Self-transformation online through alternative presentations of self: a review, critique, and call for research

Abstract

Communication technologies such as text-based chat, blogs, virtual reality, and avatars allow people to present deviations from their offline personality or appearance, causing changes to their personality perceptions and social behavior. This review of self-transformation through online self-presentation explores two major paradigms–the discursive approach and the embodiment approach–in terms of the theories on which they draw. It also examines differences and inconsistencies within and between these paradigms with respect to six factors that different studies suggest as critical for self-transformation. It reviews empirical research examining these critical factors, and provides a roadmap for future research testing competing explanations and their generality or specificity across digital platforms.