Youth and Net Chatting Impression Management in Textual Instant Messaging Chat

In any interpersonal interaction an individual manages to create an impression. This impression management may be spontaneous or manipulated, successful or unsuccessful depending on numerous factors. In a text only chat interaction, the vital cues accompanying a face-to-face interaction such as paralinguistic cues, gestures, facial expressions, and proxemics are absent and hence words alone are used to create and manage identity and impression. In today's mediated existence, various internet-based applications are popular among youth. Indian youth are increasingly using instant messaging chat to keep in touch with family and friends as well as to interact with new people online. This paper aims to provide a micro-analysis of youth online chat interactions with unknown people. The data analysis is carried out applying Goffman's Dramaturgical Approach.