Abstract

Social media affords users the ability to control how they present themselves to their audience. People generally choose to show an ideal self-image on social media. However, this may be dependent on the strength of their ties to the audience that can see their content. The present research found that people choose to share things that are self-enhancing to both close and distant friends. However, they seem to self-verify (such as admitting weaknesses or embarrassing information) primarily when considering close friends as the primary audience. Because people make associations with brands congruent with their self-concept as a means of self-expression, the findings suggest that social media users might share ads or like products differently, depending on their perception of the audience that can see them.

摘要

社交媒体使用户能够控制他们如何向观众展示自己。人们通常选择在社交媒体上展现理想的自我形象。但是，这可能取决于他们与可以看到其内容的观众之间的联系强度。本研究发现，人们选择与近距离和远距离的朋友分享自我增强的事物。但是，他们似乎主要是在将密友作为主要受众时自我验证（例如承认弱点或令人尴尬的信息）。由于人们将与自己的概念一致的品牌联系起来，以此作为一种自我表达的方式，因此研究结果表明，社交媒体用户可能会以不同的方式分享广告或喜欢产品，这取决于他们对能够看到他们的受众的感知。