Virtual self construction in social network sites：The interplay between technology and its users

Abstract

Social technologies place individual users at the center of their design and support users in presenting themselves to others in online space. Although presenting one’s ideal self to others is a basic human need and the lack of physical constraints makes it easier to do in this online space, not all users show their utmost ideal self. This study finds the reason for this in the technological and social characteristics of technology and investigates how users’ activities are performed to reflect ideal selves. It examines social network sites (SNS) as a key social technology and argues that inherent characteristics of SNS present users’ actual selves, while users use postings to reflect their ideal selves. The results show that the users of SNS see their constructed virtual selves in SNS as close to their actual selves, but by engaging in postings - particularly relational and collective postings - their ideal selves are also integrated into their virtual selves. Thus the results suggest that virtual selves are shaped by both the inherent characteristics of technology and its users’activities.