Online self-presentation: An analysis of contextual dimensions, multimodal features, and self-presentation strategies associated with screen-based writing

• Main Author: Gustilo, Leah E.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Self-presentation; Self-presentation in mass media; Authors, Filipino; Communication Technology and New Media; Language and Literacy Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/6235
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study investigated online self-presentation on personal home pages focusing on ways in which authors present themselves online using hybrid literacies that rely on the combined visual, linguistic, and audio resources available on the web. Findings revealed that there is a trend among Filipino online authors to display similar online strategies used by PHP authors in previous studies. However, the self description data revealed that the majority of Filipino authors preferred self promotion over ingratiation strategy, reflecting an important traditional belief in the Philippine culture: education and qualifications are important factors in a person's good life. Self-promotion is greatly exhibited by high-profile non-computer related individuals, computer-related workers, and students. Ingratiation, on the other hand, is greatly preferred by homemakers, low-profile non-computer related workers, and a student; it is less likely to be used in computer-related jobs. During the course of self-presentation, individuals showcase screen based practices that go beyond the traditional print-based conventions by using a variety of web design elements organized in a hypertext structure. Curriculum designers and teachers should exploit the facility that digital genres can offer and consider the hybrid literacies the students may have in relation to their curricular offerings. The findings of the study will be an addition to the body of research which compares or analyzes how people in different cultures communicate on the web, how real-life interaction is related to online communication, and how new technologies require non-traditional ways of communicating.