusion shows that people’s behavior on a real-name online platform is more like an offline stage because they are still restricted by their expected norms and audiences’ attitudes. The anonymous stage enables users to present personal characteristics and sentimental expressions because of the anonymity.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

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Volume Title: Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
Series: Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date: 17 January 2022
ISBN: 978-94-6239-512-1
ISSN: 2352-5398
DOI: 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.204 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - CONF
AU  - Yantong Jin
AU  - Yaqin Tian
AU  - Hongjie Wu
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/01/17
TI  - The Presentation of Self on Online Social Network Platforms from the Perspective of Dramaturgical Theory
BT  - Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Social Development and Media Communication (SDMC 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 1112
EP  - 1117
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220105.204
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.220105.204
ID  - Jin2022
ER  -

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