The Facebook Project Performance and Construction of Digital Identity
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE FACEBOOK PROJECT PERFORMANCE AND CONSTRUCTION OF DIGITAL IDENTITY JEFF GINGER | MASTERS PAPER DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY | UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN REVISION 4 | 7.2008 | THEFACEBOOKPROJECT.COM ABSTRACT In recent years an impressive number of youth have taken to joining popular online social networking service (SNS) websites. One of the most famous and prosperous of these within the US college student community is Facebook.com. Facebook functions as a purposed network of identities, deposited expressions, and interactive media that make for a meaningful digital space that has become interlaced into the day-to-day lives of most students. The Facebook ecology facilitates an emergent, intricate, and robust arena of interactions and representations that serve to mediate the construction of identity. How is it then, that participants perform—and thus construct—their identities on Facebook.com? This paper begins to answer this question within the folds of an intriguing, if not elaborate exploration. It reviews pertinent background information on Facebook, as well as its social relevancy, and highlights some of the applicable psychological and sociological theories on identity, starting with Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical approach. Several salient, mediating elements of digital architecture are discussed, including anonymity, disembodiment, virtual space, temporal context, interface and metaphors, and their correspondent relation to Facebook. The literature review includes a concise analysis of much of the material already available on Facebook and should bring readers up to speed with the perspective employed for the research questions in this work. The scope of this study includes examination of Facebook activity, perceptions, and personal identity management specifically found in two surveys conducted on the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign undergraduate student population roughly a year apart – one from May of 2006 and one from May of 2007- that shared inquires into the same topics. These data are employed in order to offer insight into and examples of the various social intricacies at play in Facebook, particularly with a focus on the representation of identity information, privacy and sharing preferences, and social norms. Among instances of identifying examples of audience and performance the findings indicate that users of all kinds are active on Facebook. Interestingly enough, many students do feel Facebook is invasive to their privacy, but clearly not enough so to reduce their constant use of the system. With only a few exceptions, the level of personal identity information people share on Facebook is pretty similar to what they would announce in the face to face world. These conclusions hold important implications about the state of social norms and digital identity and may serve as the basis for future research on Social Networking Services. KEYWORDS AND TAGS Facebook, social networking service, digital identity, privacy, identity management, Goffman, construction of identity, performance of identity, undergraduate students The Facebook Project 2007 Expression and Sharing of Identity | 2 READERS As determined by the University of Illinois Department of Sociology, this paper must have three Professors of Sociology with formal appointments as readers. They are as follows: JORGE CHAPA Jorge Chapa is the first permanent Director of the Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is also a Professor of Sociology and Latina/Latino Studies. Chapa's research has focused on alternatives to increase the successful participation of minorities in higher education and other public institutions. He is also currently doing research on immigration policy issues and voting rights. Jorge has helped to guide Jeff Ginger through his Masters Paper enacting as his primary reader and graciously dedicating time and effort to ensure his success by guiding him with an independent study. Without his assistance Jeff would never have been able to write his paper for Sociology. MARKUS SCHULZ Markus Schulz is a new Professor to the University of Illinois. His fields of study include Social Theory, Transnational Processes, Political Imagery, Social Movements, New Media, and research on Latin America. His insights to this paper have been some of the most thorough and provocative and he never fails to impress Jeff with his ability to perform such expert close-readings. LORI KENDALL Lori Kendall is an Associate Professor in Library and Information Science. She shares a strong background in Sociology and specializes in studies of online community and identity, the social aspects of computing, and gender and technology. She was kind enough to enact as Jeff’s advisor during his transition to GSLIS and has brought a unique and extraordinarily valuable perspective to bear on the evaluation of this work. The Facebook Project 2007 Expression and Sharing of Identity | 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I (Jeff) would like to thank a few amazing individuals for their invaluable assistance in helping me to complete this massive project. Kristin Ginger – My sister and a sort of best friend Kristin has helped edit more papers of mine than many do in a lifetime. Not only is she one of the most brilliant and inspiring people I know, but she’s hands down the absolute best writer I’ve ever known. Melissa Zilic (Swamy) – Melissa was my secret weapon in all of this, who’d have known I had my own personal librarian. She’s responsible for some of the most important foundational sources adorn the big references list and never failed to continually send me helpful emails with material. Jane Burris – The first faculty member to pay much attention to my work Jane was helpful in aiding my survey development and distribution. Alex Herder – A good friend and curious comrade Alex has provided some editing and insight here and there throughout my work, and whether he knows it or not, has been pretty helpful. Courtney Cuthbertson – Courtney helped me to draft up the original set of survey questions back in 2006 when I had no idea what I was doing. Laurie Bridges – Laurie has provided some really helpful sources as well as an encouraging ear. Mountain Dew – An odd fellow to list I know but I seriously would have never been able to pull as many all-nighters as I did to complete this paper without the assistance of the invigorating drink. The Facebook Project 2007 Expression and Sharing of Identity | 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ................................................................................................................................................................. 2 Keywords and Tags ........................................................................................................................................... 2 Readers ............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................... 4 1 | A Short Introduction to Social Networking Services ....................................................................................... 7 2 | Background On Facebook ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 | Popularity ............................................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 | Potential Worth ..................................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 | The Facebook Experience ...................................................................................................................... 13 2.4 | Origins of Success................................................................................................................................... 16 2.5 | Substantive Influence and Sociological Importance .............................................................................. 20 3 | Theory and Literature Review ....................................................................................................................... 22 3.1 | Defining Identity .................................................................................................................................... 22 3.2 | Identity in the Digital World................................................................................................................... 26 3.4 | Identity on Facebook ............................................................................................................................. 33 3.5 | Privacy through Identity Management .................................................................................................. 41 3.6 | Current Views Of Privacy and Identity on Facebook.............................................................................. 43 3.7 | Building an Alternative Picture .............................................................................................................. 47 4 | Construction of Identity on Facebook ........................................................................................................... 49 5 | Research Questions ......................................................................................................................................