Are Our Identities Segmented in the Digital Age? : The Self-concept in Online and Offline Domains View Digital Media

Poster Session
Ria Gualano,  Jeffrey Bowen  

Young adults are spending a significant amount of their waking hours online, and previous research has shown that social media use can affect their well-being, personalities, and relationships. The present study seeks to identify potential differences in reports of online and offline personality, self-esteem and self-concept clarity to determine whether social media users view themselves differently between the two domains. As social media becomes further entrenched in our daily routines, we must understand how frequent use might affect our identities. Despite being rooted in the psychological study of the “self-concept,” this study also aims to contribute to the field of Communication. Two hundred and three participants completed a self-report survey with three counterbalanced versions of a series of scales including the Big Five Inventory, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Self-Concept Clarity Scale. The three versions were online, offline and unspecified. Statistical analyses were conducted through within-subject ANOVAs followed by t-tests. The generalizability of these findings may be limited by a predominately undergraduate participant pool, but this sample is representative of the people who engage the most with social media. As predicted, some results reveal a discrepancy between participants’ online and offline reports of themselves. Thus, it is possible that social media use might be shaping the fundamental ways in which we view ourselves. Follow-up analyses will explore whether participants are reflecting on their online or offline identities when completing the unspecified, or default, versions of these questionnaires.