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The Spatial Self: Location-Based Identity Performance on Social Media
Schwartz, Raz ; Halegoua, Germaine R.
Schwartz, Raz
Halegoua, Germaine R.
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Abstract
As a growing number of social media platforms now include location information from their users, researchers are confronted with new online representations of individuals, social networks, and the places they inhabit. To better understand these representations and their implications, we introduce the concept of the “spatial self”: a theoretical framework encapsulating the process of online self-presentation based on the display of offline physical activities. Building on previous studies in social science, humanities, and computer and information science, we analyze the ways offline experiences are harnessed and performed online. We first provide an encompassing interdisciplinary survey of research that investigates the relationships between location, information technology, and identity performance. Then, we identify and characterize the spatial self as well as examine its occurrences through three case studies of popular social media sites: Instagram, Facebook, and Foursquare. Finally, we offer possible research directions and methodological considerations for the analysis of geocoded social media data.
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This is the author's final manuscript. Copyright 2014 SAGE Publications
Date
2014-04-09
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SAGE Publications
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Keywords
Facebook, Foursquare, Identity, Instagram, Location-based social media, Performance, Social media, Spatial self
Citation
Schwartz, R., and G. R. Halegoua. "The Spatial Self: Location-based Identity Performance on Social Media." New Media & Society 17.10 (2014): 1643-660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444814531364