Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

January 2014

Publication Title

Journal of Communications Media Studies

Keywords

self-presentation, qualitative, photo-elicitation, social networking sites (SNSs), Brunswik's Lens Model, gender differences

Disciplines

Communication | Race and Ethnicity | Social Media

Abstract

Social media have provided new means of self-presentation. Because individuals are able to post notes, pictures, and videos, social media users can construct their personal images on social networking sites (SNSs) and build links with their various communities. This study aims to find out how Chinese college students perceive other users' online self-presentations and how they conduct their own self-presentations through posting pictures on SNSs. Using photo-elicitation as the primary methodology, the authors conducted two.focus groups with male and female participants respectively. With grounded theory as the framework, the qualitative data show gender differences in the attitudes towards extreme self-presentation, social media effects, and the motives of online photo-based self-presentation among the participants. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed.

Comments

This article appeared in the Journal of Communications Media Studies, volume 6, issue 1, 2014, and is included here with permission.

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