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Online Self-Presentation

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The Internet has created a setting in which almost any individual can present and relay information to others. Even with a limited technological skillset, individuals can share information and express themselves to a potentially large audience instantaneously (Dominick, 1999). Social network sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, provide users with an opportunity to create online profiles where they can post pictures and information that cultivate an online identity (Bond, 2009). The scope of online self-presentation has drastically changed over the years. In its infancy, the Internet was seen as an “identity laboratory,” where individuals could experiment with their identity by creating fictitious, and possibly multiple, selves (Toma & Hancock, 2010). This identity experimentation was made possible by the anonymity that online
ONLINE MORMON SELF-PRESENTATION 9 spaces provided. However, with the passage of time and developing technologies, the Internet now provides several highly personalized environments. In these online personalized spaces, users construct accurate and realistic self-presentations in order to accomplish interpersonal goals (McKenna & Bargh, 2000; Toma & Hancock, 2010). For example, users might use Facebook to connect with real-life friends, network with or contact employers via LinkedIn, or find love on Match.com. With anonymity removed, users must carefully manage self- presentations in order to advance real-life agendas (Toma & Hancock, 2010).
Via the Internet, a large variety of information is shared. Research has found that individuals share personal information on the Internet pertaining to hobbies, interests, and friendships (Stern, 2004). In addition, more personal information such as home addresses, emotions, sexuality, and personal mental stresses are shared online (McKenna, Green, & Smith, 2002). Despite the fact that most of the information exchanged online can also be conveyed in FtF communication, more intimate topics and information might solely be shared via the Internet to avoid embarrassment (Marcus, Machilek & Schutz, 2006). It is important to note that although previous research has found online profile deception and misrepresentation (Ellison, Heino, & Gibbs, 2006), the degree of profile embellishment is often quite small (Toma & Hancock, 2010).
Several studies have focused on self-presentation specifically in an online context. For example, Dominick (1999) examined Jones’ self-presentation strategies on personal homepages; Trammell and Keshelashvili (2005) studied A-list blogs for Jones’ strategies; Ellison, Heino, and Gibbs (2006) explored online personals using Goffman’s (1959) definition of self-presentation; and Kane (2008) examined Jones’ self-presentation strategies in MySpace profile pictures.
Jones and Pittman’s (1982) five strategies of self-presentation provide an important framework for this thesis. Although Jones (1990) admits that his self-presentation strategies are
ONLINE MORMON SELF-PRESENTATION 10 not exhaustive and were developed to categorize offline interactions, researchers have used them to study self-presentation in an online context (Dominick, 1999; Kane, 2008; Trammell & Keshelashvili, 2005).

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