Identity construction or obfuscation on social media
A case of Facebook and WhatsApp
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6030332 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ernest Jakaza (0000-0002-9639-5312, Midlands State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 3-25 |
| Publication date | 2022-01-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Identities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1472-5843 • E-ISSN: 1472-5851 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14725843.2020.1804829 |
| OpenAlex | W3048624132 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 23 |
This paper appraises the way Facebook and WhatsApp social media users construct or obfuscate their identities and that of their followers and/or audience. Social media users post their statuses and what is on their mind on the public domain. These posts are presumed to ‘project’ the sender’s identity dis/aligning themselves with readers or potential readers. The discursive processes involved are crucial for the appraisal of how identities are constructed or obfuscated. Language is at the centre of identity co-construction or obfuscation. Engaging the Appraisal and Social Constructionism theoretical frameworks, the paper examines identity construction or obfuscation from the three levels of analysis: lexical, textual pragmatic and interactional levels. Data for analysis is purposively sampled. Observation and group discussions are utilised to appraise the discursive socio-semantic meanings of the status and posts on social media. The paper argues that identities are largely obfuscated than constructed on social media. Identities are never unified, fragmentation of identities in differing situations and contexts compound obfuscation of identities in general
Aesthetics · Communication source · Computer security · Media studies · Obfuscation · Online identity · Social constructionism · Social group · Social identity theory · Social media · Social science · Sociology · The Internet · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Social Media and Politics
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| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |