Facebook: The Impression Management Theory Of Facebook

As a site that encompasses multiple social realms, Facebook collects and diffuses personal content to an exposed public directory rather than a controlled network of select users. The news feed, in particular, broadcasts public and private information in an stream of aggregated posts to an extensive audience. The routine breaching of contextual boundaries entails users to construct an appropriate identity to maintain their reputation. In an environment closely tied to the physical world, users are compelled to reveal an authentic yet idealized representation of the self. CPM asserts that privacy boundaries form the basis of building a virtual persona based on the user 's decision to exhibit or conceal information across Facebook 's cross-contextual

Therefore, it is in the part of the user to organize the information they choose to share. The "impression management theory" is useful to understand how users manipulate and influence the perception of their virtual self against the background an audience. Facebook provides users with many interactive features, as in the option to stream videos, post photos, or update one 's status.The predominant objective of updating one 's status is the call to "express oneself" in the virtual environment through the sharing of feelings or daily pursuits, the use of humor, and socialization with friends. Although users construct an ideal version of themselves, peers prefer status updates that emulate the user 's genuine self as opposed to a forged persona. In addition to posting status updates, users post pictures to project an appealing visual identity that portrays one in an attractive light and/or highlights social connection with others. Photos that feature shared social experiences is a means of casually validating one 's social appeal. As opposed to the traditional archival function of preserving a memory, the social nature of online photo-sharing has shifted the role of the photograph to become a

In initiating or accepting a friend request, users are granting a broader audience accessibility to their content and, by extension, co-ownership of their personal information. Petronio 's third principle of CPM states that co-ownership entails. It is an unlikely event that users have a formal discussion in setting privacy rules – rather, there is an implicit assumption that co-owners of information will restrain from publicizing information on Facebook without consent. When co-owners of private information encroach upon mutually understood privacy rules, "boundary turbulence" ensues. It may occur due to an error in the part of the co-owner such as an inebriated omission or it may develop through an intentional violation of established privacy boundaries, as in the disclosure of troubling information for the benefit of an individual. Facebook, being a public sphere employed by users of all aspects of life, means the cross-contextual distribution of content and the resulting absence of established parameters can lead to boundary turbulence. In such cases, co-owners of information will lose confidence in relaying information to that particular individual and, as such, may be forewarned, removed from their interpersonal network of friends, or even blocked from viewing any content or being