Thesis

When engagement is for self-presentation : the role and impact of the ideal-self in social media engagement

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Creator
Rights statement
Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2021
Thesis identifier
  • T15979
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201688014
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • This thesis expands the concept of engagement beyond its representation of genuine behaviour. In the social media context, the thesis posits that individuals may hold a broader range of motivations and drivers including using engagement activity as part of a representation of their ideal self– rather than being driven by genuine behaviour as the extant literature generally expects. Via a two-phase, qualitative research design, this thesis explores how engagement can be affected by an individual’s ideal self and the effect on others. The first phase of the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 social media users to explore the role and impact of the ideal self in engagement. The results identified three types of engagement for self-presentation based on different relational and dispositional levels: staged engagement, contradictory engagement and faked engagement. These forms of engagement for self-presentation also had different drivers: self-differentiation, group belonging and self-enhancement. This revealed how engagement for self-presentation may affect other actors (i.e., individuals and focal firms). Hence, it was necessary to pose questions to organisations. The second phase of the study conducted semi-structured interviews with 7 organisations to understand the results of the first phase from organisational perspectives. The findings suggested that brand awareness, trust and control are key themes when attempting to understand how organisations view engagement for self-presentation. Overall, this thesis contributes to the literature on engagement by reinforcing the aspect of the self and enhancing the current understanding of how engagement may occur on social media and its impact on others. This research considers engagement as a form of self-presentation, reflecting the different relationships and dispositions of individuals to focal objects. This suggests self-presentation as an antecedent of engagement. The thesis also acknowledges the temporality of such engagement. Finally, the research contributes by showing how engagement for self-presentation may affect organisations.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Doherty, Anne Marie
  • Alexander, Matthew
Resource Type
Note
  • This thesis was previously held under moratorium from 31st August 2021 until 31st August 2024.
DOI
Date Created
  • 2020

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