How Facebook Impacts Self Development

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SOCI 6 Critical Issues in Media Studies The University of Hong Kong Fall 2012 Final Project Paper (30%) Facebook: How it Impacts Self-Development & Relationships Thursday December 20, 2012 Table of Content Introduction 1 Overview of Literature 1-2 Defining Key Concepts 2 Methodology 2-3 Analytical Framework 3-9 Limitations 9 Conclusion 9 Appendix 10-11 Introduction Facebook is a new medium for connecting users to their friends. While Facebook continues to keep growing, it is one of the world’s top leading social networking with over 1 billion users. According to Cooley’s looking glass theory, the self, being a product of interaction, is our view of who we are through the emergence of interaction with others. The ‘others’ serve as this looking glass for us to understand how others see us. We gain knowledge of who we are by interpreting how others respond to us. An emotional response is then developed. While to Mead, reflexivity is created. These two theories direct us to the process of interaction via presentation of self to others. Through Facebook, one can see that the selfing process is a projected image to give expressions we wish to give off. The purpose of this research is to understand how Facebook has impacted our self-development and our relationships with Facebook friends. Web based services, like Facebook, allows individuals to construct a public profile that reflects their offline self and the self is highly a response to society’s perception of ourselves. Overview of Literature The following papers have been analyzed: Robinson, L. (2007). The Cyberself: The Self-ing Project Goes Online. In Symbolic Interaction in Digital Age (pp. 93-110); Vitak, J. (2008). Facebook Friends: How Online Identities Impact Offline Relationships. Washington, DC: Georgetown University; and Zhao, S.(2005). The Digital Self: Through the
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