Self-Presentation through Profile Picture: A Cross-cultural Comparison

By

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

ABSTRACT

According to the Facebook website, it now has 62 million active users and averages 250,000 additional users each day. Facebook is a highly visual environment; users upload more than 14 million photographs of themselves and their friends to profiles each day and view over 65 billion Facebook pages per month. Just as impressive is Facebook's claim that over half of the active users return to the site daily, and the average user spends 20 minutes on the site daily. These numbers suggest that Facebook has touched on a societal sweet spot, one that resonates with, attracts, and engages its original users-- traditional aged college students. Images have become one of the primary means for conveying information, entertainment, and modes of consumption. This study gives particular attention to the photographs that Facebook users place on their profiles in the belief that, as heavy consumers of visual media, they are also likely to be familiar with how they might use visual symbols in the images they use to present themselves. Keeping in view the importance of self-presentation on the social networking sites, this dissertation provides an in-depth knowledge about Facebook users' perception in relation to their self-image and self-identity. The first chapter provides a brief introduction to the topic. Statement of problem, hypotheses, and significance of the study are included in this chapter. The second chapter covers the literature review pertaining to the research. The third chapter presents the methodology used in this dissertation. The findings and analysis part is covered in the fourth chapter; while the summary, recommendations, and implications for future research are presented in the fifth chapter.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTi

DECLARATIONii

ABSTRACTiii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Purpose of the Study2

Aim of the Study3

Problem Statement3

Hypotheses of the Study4

Scope and Significance of the Study4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW5

Theoretical Framework5

Personal Identity and Privacy on Facebook6

Self-Presentation on Facebook12

Personal Gestures and Expressions in Facebook Profile14

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY18

Research Design18

Research Approach19

Research Hypotheses19

Data Collection Method19

Research Instrument20

Sampling Method and Sample Size20

Research Participants20

Data Analysis21

Ethical Considerations21

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS23

Pilot Study23

Analysis of Variance24

Hypotheses Testing25

Cross Tabulation and Chi Square27

Summary29

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION31

Summary31

Limitations of the Study32

Implications of the Study33

Recommendations for Future Research34

Conclusion35

REFERENCES38

APPENDIX - A45

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In recent years, Facebook has erupted as a phenomenon in a variety of contexts. It has recently become the most widely used Social Networking Site (SNS) on the Internet. It has been widely commented on in the media, and is quickly becoming a significant topic in academia, where there is a varied and quickly growing corpus of literature in a number ...