Narrative As Self Performance: the Rhetorical Construction of Identities on Facebook Profiles Marianne Leonardi
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Communication ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2-9-2010 Narrative as Self Performance: The Rhetorical Construction of Identities on Facebook Profiles Marianne Leonardi Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds Recommended Citation Leonardi, Marianne. "Narrative as Self Performance: The Rhetorical Construction of Identities on Facebook Profiles." (2010). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/cj_etds/11 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i NARRATIVE AS SELF PERFORMANCE: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES ON FACEBOOK PROFILES BY MARIANNE E. LEONARDI B.A., International Studies and Spanish Studies, Santa Clara University, 2004 M.A., International and Intercultural Communication, University of Denver, 2005 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2009 ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This dissertation would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of a number of people. While it is impossible to list every colleague, student, faculty, staff, family member, and friend who made this dissertation possible and kept me going throughout, I extend my deepest thanks and gratitude to everyone who helped in even the smallest way. I owe a special debt of thanks to my dissertation committee, Dr. Jan Schuetz, Dr. Karen Foss, Dr. Gill Woodall, and Dr. Beverly Burris, without whom I would not have been able to complete this study. Thank you all for your support and guidance throughout the multiple stages of this dissertation. I am especially indebted to my advisor, Dr. Schuetz, who not only kept me physically nourished with wonderful meals, but who also took such care in editing countless drafts of my chapters. Dr. Schuetz, you are a true role model, thank you for your tireless support and encouragement. Thank you to all of my friends, those of you who were guinea pigs in my pilot studies, and those of you who called constantly to check-up on my progress. Thank you to my UNM ladies, Elizabeth Dickinson, Courtney Fletcher, Rachel Stohr, Iliana Rucker, Claudia Anguiano, Jen Sandoval, and Jessica Nodulman for your crazy texts, and phone calls that kept me laughing and wanting to move forward. Thank you for listening to me when I was frustrated, you kept me motivated and encouraged me when I needed it most. Finally, I want to thank my family for their love and support throughout this long journey. Thank you to my parents, Dan and Vicki, who were with me through the good times and the trying times, without fail. Without your love and prayers I would not be where I am or who I am today. Thank you to my brother Paul, for sparking my interest in iii new communication technologies and for being my constant role model. Last, and never least, thank you to my sister and my Irish twin, Karen, for your unwavering support and for keeping me laughing for 26 years. iv NARRATIVE AS SELF PERFORMANCE: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES ON FACEBOOK PROFILES BY MARIANNE E. LEONARDI ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico December 2009 v NARRATIVE AS SELF PERFORMANCE: THE RHETORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES ON FACEBOOK PROFILES by Marianne E. Leonardi B.A., International Studies and Spanish Studies, Santa Clara University, 2004 M.A., International and Intercultural Communication, University of Denver, 2005 Ph.D., Communication, University of New Mexico, 2009 ABSTRACT New ways of creating and presenting the self in the “space” of the Internet are fascinating, but not yet fully understood. Framed in the theoretical literature of Goffman’s presentation of the self, and Burke’s conception of rhetoric, the study’s primary concern is to explain and understand how Facebook users construct identities using narrative fragments on their profiles and the offline effects of these narrative performances. Specifically, this study argues that narratives are a type of rhetorical performance, and that both narratives and identities have symbolic meaning and rhetorical components. While the effects of online identities occur at the macro-level, the actual process of construction and presentation occur at the micro-level. The method of narrative criticism informs the primary framework, called the Narrative Performance Model (NPM), that I created and used to analyze 100 Facebook profiles of undergraduate students at a large, southwestern university to understand the micro-level process of the performance of identities and to answer the following research questions: (1) What vi features are used in the narrative performance of identities on Facebook? (2) What types of identities result from the narrative performances on Facebook profiles, and (3) What role does cultural capital play in the narrative performance of self? Focus groups discussions of undergraduate college students added a depth dimension to the narrative criticism, helped answer questions that could not be answered in the analysis of Facebook profiles, and answered the following research question: What are the offline consequences of communicating online identities on Facebook? The micro-level analysis of 400 pages of text from Facebook profiles reveal that students use both linguistic and paralinguistic features in their narrative performance of identity. Students challenge and alter traditional conventions of grammar, writing, and narratives to present specific narratives of self. Students use these features to communicate five types of identities on their profiles: (1) the essential self; (2) the desired self; (3) the preferential self, (4) the dynamic self; and (5) the demanding self. Cultural capital makes possible the above mentioned narrative selves, and in effect, perpetuates the hierarchical arrangement of society by highlighting class differences. A thematic analysis of focus group discussions reveal that offline consequences fall within four general themes: (1) keeping it real; (2) Facebook official; (3) friending; and (4) relationship boundaries—family as friends. In addition to an in-depth discussion of macro and micro-level findings, the practical, theoretical, and methodological contributions are discussed. vii Table of Contents CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 1 Researcher Perspective ................................................................................................... 3 Interpretive Perspective .............................................................................................. 5 Assumptions.................................................................................................................... 7 Rationale ....................................................................................................................... 12 Mediated Communication......................................................................................... 13 Social-Networking Numbers .................................................................................... 16 Ethical Implications of Online Use........................................................................... 17 Research Questions....................................................................................................... 18 Key Constructs.............................................................................................................. 19 Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC)........................................................... 19 Social-networking Sites ............................................................................................ 20 Identity/Virtual Identity ................................................................................................ 21 Identity.................................................................................................................. 21 Representation ...................................................................................................... 23 Virtual Identity...................................................................................................... 24 Performance of the Self ............................................................................................ 25 Narrative ................................................................................................................... 26 Rhetorical Features ................................................................................................... 28 Preview of Chapters...................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................... 30 Computer-Mediated Communication ........................................................................... 30 viii Technological Determinism...................................................................................... 31 Social Constructivism............................................................................................... 32 Social