Presentation of Self in Digital Life
Definition
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.
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.
Presentation of Self in Digital Life
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.
