| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣藝術大學 === 應用媒體藝術研究所 === 98 === The growing reliance on personal networks is due to society’s need to obtain personal information; however, it has turned into an important medium for the development of interpersonal relationships. In the past, studies on personal networks have often targeted the negative effects of a single platform or social networks. Furthermore, there has been less of an emphasis on the exploration of similarities and differences between self-performances on various social networking platforms at the same time. This study, therefore, attempts to differentiate itself from those done in the past because it examines a variety of personal social network platforms and investigates the different modes of self-presentation within these networks. It also focuses on the similarities and differences, purposes, and results of the respective styles.
In this study, seventeen heavy users of social-network platforms were interviewed for studying the various self-presentations of the users. The study focused on factors such as text, images, hyperlinks, animation, and layout on the subjects’ respective online social-networking platforms. The text on the profiles contained trivial information which had to do with aspects of the users’ personal lives. The information displayed included relationship notes, news, sexual experiences, memos, interests, hobbies, descriptions of their body shape and personal appearance, personal values, and roles play. Furthermore, the emoticon used was also examined. The images displayed on the given profiles included personal photos, friends’ photos, photographs of friends and family, pictures of landscapes, and pictures downloaded from the Internet. The hyperlinks on the profiles included blogs, music, and video links. Lastly, animated items on the profiles included characters or role-play, text with animation, and emoticons. All these factors work together to present a public image to society and play a key role in the development of interpersonal relationships.
Each person has a different way of presenting him or herself. Through the research conducted, this study concluded that there are a variety of reasons why people display the information they do on their profiles thorugh these personal networking sites. The reasons run the gamut from being a means of emotional expression, validation of oneself, the obtainment of concerns, a sense of achievement, and the satisfaction of vanity. These networks, providing a space for people to keep a record of their lives through memos and reminders, give people the opportunity to make friends, gather information on others, and promote/recommend services as well as products. The results of such platforms are the strengthening of one’s self confidence and the development of self-realization through the distribution of public opinion.
Respondents of the study indicated the positive results of online self-performance include the development of friendships that extend to the real world, the acquirement of positive personal feedback, the enhancement of one’s self-confidence and self-growth, and the obtainment of money. However, the information these users share on social networking sites, to some degrees, can also lead to some negative results. These negative results include receiving excessive concern from friends and family, the misunderstanding of the profile holder’s intention, and the attainment of negative personal feedback. Many people may not be interested in some of the serious subjects displayed on the user’s profile. The user’s identity may be questioned as counterfeit or the user may be ignored and given the cold shoulder by others.
The study also found that, according to the platform nature of the similarities and differences of respondents’ self-presenting means, "non-connection" platform is seen as the main performance depicted through written form, with animation being considered the second most important. In the "connection" platform, in addition to text and animation, there are also different ways of presenting oneself through images, hyperlinks, layout, and more. The performance purpose of respondents in the "non-connection" platform, is similar to that of the performance purpose of respondents in the "connection" platform. The difference between the performance of "non-connection" platform and "connection" platform is that the care in recording one’s life through memos, the publicity or promotion of users’ likes, and the echoing of public comments are shown only in "connection" platform performances.
After the respondents presented themselves in the "non-connection" platform, they felt an increase in their self-confidence. However, after they showed themselves in the "connection" platform, they made money accidentally. According to the performance of the negative result, this study found that the performance result of the "non-connection" platform may lead to negative feedback such as being questioned as counterfeit or being abandoned. However, the performance result of the "connection" platform may result in situations where viewers have little interest in the topics presented.
This study attempts to apply the theory of self-performance throughout Internet social networking platforms in an effort to explore the different methods of self-performance as well as the purposes, and the results of using such platforms in their respective ways. Through this process, the various results are examined to determine the different effects of social networking platforms on the Internet. The results of the study will be available for reference and follow-up, as well as for future research. In the practical aspects, this study is available for the advertisers and platform owners as a way for them to understand the overview of various individual performances through the exhibition of different platform natures. The various self-performance methods, purposes, and results examined in this study will allow the platform owners and advertisers to provide the service which meets the users’ needs the most.
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