Young Women’s Self-Presentation on Social Media and Impression Management

Present research is devoted to social media as a special context of individuals’ existence, which complements the real world. Young women’s interactions in SNS are investigated, in particular self-presentation in social media and impression management. Norm of interaction phenomenon was introduced, both on the part of the performer and the audience, as well as the sincerity of feedback and the perception of violations of habitual patterns were investigated. The theoretical framework consists of theories on interpersonal interactions, including in the context of social media. E. Goffman’s theory and his dramaturgical approach are pivotal. Also, the results of past empirical studies are considered. The present research is qualitative and data collection was carried out using in-depth interviews. The selection criteria for respondents are young Russian females who have active accounts on at least one SNS, as well as who are not bloggers or celebrities, that is, who do not commercialize and professionalize relationships in social media. 16 interviews were collected, which were transcribed, coded and analyzed for patterns. A comprehensive and holistic understanding and picture of young women’s experience in the online space was received. Impression management is a tool to secure the desired self–presentation of young women. Also, empirical evidence on the manifestations of norms of interaction on the part of the performer and the audience was obtained, the reasons for the appearance and continued existence of such patterns were covered. At the end, there was a discussion of the main results of the research, limitations, and suggestions for future research.