A construção do eu na era digital

: a identidade social dos jovens no Instagram

Abstract

Digital platforms and constant communicational interaction have become part of an individual's everyday life. Social networks, namely Instagram, allow users to create and control their own content in a creative way. The present investigation aims to analyze how young users of the social network Instagram build and manage their social identity. Young people's behavior can be- or notchanged from their use of social platforms, assuming control and their own personality over the image they intend to convey. In this context, 20 interviews were used as a methodology, 10 boys and 10 girls of Portuguese nationality, aged between 18 and 21 years old, residing in mainland Portugal. The instruments used in data collection include: a word document with the guide for the interviews that were subsequently applied and their transcripts. In general, the conclusions of this investigation determine that an individual's childhood and the economic, social, and rational contexts have an influence on the use of the social network. Instagram is a platform that is used daily and due to its relevance in the lives of young people, the main reasons for its use are based on communication between other peers, viewing content and information and, finally, the network being associated to a form of entertainment and pleasure. The image that each young person wants to convey is associated with the content that is published. According to the interviewees, around 50% answered that there were no changes between their real self and the image they intended to convey, and the remaining 50% assumed the opposite, addressing the existence of a concern for social exclusion through criticism and lack of identification, such as also the preference to publish only positive content and information on a personal level, modifying their self-presentation on social networks.

Date of Award	24 Nov 2023
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Catarina Valdigem (Supervisor)