Theoretical and applied study on online self-presentation in social media wi̇thi̇n the framework of uses and gratifi̇cati̇ons approach

This study, unlike other studies, reveals how and with what methods the online self is presented on social media in the context of the uses and gratifications approach. The main purpose of the study is to try to highlight the opportunities for self-expression on social media platforms and to examine whether self-presentation on social media differs according to various variables. It was conveyed to the participants through a survey prepared in the Google Forms application. It was intended to reach 350 participants by sending the survey links to each other, but only 316 participants were reached. The first part of the survey consists of questions about demographic characteristics. The other two scales consist of the "Social Media Usage Motivations Scale" and the "Modified Self-Presentation Tactics Scale", prepared according to the 5-point Likert type. The research was conducted among Sakarya University Instagram users between December 2023 and March 2024. This exploratory study shows that receiving feedback on social media, strategic self-presentation, and social comparison converge into a single factor, here referred to as "self-presentation focus." Using a data-driven approach, groups with low, medium, and high focus on self-presentation were identified. Female participants show higher extraversion, lower emotional stability. This may explain previous findings of higher focus on self-presentation among female participants, stronger associations between social media use and negative mental health outcomes in women compared to men. Importantly, certain social media opportunities and the act of self-presentation may increase one's focus on self-presentation, and gender differences in self-presentation focus may be partially related to differences in platform preference between men and women. The nature of these complex relationships requires further research and efforts to combine qualitative and quantitative approaches are warranted. The correlation analysis found that the positive relationships between self-presentations were highest in the threat-hurt dimensions.