Who Am I Online?

What is Impression Management?

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Impression management is the act of deliberately controlling what others see of you online. It can be as simple as what you set as your profile picture or as complex as creating an entirely false identity that you only use online.

 

Why is Impression Management important?

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We, as humans, like to control how we're viewed. We build relationships upon the impressions made on those we meet and work to cultivate those impressions to maintain those relationships. Whether online or off, we are always putting out a specific image of “This is who I am, please look at me and like my content/who I am” and waiting for people to react to it. We are entirely dependent on these reactions to form our personalities and influence how we act, whether we're aware of it or not.

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How Common is Impression Management?

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Every social media account or internet presence you see utilizes impression management. Those YouTubers you watch every day and think you know so well? They’re playing a part. Your favorite blogger? You only know about certain events in their life. That celebrity you followed on Twitter or Instagram? You only see what their public relations people say is okay. Sure, the part they’re playing might be very similar to who they truly are as a person, but it’s still an act. These parts they play make up the collective "brand" they decided to portray online. It’s not one-hundred percent who they are at all times. We all inject quite a bit of our true selves into our brands, even if we don't intend to. Every social media post that exists has been thought about and posted because it conveys a certain image to readers.

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Impression Management as a Brand

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Every social media account is a brand in and of itself. Brands aren't bad, they just are. Creating a personal brand online is an incredibly natural thing to do, especially when presented with the option to control who you are and how you are perceived. Everyone wants to be their best self, and impression management and branding allow us to do that. 

 

Even if you're not consciously thinking about it, you're managing your brand through impression management. Every time you consider whether to swear in your Facebook status, or to post that nice picture of you and Grandma on Instagram, you are practicing impression management. It's in every post you make or don’t make. It’s in your choice to take your last name off your Facebook account so that employers can’t find you as easily. It’s in your choice of Twitter handle. Impression management is everywhere and you’re practicing it 24/7.

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