Social media offers us endless possibilities today. One is the ability to create one’s image and establish one’s identity, or self-branding. This refers to the deliberate management of one’s online persona. This practice is particularly popular among young people, who use platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to express themselves and build their brands. As Weber and Mitchell (2008) point out, social media offers the chance to “produce” identity through sharing photos, videos, and other content that reflects users’ personalities, aspirations, and values. Self-branding thus becomes a process of artistically creating an image of oneself that is carefully curated and presented according to specific principles.
Self-branding involves choosing attractive images and carefully selecting life events and aspects that craft a desired image. For instance, Kylie Jenner and Cristiano Ronaldo are among the most well-known influencers who masterfully build their personal brands. On Kylie Jenner’s profiles, we find elegant photos promoting her cosmetic products and luxurious lifestyle, effectively creating an image of success and exclusivity. Ronaldo, meanwhile, presents a life full of passion and dedication, building the image of a disciplined athlete beyond his role as a sports icon. A key aspect of their strategy is content selection, which often means showing only the positive sides of life: luxury vacations, professional successes, exceptional appearance, and style. Thus, Their profiles inspire and create an idealized image that many young people aim to emulate (Susie Khamis, 2017).
Digital identity on social media is a fluid concept rather than a fixed one. Judith Butler emphasizes that identity is an ongoing process of repeating and reenacting cultural norms, highlighting its flexibility. As a result, how someone appears online is often shaped by interactions with other users, cultural influences, and social norms. Young users typically align their digital image with current trends, which may only sometimes reflect their authentic lives. Consequently, what they present online can be disconnected from their everyday reality, as it often involves a carefully curated display of selected aspects of their lives. Their digital identity frequently responds more to societal expectations than it represents their authentic selves (Rob Cover, 2015).
Building a digital identity as a brand offers many opportunities but presents certain risks. Young people use social media to express creativity, build relationships, and gain popularity. However, they often feel pressured to conform to idealized online standards. As David Buckingham (2008) points out, “The creation of personal websites provides young people with various means of constructing and shaping their identities.” Therefore, users should remember that digital identity is a flexible concept and does not need to be rigid.
Reference:
- Weber, S., & Mitchell, C. (2008). Imaging, Keyboarding, and Posting Identities: Young People and New Media Technologies. In Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press.
- Susie Khamis, Lawrence Ang & Raymond Welling (2017) Self-branding, ‘micro-celebrity’ and the rise of Social Media Influencers, Celebrity Studies, 8:2, 191-208, DOI: 10.1080/19392397.2016.1218292
- Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
- Cover, R. (2015). Digital Identities: Creating and Communicating the Online Self. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Buckingham, D. (2008). Youth, Identity, and Digital Media. MIT Press.
