Difference between revisions of "Presentation of Self in Digital Life"

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===Definition===
 
===Definition===
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The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a book by Erving Goffman about how citizens present themselves differently according to the situation they are currently involved in. For instance, a worker might act one way on a construction site, another way with his family, and another way at the bar. Each situation provides an environment for one to act differently. In addition, a schism exists when one acts in a way that does not fit in with the environment.  
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This term references Erving Goffman's seminal sociological study, <u>The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life</u>. The book provides an illustration of how people present themselves differently according to the situation that they encounter, showing that people often have multiple selves that they present throughout their daily life. For instance, a worker might act one way on a construction site, another way with his family, and another way at the bar.<ref>Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday Anchor Books. 1959.</ref> Each situation is a unique environment in which different protocols and expectations govern behavior. With the rise of virtual presentation and aggregated identity platforms (such as facebook) this dynamic becomes more troublesome. It used to be that there were many different contexts that one "acted" in, such as school, work, friends, parents. But when we construct our virtual selves we must take all of these situations into account and aggregate our identities into a cohesive and palatable whole. Thus one has to simultaneously account for prospective employers, friends, and family when creating a Facebook profile.
  
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One example is how a teacher acts in front of students vs. other teachers. If a teacher acts differently from a prescribed and expected role in front of a student, then the boundaries of the presentation of self are violated and a schism occurs.
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==References==
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<references />
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===Presentation of Self in Digital Life===
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There have been related schisms online based on the fact that adults communicated in a certain way to adults than they do with children, and children act towards their peers in a different way than they do with adults. When Facebook did not respect the boundaries between these different types of people and actors, a schism formed between the groups and participants in Facebook felt as if their privacy had been violated.
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===Related Reading===
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*[[The Presentation of Self in Digital Life]]
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*[[http://www.slideshare.net/padday/the-real-life-social-network-v2 Paddy UX at Google: The Real Life Social Network] (slideshare link)
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[[Category:Finished]]

Latest revision as of 22:45, 30 November 2011

Definition

This term references Erving Goffman's seminal sociological study, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. The book provides an illustration of how people present themselves differently according to the situation that they encounter, showing that people often have multiple selves that they present throughout their daily life. For instance, a worker might act one way on a construction site, another way with his family, and another way at the bar.[1] Each situation is a unique environment in which different protocols and expectations govern behavior. With the rise of virtual presentation and aggregated identity platforms (such as facebook) this dynamic becomes more troublesome. It used to be that there were many different contexts that one "acted" in, such as school, work, friends, parents. But when we construct our virtual selves we must take all of these situations into account and aggregate our identities into a cohesive and palatable whole. Thus one has to simultaneously account for prospective employers, friends, and family when creating a Facebook profile.

References

  1. ↑ Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Doubleday Anchor Books. 1959.
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