The Manipulation of Online Self-Presentation: Create, Edit, Re-edit and Present (Palgrave Studies in Cyberpsychology)

This book explores psychological theories around the ways in which people present themselves online. The role of dispositional and situational factors along with the motivations that drive self-presentation across diverse Internet arenas are considered. People present themselves on the world wide web in various ways. There are times when they represent their real actual self, and times when they might want to portray a more idealised or fantasised version of their self on the Internet. This book explores a number of psychological theories around these self presentations and online impression management. It considers individual differences, situational and personality factors that influence which aspect of their self they present on diverse types of Internet arena. The motivational factors that guide online self-presentation through the sharing of self-information, self-disclosure, are also considered in order to present a conceptualisation of online self-presentation being goal-driven. Throughout the text, a number of directions for future research in this exciting area of online impression management are outlined. Front Matter....Pages i-xiv Introduction — Who Am I?....Pages 1-13 Theoretical Considerations....Pages 14-33 Individual Factors and the Cyberself....Pages 34-50 Motivations for Sharing the Cyberself....Pages 51-67 The Social Cognitive Internet and the Cyberself....Pages 68-94 Back Matter....Pages 95-114