In the world of social media, my image online – in terms of both my physical appearance and persona – differs greatly between platforms.
On TikTok, I am sarcastic and relatable. On Instagram, I am social and outgoing. On Pinterest, I am artsy and spiritual.
The only place online where I feel truly myself is on my Snapchat private story.
AFFORDANCES OF DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND THE PRESENCE OF SELF
Online, different platforms allow us to portray different versions of ourselves.
In relation to social media, the term ‘affordance’ is described as the “technology capabilities that provide the potential for a particular action” (Majchrzak et al. 2013).
The various affordances offered by different social media platforms shape the way we present ourselves online. For example, platforms that involve the use of a profile (such as Instagram) encourage users to strategically curate their presence (for instance, selecting flattering photos to upload) (Taber & Whittaker 2018).
On the other hand, affordances of other platforms encourage users to present themselves as ‘authentic’. BeReal, as an example, follows this model by prompting its users once a day (at any given time) to post an unfiltered selfie whilst simultaneously capturing their environment.
The idea of affordances and presentation of self is explored further in the research article “Selfies at a Funeral”, where the authors describe social media affordances as “shared conventions and grammars of communication, emerging within platforms and populations of users through the interplay of platform affordances and their appropriations” (Meese, J. et al. 2015).
MY PRIVATE STORY
Exclusive to a limited list of close friends, the content posted to my private story on Snapchat would not see the light of day anywhere else online. It facilitates a space to share (amongst many things) embarrassing stories, to ask advice on personal matters, and rant about my experiences- basically anything I would share with my friends in real life. These posts are generally quite personal and are not relevant in any other space of the internet.
In contrast to other platforms where my online persona is carefully curated, I believe the identity I present via my private story truly reflects my authentic self.
AFFORDANCES OF A PRIVATE STORY AND MY PRESENCE OF SELF
I consider the affordances of Snapchat’s private story to be very ‘low stakes’. Having strict control over who can view my content and acknowledging its temporary nature contribute to why I am secure in establishing my sense of self as authentic.
I feel comfortable sharing vulnerable content as I know only those most trusted in my life have access to viewing it. I don’t need to filter my identity or appearance to fit the mesh of a curated persona- I can present myself as me.
In addition to this, there is a certain sense of security knowing that the content is ephemeral; meaning anything posted to the story is temporary and will disappear after 24 hours of being uploaded.
REFERENCE LIST
- Gibbs, M, Carter, M, Arnold, M, Nansen, B, Kohn, T & Meese, J 2015, ‘Selfies at Funerals: Mourning and Presencing on Social Media Platforms’, International Journal of Communication, vol. 9, pp. 1818–1831.
- Majchrzak, A, Faraj, S, Kane, GC & Azad, B 2013, ‘The Contradictory Influence of Social Media Affordances on Online Communal Knowledge Sharing’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 38–55.
- Taber, L & Whittaker, S 2018, ‘Personality Depends on The Medium’, Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.