Self-presentation and gender on social media: an exploration of the expression of “authentic selves”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaudia Kondakciu ◽  
Melissa Souto ◽  
Linda Tuncay Zayer
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Protective Measure ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Visual Data ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Authentic Self ◽  
Gender Policing ◽  
And Gender

Purpose In response to calls for more research on gender(s) in digital contexts, this paper aims to ask, how do individuals engage in self-presentation of their gender identities on social media? Design/methodology/approach Using a multi-method qualitative approach, this research explores the narratives of 17 Millennials as they negotiate their online gender expressions with a particular focus on the image-based social platforms, Facebook and Instagram. Specifically, in-depth interviews, a collage technique and visual data from informants’ social media pages were analyzed to identify emergent themes. Findings Drawing on the theoretical work of Goffman’s (1971) self-presentation and Butler’s (1999) gender performance, this research highlights a pervading discourse of authenticity or the desire for Millennial social media users to craft and perform a perceived “authentic self” online. This often entails both expressions of gender fluidly and gender policing. Further, four strategies emerge in the data which reveal how individuals negotiate and navigate their gendered self-presentation online, either in an agentic manner or as a protective measure. Originality/value While much research exists on online self-presentation, gender(s) has been under-researched in a digital context. Existing studies examine the content of social media pages (e.g. Facebook profiles or women’s Instagram pages) as it relates to gender, but largely do not explore the lived experiences and narratives of individuals as they negotiate their gendered expressions. In addition, the use of visual data through the collage technique adds valuable insight into how gender is experienced and performed. Findings reveal that while Millennials are often touted as a gender-fluid generation, tensions still exist in online gendered expressions.

The importance of social media on holiday visitors’ choices – the case of Athens, Greece

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 360-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Androniki Kavoura ◽  
Aikaterini Stavrianeas
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Geographical Differences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Belonging ◽  
And Gender

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine visitors’ perceptions and relevant importance of social media when choosing a Mediterranean destination and also to explore the extent in which they believe it is important for them to belong to an online community with shared characteristics among its members. Design/methodology/approach – A stratified, based on nationality and gender, sample of 301 respondents of foreign arrivals of visitors in the Athens airport, Greece was collected in June and July 2014 based on the official Athens Airport Authorities Arrival Research. This is a partially exploratory research. Findings – Differences between age groups as far as the importance attributed to social media as sources of information about a tourism destination were found. The respondents, when using the internet for gathering information about a tourism Mediterranean destination, consider different online channels. Facebook is among the most important sources of information for them associated with the tourism destinations. Official web sites/blogs of the destination are the first source and photo sharing sites are the second most preferred source; sharing aesthetics of photos was found to contribute to the feeling of belonging to an on line travel community. Research limitations/implications – Further research will contribute to the development of greater understanding of the strategic approaches to social media and their use to promote a destination. Greek diaspora would be interesting to examine and geographical differences among groups. Practical implications – The paper denotes the importance for destination management organizations and companies, to fully employ the social media in their marketing efforts. Originality/value – The present study increases our understanding of the adoption of online and traditional communications in the visitor’s process for Athens, Greece, shedding light to the literature existing on the significance attributed to the online travel community belonging from visitors through sharing aesthetics of photos and associations of ideas based on age differences.

Self-Objectification vs. African Conservative Features in the Selfies of Black African Women

2018 ◽  
pp. 103-130
Author(s):  
Endong Floribert Patrick Calvain
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
African Women ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Nigerian Women ◽  
Black African ◽  
Cultural Forces ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Self Objectification

Though popularly construed as a universal phenomenon, selfie taking is gendered and culturally determined. This could be evidenced by the fact that the two socio-cultural forces of conservatism and traditionalism continue to tremendously shape African women's style of taking and sharing selfies on social media. Based on a content analysis of 200 selfies generated and shared by Nigerian women on Facebook and Instagram, this chapter illustrates this reality. It argues that Nigerian women are generally more conservative than liberal in their use of selfies for self-presentation, self-imaging and self-expression in public spaces. Over 59% of their selfies have conservative features. However, despite the prevalence of conservative myths and gender related stereotypes in the Nigerian society, the phenomenon of nude or objectified selfies remains a clearly notable sub-culture among Nigerian women. Over 41% of Nigerian women's selfies contain such objectification features as suggestive postures; suggestive micro-expressions and fair/excessive nudity among others.

Integrating search engine capacity and gender preference within a social media captured authority locus of control

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 374-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amber A. Smith-Ditizio ◽  
Alan David Smith ◽  
Walter R. Kendall
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Search Engines ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Integrated Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Gender Status ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
And Gender

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide useful insights underlying the popularity of search engine technologies within a social media-intensive environment. Design/methodology/approach The degree of social interaction for social media platforms that integrate search engine technologies as part of the homepage and related experience is very mixed on part of its users. Through Barnard’ theory of authority acceptance, social media and its popularity may be examined by the ability of its users to create effective messages that can be broadcasted to many, yet controlled by individual. The hypotheses tested the interaction of social media and search engine with gender and technological ease-of-use factors. Findings The statistical evidence suggested that significant technological and ease-of-use aspects of search engines are not meaningful, based on gender alone. Males may slightly be prone to take advantage of such technologies, but their search and use patterns are not much varied from their female counterparts. Social media, generally more fully captured authority in individual search patterns, and a number of interactions among gender status, search engine characteristics, and social media were found to be significant and profound. The testing of these hypotheses directly reflect the complexities of unique needs among users of search engines within a social media environment. Practical implications Search engine technologies with a social media context has allowed for the development of a modern, user-driven internet experience that has been powered by users’ imagination and is designed to at least partially satisfy users’ need for self-directed engagement. Organizations are well advised to provide a mindful, less controlled, and more interactive presence of potential users, especially through an increasingly mobile presence. Originality/value Individuals as well as organizations are rapidly discovering that it is becoming easier to share and distribute their content, especially for more creative and innovative content, among all of its users. As businesses continue to focus on the quality of one’s own content, individuals are increasingly taking advantage of some tools to exert more control over their experiences and what they are willing to share, resulting in more user-based partnerships will formulate. As the transition of traditional forms of marketing to newer forms of integrated marketing, the future for search engines as marketing tools by social media users appears to be very promising in adding contextual content within users’ homepage.

Investigating social media consumption, sports enthusiasm, and gender on sponsorship outcomes in the context of Rio Olympics

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Hazari
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Sports Participation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Purchase Behavior ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose Using the context of Rio Olympic games, the purpose of this paper is to investigate attitude toward sponsorship outcome as it relates to purchase behavior, gender, sponsor patronage, sports enthusiasm, and social media consumption. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using an online survey of 265 participants. Questions regarding demographics, viewing habits, sports participation, enthusiasm, attitude toward Olympic events were included in the survey. The four sub-scales were sponsorship attitude, sponsor patronage, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Findings The findings of the study showed that social media consumption is positively related to attitude toward event and sports patronage. There was a significant gender difference on attitude toward event, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Predictors for making a purchase as a result of seeing a social media advertisement were gender, playing competitive sport, and social media consumption. Practical implications This study will add to the body of academic and practitioner research on sponsorship outcomes, and provides an opportunity for marketers to leverage social media networks for sponsorship communication. Originality/value As the use of social media networks has increased over the past few years, no previous study has investigated association of sports enthusiasm, gender, or social media consumption toward sponsor patronage which relates to consumers seeking out sponsors and being influenced to make a purchase as a result of marketing communication of sponsors.

Posting photos of luxury cuisine online: an exploratory study

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 454-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glyn Atwal ◽  
Douglas Bryson ◽  
Valériane Tavilla
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Demographic Variables ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Diary Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the motives for posting or sharing food photos using social media, focussed within the context of fine dining (FD) restaurants. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in France by combining analysis of qualitative diary research and transcripts of focus group discussions. Findings The motivation to take food images can be broadly categorised according to experiential (hedonism, altruism and passion collecting) and symbolic (social status, uniqueness, self-esteem and self-presentation) benefits. Research limitations/implications This research is limited by its relatively small sample size and the inability to consider the direct influences of demographic variables and attitudes to FD and social media. Moreover, the cultural context of the study needs to be considered as the study took place in France. Practical implications User-generated images are increasingly an integral aspect of the holistic dining experience. Luxury restaurants need to leverage the opportunities of user-generated content. The FD experience needs to be visually captured and expressed. This can include both tangible and intangible attributes. Originality/value Although the literature has provided a comprehensive overview of social media behaviour, the efficacy of a gastronomic perspective is limited. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate consumer-generated postings of images of food within the luxury restaurant classification.

scholarly journals Instagram Stories versus Facebook Wall: an advertising effectiveness analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Belanche ◽  
Isabel Cenjor ◽  
Alfredo Pérez-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Advertising Effectiveness ◽  
Consumer Attitude ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Attitude Toward Ads ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate advertising effectiveness in Instagram and Facebook, the two most important social media platforms. It helps to understand which should be chosen depending on the target audience of the campaign. Design/methodology/approach The study examines advertising effectiveness in these social media in terms of ad attitude, ad intrusiveness and loyalty intentions. An online survey was conducted with 303 social media users. Age and gender are proposed as moderators. Findings The results indicate that Instagram Stories not only enhances consumer attitude toward ads but also increases perceived intrusiveness, compared to Facebook Wall. Millennials are more disturbed by Facebook Wall ads than non-millennial users. A triple interaction effect reveals that non-millennial men are more loyal toward Facebook Wall ads, whereas millennials of both genders and non-millennial women are more loyal to ads on Instagram Stories. Practical implications Advertisers should be aware of the differential features and segmentation possibilities in social media to better address their target audiences. More precisely, the research findings suggest that professionals should focus on Instagram Stories when targeting millennials and non-millennial women, and on Facebook Wall when targeting non-millennial men. Originality/value This study is one of the first to contribute to the literature on Instagram Stories as an advertising platform and compare its differential features with those of more established social media, such as Facebook Wall.

scholarly journals An investigation of the online presence of UK universities on Instagram

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 582-597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Stuart ◽  
David Stuart ◽  
Mike Thelwall
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
League Tables ◽  
Online Presence ◽  
University Branding ◽  
Media Services ◽  
The Moment ◽  
To Receive

Purpose Rising tuition fees and a growing importance on league tables has meant that university branding is becoming more of a necessity to attract prospective staff, students, and funding. Whilst university websites are an important branding tool, academic institutions are also beginning to exploit social media. Image-based social media services such as Instagram are particularly popular at the moment. It is therefore logical for universities to have a presence on popular image-based social media services such as Instagram. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the online presence of UK universities on Instagram in an initial investigation of use. Design/methodology/approach This study utilizes webometric data collection, and content analysis methodology. Findings The results indicate that at the time of data analysis for this investigation (In the Spring of 2015), UK universities had a limited presence on Instagram for general university accounts, with only 51 out of 128 institutions having an account. The most common types of images posted were humanizing (31.0 percent), showcasing (28.8 percent), and orienting (14.3 percent). Orienting images were more likely to receive likes than other image types, and crowdsourcing images were more likely to receive comments. Originality/value This paper gives a valuable insight into the image posting practices of UK universities on Instagram. The findings are of value to heads of marketing, online content creators, social media campaign managers, and anyone who is responsible for the marketing, branding, and promoting of a university’s services.

Perceived authenticity of social media influencers: scale development and validation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung Ah Lee ◽  
Matthew S. Eastin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Five Dimensions ◽  
Intention To Purchase ◽  
Key Driver ◽  
Qualitative Responses ◽  
Development And Validation

PurposePublic perceptions of the authenticity of social media influencers (SMIs) are a key driver of the latter's persuasiveness as brand endorsers. Despite its importance, no measurement scale currently exists for perceived authenticity of social media influencers (PASMIs). This prevents practitioners from effectively assessing consumers' perceptions of an influencer's authenticity prior to a potential partnership. To provide better guidance, this research develops and validates a scale of PASMI as well as examines the relationships between the underlying dimensions of the scale and key consumer behavior variables.Design/methodology/approachThe current research consists of two studies: the first study constructs a scale; the second validates it. In Study 1, items were generated from existing scales as well as from qualitative responses. These items were revised based on feedback provided by an independent group of reviewers. Furthermore, an online survey was conducted to purify the items. In Study 2, the scale was validated with a new sample.FindingsResults suggest that perceived SMI authenticity is a multidimensional construct consisting of sincerity, truthful endorsements, visibility, expertise and uniqueness. Each of the five dimensions has varying effects on consumers' evaluation of an SMI, willingness to follow an SMI, and intention to purchase products that SMIs recommend.Originality/valueThis research extends theoretical work on authenticity by developing and validating a scale as well as delving into the construct of perceived SMI authenticity. Practical implications are provided for marketers and SMIs.

Understanding the antecedents and outcomes of brand community-swinging in a poly-social-media context: a perspective of channel complementarity theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyun Liao ◽  
Jiawen Chen ◽  
Xuebing Dong
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Brand Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Information Value ◽  
Brand Community ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Complementarity Theory

PurposeThis study aims to examine the increasingly widespread phenomenon of brand community-swinging, which refers to a user's routine use of multiple brand communities of a brand across different social media. Drawing from channel complementarity theory, this study examines whether the complementarity of gratifications in four values (i.e. information value, entertainment value, social interaction value and self-presentation value) influences brand community-swinging and, in turn, cultivates brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was developed to collect relevant data from users of a well-known smartphone brand. The survey yielded a total of 351 useable responses, and a structural equation model approach was used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe results indicate that three types of gratification complementarity (information value, social interaction value and self-presentation value) have a significantly positive impact on consumers' brand community-swinging, which further fosters brand loyalty.Originality/valuePrevious research predominantly focused on the motivations and outcomes of consumers' participation within a single-brand community, but little is known about the antecedents and outcomes of brand community-swinging in a poly-social-media context. This study contributes to the brand community literature by addressing this research gap.

Social media usage, electronic word of mouth and purchase-decision involvement

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantanu Prasad ◽  
Ishwar C. Gupta ◽  
Navindra K. Totala
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Purchase Decision ◽  
Valuable Insight ◽  
Electronic Word Of Mouth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the theory which gives valuable insight into the context of social media, electronic word of mouth (EWOM), trust and purchase-decision involvement. Design/methodology/approach A review of the existing literature was carried out and construct-wise measurement items were adapted from existing scales. Experts reviewed the items and validated. Convergent validity, discriminant validity and reliability of the scales were tested with the data collected from 252 respondents. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the proposed model. Findings Social media usage and EWOM have positive impact on purchase-decision involvement and online trust plays a vital mediating role in this context. Originality/value The implications of findings of this research are relevant for managers and public policy makers. People can be sensitized against any menace or can be made aware about any good things in the society in true sense so that they become proactive, participate and take decision (or purchase decision).

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