Digital Masks: Analyzing The Discrepancies Between Social Media Personality And Real-Life Personality In Students

Abstract

The introduction of social media has changed the way people present themselves to the world. Social media platforms have provided a different identity to people irrespective of their age. Social media involvement of individuals begins as soon as they start understanding the virtual networks and the way the connections behave. Especially when it comes to students, it is very important to understand the way they present themselves on social media platforms. Their behavior in the real world and the virtual world will be driven by the personalities they carry. This study is to examine the differences in the personalities projected by students on social media and real life. This research is based on an assumption that students’ presence on social media can be masked and a huge difference in their personalities and behavior can be observed in social media platforms and real life. Understanding the digital masks is critical for understanding the impact online personas have on students’ lives. The digital masks can impact student’s self-perception, their interpersonal relations as well as their mental health. This study goals include identifying the personality traits portrayed by students in social media vs their real life personality traits.

This methodology includes a diverse sample of undergraduate and graduate students and collecting quantitative data using online surveys of 230 students. Through the responses received from participants, it would be easier to identify the differences in their real life personality traits and the personality traits portrayed on the social media. Ethical considerations are taken into account while collecting data and the confidentiality is assured to the participants. Eventually, this study aims to identify the complexities of digital masks if any, present among students and reveal their real life personality traits in the digital age.

Review of literature is carried out to explore the existing theoretical frameworks that reinforce the existing research, and present the methodology for examining the gap between social media personalities and real-life personalities in the student population. This study also aims to contribute valuable insights for broadening discourse on the role of social media in defining the digital personalities of the students.