Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp
This paper appraises the way Facebook and WhatsApp social media users construct or obfuscate their identities and that of their followers and/or audience. Social media users post their statuses and what is on their mind on the public domain. These posts are presumed to ‘project’ the sender’s identit...
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| Language: | English |
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Routledge
2021
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14725843.2020.1804829 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4273 |
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| author | Jakaza, Ernest |
| author_facet | Jakaza, Ernest |
| author_sort | Jakaza, Ernest |
| collection | DSpace |
| description | This paper appraises the way Facebook and WhatsApp social media users construct or obfuscate their identities and that of their followers and/or audience. Social media users post their statuses and what is on their mind on the public domain. These posts are presumed to ‘project’ the sender’s identity dis/aligning themselves with readers or potential readers. The discursive processes involved are crucial for the appraisal of how identities are constructed or obfuscated. Language is at the centre of identity co-construction or obfuscation. Engaging the Appraisal and Social Constructionism theoretical frameworks, the paper examines identity construction or obfuscation from the three levels of analysis: lexical, textual pragmatic and interactional levels. Data for analysis is purposively sampled. Observation and group discussions are utilised to appraise the discursive socio-semantic meanings of the status and posts on social media. The paper argues that identities are largely obfuscated than constructed on social media. Identities are never unified, fragmentation of identities in differing situations and contexts compound obfuscation of identities in general. |
| format | Article |
| id | ir-11408-4273 |
| institution | My University |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ir-11408-42732022-06-27T13:49:06Z Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp Jakaza, Ernest Identity construction social media language appraisal theory social constructionism This paper appraises the way Facebook and WhatsApp social media users construct or obfuscate their identities and that of their followers and/or audience. Social media users post their statuses and what is on their mind on the public domain. These posts are presumed to ‘project’ the sender’s identity dis/aligning themselves with readers or potential readers. The discursive processes involved are crucial for the appraisal of how identities are constructed or obfuscated. Language is at the centre of identity co-construction or obfuscation. Engaging the Appraisal and Social Constructionism theoretical frameworks, the paper examines identity construction or obfuscation from the three levels of analysis: lexical, textual pragmatic and interactional levels. Data for analysis is purposively sampled. Observation and group discussions are utilised to appraise the discursive socio-semantic meanings of the status and posts on social media. The paper argues that identities are largely obfuscated than constructed on social media. Identities are never unified, fragmentation of identities in differing situations and contexts compound obfuscation of identities in general. 2021-05-28T11:09:43Z 2021-05-28T11:09:43Z 2020 Article 1472-5851 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14725843.2020.1804829 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4273 en African Identities;Vol.19 ; No.2 open Routledge |
| spellingShingle | Identity construction social media language appraisal theory social constructionism Jakaza, Ernest Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title | Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title_full | Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title_fullStr | Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title_short | Identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of Facebook and WhatsApp |
| title_sort | identity construction or obfuscation on social media: a case of facebook and whatsapp |
| topic | Identity construction social media language appraisal theory social constructionism |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14725843.2020.1804829 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4273 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jakazaernest identityconstructionorobfuscationonsocialmediaacaseoffacebookandwhatsapp |