Topic 2, Managing impressions online 415-441

Self-Presentation Strategies: Investigates how online dating participants present themselves to attract romantic partners.
- Participants: 34 individuals active on a significant online dating site.
- Methodology: Telephone interviews covering experiences, perceptions, and strategies.
Key Findings:
- Importance of managing small cues in online profiles.
- Balancing authenticity with strategic self-presentation.
- Adapting presentations to affirm identity claims and desires.
Theoretical Framework: Supports Social Information Processing (SIP) theory in an online environment.

Online Dating Evolution: Transition from a marginal to mainstream practice since the early 2000s.
- User Statistics: 29 million Americans used online dating services by 2003.
- Market Growth: Estimated growth to $642 million by 2008.
Historical Context: Online matchmaking compared to 19th-century newspaper ads and video dating trends in the 1980s.
Distinctive Nature: Online dating differs from other online environments due to the anticipation of face-to-face interaction.

Social Shaping of Technology: Online behaviors are influenced by technology features and social practices.
Self-Presentation Studies:
- Offline relational development informs online interactions (Taylor & Altman, 1987).
- Goffman's theory on self-presentation conveyed through control of communication.

Dual Pressures: Balancing the need to present positively vs. authentically.
- Expression Types:
  - "Given" expressions (intentional communication)
  - "Given off" expressions (nonverbal cues, often uncontrolled).
Importance of Small Cues:
- Subtle indicators (e.g., spelling, email timing) used for cues about identity and reliability.
Strategies of Self-Disclosure: Participants adapt their self-representations to resonate with ideal self-concepts (Higgins, 1987).

Opportunity for Deception: Greater control can lead to misrepresentation.
- Participants express concerns about identity deception.
- Misrepresentation Statistics: High instances of identity misrepresentation among participants (e.g., age, appearance).
- Reciprocity in Deception: People may exaggerate based on perceived deception by others.
Potential Outcomes: Strategies to assess credibility become critical.

Grid Methodology: Qualitative analysis through in-depth interviews covering aspects like profile construction and personal history.
Profile Construction:
- Profiles serve as primary self-presentation tools, influencing relationship opportunities.
- Participants emphasize informative, engaging profiles while maintaining honesty.

Profile Content:
- Profiles reflect aspirations, often showing ideal self-concepts rather than actual attributes.
- Users may adjust self-descriptions to fit socially acceptable frames or meet search parameters.
- Self-perception gaps lead to what is termed as the 'foggy mirror' phenomenon where self-images differ greatly from others' perceptions.

Technical Interface Effects:
- Participants must navigate technical site constraints while aiming to express themselves accurately.
- Desire for broader audience leads users to modify elements such as age or other sensitive descriptors.
Balancing Authenticity with Attraction:
- Creating profiles that highlight appealing attributes while managing authenticity is central to participants' strategies.

Assessment of Others: Importance placed on visual cues and profile content for validation.
- Descriptive narratives demonstrate integrity, showing rather than just telling about oneself (e.g., through stories or photographs).
Implications for Future Research:
- Need for investigating the extent and social norms surrounding online deception.
- Exploration of context-specific dynamics in self-presentation strategies among different online dating platforms.

Design Improvements for Dating Sites:
- Recommendations for features that encourage honesty and mutual assurance among users.
- Suggestion of employing system designs that mirror social networking principles, integrating features that enhance perceived identity confirmations.

Complex Relationship Between Self-Representation and Authenticity: Participants strive to present compelling yet true identities through complex online dating dynamics.