ABSTRACT
The self, in late modern societies, is expressed as fluid abstraction, reified through the individual's association with a reality that may be equally flexible. The process of self presentation becomes an ever-evolving cycle through which individual identity is presented, compared, adjusted, or defended against a constellation of social, cultural, economic, or political realities. Goffman (1959) described this as an information game; “a potentially infinite cycle of concealment, discovery, false revelation, and rediscovery” (p. 13). T h is somewhat ego-centered approach has been related by other sociologists to contemporary historical developments, which render the self more liquid (Baumann, 2000; 2005), reflexive (Giddens, 1991), or self-identity a process (Jenkins, 2004). Self-identity in public and private life thus traverses distinct yet connected planes of interaction or networks. Technology may provide the stage for this interaction, linking the individual, separately or simultaneously, with multiple audiences. Online social networks constitute such sites of self presentation and identity negotiation. This paper focuses on what it means to present the self in online networked environments.
