Social media and identity

Social media can have both positive and negative impacts on a user's identity. Psychology and Communication scholars study the relationship between social media and identity in order to understand individual behavior, psychological impact, and social patterns.^[1][2][3] Communication within political or social groups online can result in practice application of those identities or adoption of them as a whole. Young people, defined as emerging adults in or entering college, especially shape their identities through social media.^[1]

At the stage where a young adult becomes an emerging adult, individuals are especially influenced by social media.^[4] Psychologists study methods of self-presentation to determine how a user's patterns and media participation affects their own identity. Young adults, through media literacies, can also find their identity as a part of a social group, such as feminists.^[5] These studies are connected to building frameworks for educators on teaching media literacies.^[6] Due to their fluency in media literacy, young people often contribute to these larger social identities through their networks, and unique style of communication when sharing information.^[5]

Young Individuals have been found to be affected by what they take in on Social Media. Psychologists believe that at a time when young adults are coming into adolescence, they are more likely to be influenced by what they see on sites like Instagram or Twitter. More so directed towards the times of Identity Formation, as these individuals are impressionable and still creating their identity. With the advance of social media, most young adults will widely share, with varying degrees of accuracy, honesty, and openness, information that in the past would have been private or reserved for select individuals. Key questions include whether they accurately portray their identities online and whether the use of social media might impact young adults’ identity development.^[7] Media Imagery, in particular, is said to be a major influence on the minds of young men and women. Studies have shown that it is even more relevant when it comes to the issue of body image.^[8] Social Media, in part, has been created to host a safe haven for those who do not claim a solid identity in the material world, giving them a chance for exploration of other identities in the virtual concept. Psychologists and Scholars have noted that while past identities are not easy to escape from; the Internet is more permanent.^[9]

Social media is an essential part of the social lives of young adults.^[10] They rely on it to maintain relationships, create new relationships, and stay up to date with the world around them. Adolescents find social media to be extremely helpful when changing environments, like moving off to university for example. Social media provides students, especially first year students, the opportunity to create the identity they want the world to see. However, it has been seen that these students create online personas that may not reflect their true selves bringing up the issues of impression management. Social media provides young adults with the opportunity to present themselves as something other than their authentic self.^[11]

The definition of media literacy has evolved over time to encompass a range of experiences that can occur in social media or other digital spaces. The definition of media literacy is also broad and wide ranging in its context.

Currently, media literacy includes being able to understand, apply, and share digital images and messages.^[12] Educators teach media literacy skills because of the vulnerable relationship that young adults can have with social media.^[13] Some examples of media literacy practices, particularly on Twitter, include using hashtags, live tweeting, and sharing information.^[14] Overall, the goal of media literacy within social media is to keep young adults aware of potentially violent, graphic, or dangerous content that they may come across on the internet, and how to handle it with responsibility and safety in mind.

In order to be considered media-literate, a person must be able to take in media from online and social platforms and have the correct competencies and context to be able to organize the information.^[15] In order to be considered media-literate, the digital information must be given to the user in a way that it can be put into the correct perspective and analyzed, deducted and synthesized. ^[15]

Teenagers and young adults can be vulnerable to specific content online outside of their age-range. Media literacy campaigns and education research shows that targeting those who fall into this age category would be the best way to understand and target their needs as young online users.^[16]

There are multiple individual studies investigating social media identity relating to media literacy online, however there is a need for much more conclusive information that analyzes multiple studies at a time. Social media literacy is still considered an under-researched topic. ^[17] Many scholars in media literacy research emphasize the impact of training young adults to consume media in a safe way is the major solution for furthering internet education in children and young adults.^[18] The more information the young adults are given on media literacy, the better prepared they are to enter the digital world confidently.

One scientific model that has been proposed, known as The Social Media Literacy (SMILE) model. This framework hypothesizes that at the core of this model is helping young adults truly know the meaning and display the actions of media literacy online. SMILE is also meant to inspire more research on the subject of media literacy as it relates to social media effects and young adult leaning abilities.^[19] The model was applied through the lens of a social media positivity bias among adolescents and puts forth five different assumptions about social media and media literacy;^[19]

1. Social media literacy as a moderator (what is seen on social media)
2. Social media literacy as a predictor (what is seen for specific individuals on social media)
3. Media literacy within social media is a reciprocal process
4. The development of social media literacy depends on a conditional process of variables affecting other variables
5. Media literacy within social media is a differential learning process, and who teaches it is highly affective of the outcome

This model also stresses that human beings learn media literacy (and social media literacy) naturally as they go through life.^[19] Research suggests that having young adults taught media literacy from an educator may make them less interested (and therefore less careful) of threats on social media.^[19]

People create images of themselves to present to the public, a process called self presentation. Depending on the demographic, presenting oneself as authentic can result in identity clarity.^[20] Methods of self presentation can also be influenced by geography. The framework for this relationship between a user's location and their social media presentation is called the spatial self.^[21] Users depict their spatial self in order to include their physical space as a part of their self presentation to an audience.^[21]

In a 2018 research paper, it shares that patients of plastic surgeons have gone in and asked for specific snapchat "filter" features. This led to a theory of Snapchat Dysmorphia. Since the introduction to snapchat in 2011, more and more people each year are going into doctor offices and asking for smoother skin, bigger eyes, and fuller lips. It is creating a disconnect from who they are and who they want to be.

Social comparison theory is the idea that people are likely to compare themselves to people who are similar to them. Influencers have impacted this idea, we often watch people on the internet that we feel we can relate too. Within this theory there is 2 subcategories; Upward and downward comparison. Upward comparison is the idea that someone compares themselves to someone they feel is better than they are. Downward is the opposite, they compare themselves to someone they feel is worse off.

Cultivation theory is the more often people are going to be exposed to images of society's ideal body, the less they are going to realize the images are unrealistic

Self Schema Theory is the idea women use three points to determine how they view themself

1. Socially ideal: ideal ways women are represented in media
2. Objective body: how we view our own self
3. Internalized ideal body: Internalizing media and how much they want to achieve it

Pescott (2020) study found that the use of Snapchat filters in preteens has a great impact on how they present themselves online.^[22] Boys found filters to be more fun and used for entertainment, whereas girls used filters more as a beauty enhancer. This becomes dangerous for preteens who are not aware of when a filter is being used when consuming content from friends, influencers, or celebrities. The same study found that the use of filters can have a large impact on preteens’ identity formation as they begin to compare themselves with others.^[23]

In comparison to traditional forms of media, where individuals could only act as consumers of media, social media networking sites provide a more engaging opportunity where users can produce their own content, as well as interact with other users and content creators. As these sites have become increasingly popular, researchers have turned their focus to the discussion of the various impacts social media has on users. One of the main focuses researchers have studied is the effects on body image. This is especially seen in adolescents and young adults who engage in social media.

It has been suggested that in the early adolescent years, when perceptions about self and identity are being formed, individuals may be influenced by the media to feel certain ways about their bodies based on the ideal body types expressed and perpetuated in the media, which may increase body surveillance behaviors and, consequently, experiencing feelings of body shame. Salomon & Brown (2019), measured self-objectification behaviors on social media, body surveillance behaviors, feelings of body shame, and levels of self-monitoring to examine whether or not young adolescents engaging in higher amounts of self-objectification behaviors on social media also experienced higher levels of body shame.

Self-objectification behaviors result from internalizing objectification from others, and may, for example, take the form of taking frequent photos of oneself and valuing how others view their appearance. Body surveillance behaviors indicate a preoccupation with how the appearance of one’s body will be perceived by others and can be measured by behaviors such as constant evaluation and monitoring of one’s body. Body shame refers to a negative emotional experience resulting from feeling as if one failed to meet society’s body ideals. Self-monitoring refers to how much individuals do or do not change their behavior in response to feedback and cues received from peers. In the study, it was found that individuals who reported engaging in self-objectified social media use exhibited more body surveillance behaviors, which led to increased experience in feelings of body shame.^[24]

Some studies have demonstrated that body image is not influenced by how much time is spent on social media, but is influenced by the way an individual engages with the site.^[25] For instance, Meier and Gray (2014), measured Facebook usage among young women and found that those who more frequently viewed posts of images and videos were more likely to experience negative thoughts about their own body image and internalize the thin ideal. However, it is seen that Facebook did not influence body image itself.^[25] More interacting on Facebook, in regards to posting, commenting and viewing, causes women, specifically high school females to have greater weight dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, thin-ideal internalization and self objectification.^[26] Having more of an opportunity to compare yourself to other people on social media can cause people to feel like they should look that way. Facebook posts more than 10 million photos an hour, so having many examples of an idealistic body-type tempts viewers to compare their bodies to their own.

In response to self-portraits on social media, friends and followers can indicate affirmation and acceptance, and creators can receive validation, through feedback such as likes and comments. According to the findings of Bukowski, Dixon, and Weeks (2019), the more value that an individual placed on the feedback received on a self-portrait that they’ve shared, the more they experience body dissatisfaction and a desire to become thinner, but only if they also engage in body-surveillance.^[27][28]

Studies have shown that users can also experience feelings of body dissatisfaction when consuming rather than creating content. In a study conducted by Fardouly, et al. (2015), the implications of Facebook usage on young women’s mood, level of body dissatisfaction, and desires to change aspects of their body or facial features were examined. The results of the study indicated that in addition to Facebook usage being associated with a more negative mood, it was associated with an increasing desire to change facial related features in women who were more likely to make comparisons between elements of their and others appearance.

The different platform affordances of social media sites can both enable and constrain the options users have for presenting themselves. Initially coined by Gibson (1966), Affordances, broadly, can be defined as “describing what material artifacts such as media technologies allow people to do”.^[29] This can therefore be applied to how users of social media construct identity, through the ways in which social media sites provide users with opportunities for self-presentation.

For example, Instagram requires users to create a profile when they register an account. In this, they require a username, profile photo, biography and more recently, the option to present the users chosen pronoun. However, none of these identifiable aspects need to be factual, and unlike Facebook, which requires users to register with their legal name, Instagram users can use pseudonyms or made-up usernames and profile pictures. This gives them the ability to construct whichever identity they choose to present.

Frank J Lexa and David Fessell managed to test and review a hypothetical question given to a group of MD’s from various universities.^[30] The question asks if a key radiologist posted a media post that involved a racial epithet and a younger colleague brought this to your attention, what would you do? Response replies varied, but almost all had one common theme/connection that connected to points made by Darren L Linvell in discussing the dangers of social media.^[31] Linvell made a point to bring up how digital civility is key in producing healthy online dynamics and connections. The respondents within Frank J Lexas and David Fessells test, answered by saying how immediate communication would take place to set the basics of the situation down. This focuses on creating civility through proper communication. Another connection seen is that in case of media controversies, training and policy making methods would take place such as sensitivity training. Other policies would take place depending on what specific policies a certain workplace may have.^[30] So, within work settings, it is seen to be important to first make sure an establishment has already implemented policy making methods for various cases, and also create an employee board that is able to demonstrate and carry out digital civility.

The creation of social media has brought along with it various ways for people all around the world to communicate. This media has created a system for all kinds of peoples to connect, create new and improved identities, improve relationships, share information, and be able to reach out into a world of new opportunities. This same media has also given way for young adolescents to access their way into a world of mental health issues, negative self image, racial hostility, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, stalking, and even suicide.

As social media continues to fall into the hands of younger children, it is necessary to implement policy making strategies in order to decrease the rate of harm towards adolescents who are more susceptible and fall victim to the dangers that are presented with social media use so it is necessary to implement. 13 year old girls are given access to view methods on how to consume under 300 calories a day through Tik Tok, but youth within the U.S. has been having access to these various kinds of platforms for some while now. Adolescents consuming unhealthy media leads to mental health issues revolving around depression, eating disorders, and sometimes even leading to suicide. Due to this, a research program by the name The Strategic Training Initiative for the Prevention of Eating Disorders (STRIPED) has begun to study the dangerous and harmful effects of social media platforms and how we are able to regulate social media's presentation of harmful content.^[32] It has been found that $11 billion revenue has been made from users ages 0-17 through advertisement methods which is why companies continue to display harmful content to youth.

Policymaking may be a way to regulate social media platforms, but certain legal obstacles make it difficult to provide regulation. First, The First Amendment protects the rights of social media platforms since social media is just a computer code, individuals attempting to regulate media speech, are at risk of violating this law.^[32] As for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), online services are provided with protection and are not responsible for the speech produced by the 3rd party individuals who are using the platform.^[32] Due to this, new laws created for social media safety have to be careful not to overrun and violate the currently standing laws such as the First Amendment. So, it is important to require companies to have algorithm risk audits which are approaches that review media processing systems through testing media outputs or documentations in order to protect the wellbeing of the youth and diminish the risk of danger.  

Darren L Linvell discusses the “dark side” of social media which is the dangers that are brought along to students within and beyond a college campus.^[31] Social media use within students in the college age range use social media as a way to be able to display themselves. Some students choose to display their authentic selves, while others choose to create a different persona to present to surrounding peers. But, social media does come with its dangers such as cyberbullying, racial hostility, aggression, stalking, et. When students present whichever persona they display publicly online, they are at risk of falling victim to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying produces a larger number of bystanders than physical bullying as it is seen as less serious and that the victim brought on the situation to themselves. But, both cyberbullying and physical bullying have the same unfortunate outcomes such as mental health impacts and even suicide. The importance of the idea of teaching social media literacy to students to increase levels of safety within social media through education. Students may not always care to engage in this method, so it is more recommended to focus on the process and communication that occurs in order to give the result of certain information when engaging with information given.^[31] Another main focus is also the concept of digital civility as it requires creating healthy relationships through building mutual understanding with each other by learning to communicate properly. Rather than focusing on teaching students all aspects of social media literacy/safety, the light focuses on human communication skills because students are more likely to be engaged and educated more from this method to develop higher social media literacy. ^[31]

Since it is difficult to implement legal policymaking actions against media dangers, the APA has released recommendations which discuss various methods that families may try to improve social media safety.^[33] Recommendations vary from stating that adolescents should be educated in social media literacy which is done through the SMILE method. But looking back at points made by Darren L Linvell, this method may make students less interested in being educated on it which results in unsafe media consumption behavior.^[31] Other recommendations discuss that setting limitations may decrease intake of harmful content which leads to adolescents engaging in eating disorder behavior, negative self image, and violence. Another goal of limitation is to aid adolescents in keeping up a healthy sleep schedule and physical activity engagement. But, recommendations may not work for every family, which is why some releases as well as clinicians state that rules should be made based on an individual's intellectual stage/knowledge. This connects to the importance of keeping up a healthy family dynamic, which is why parents should aim to understand their children's weaknesses and strengths within knowledge on social media use. Parents need to understand their children and have trust in them that they will use social media safely. Families can discuss together what limitations may be implemented within media use and that way adolescents will not feel unmotivated to use media in a harmful way as they are able to have a say within media rules and not feel limited by external influences (adults, policies, etc.) This connects to another advisory stated by the APA which discusses that parents should collaborate with teens in order to get them on board to use social media more safely.^[33] It is important for adults to support teens' personal interests rather than keeping them limited from it as that may lead to harmful/dangerous behavior that is not in the teens best interest. Overall, it is seen that unsafe and sometimes even safe media use, can bring upon negative outcomes such as dangers and various threats that young adolescents have to deal with. Various law making policies are attempting to be made, but current laws create an obstruction in that path which make it difficult to create laws to fight media dangers.^[32] Due to this, families and adolescents have to take matters into their own hands to protect themselves from media harm. Fortunately, various sources such as the APA give helpful and effective recommendations to help protect themselves.^[33] It is important to address privacy and awareness matters when dealing with media use. Social media is a platform that gives access to endless opportunities and possibilities, but in order to keep this progression up, it is necessary to create effective legal policies as well as understand basic media literacy and digital civility.