Virtual self and social media: A grounded theory approach

The fast adoption of social media technology has brought about a fundamental shift in the manner in which communication and collaboration takes place on social media. Social media has become an inseparable part of our lives. Social media users spend large amounts of time interacting with others on this platform. Limited qualitative research has been conducted on aspects related to possible effects of social media on its users. This paper uses grounded theory approach to look into psychological and rational alteration along with existence of conflicting identities among social media users. The study is based on expert interviews and an epistemological approach is adopted to analyze interview transcripts of experts from fields of communication, sociology and psychology for a holistic insight. The results indicate that the selective codes can be theorized based on Goffman’s theory of dramaturgy. The results show that people use social media as front stages in their lives whereas real lives are back stages. This constant travel can alters their psychology and rationality partially and create conflicting real and virtual life identities.