A Study at UoB on Creating Digital Identity: Content Creators Present Their Digital Identities According to Selective Logic

University of Bahrain – Sakhir (Ali Al-Sabbaq)
11 August 2022
A study at the University of Bahrain (UoB) found that content creators present their digital identities and selves according to a selective logic, despite revealing their true identities, through social networks, which they consider the best way to build a digital identity.
This came in a study by Sabah Matar Alwan, a student in the Master’s Program in Media at the College of Arts at the University which was recently discussed by the examination committee. The study was titled: “Creating a Digital Identity and Self-Presentation Through Social Networks: A Case Study of Content Creators in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
According to the study findings, the sample members agreed it is necessary for the content creator to present his or her original personality without pretense, in order to be accepted by followers, while some content creators believe it is important for the content creator to have a stable and strong original personality, in order to be reflected on the digital side.
The discussion committee consisted of the head of the Department of Media, Tourism and Arts, Dr. Kamal Mahmood Al-Gharbi, as a supervisor, the Associate Professor of Media and Public Relations in the same department, Dr. Ashraf Ahmed Abdelmogeth, as an internal examiner, and the Associate Professor of Media at the College of Media at the University of Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Thuraya Al-Senussi, as an external examiner.
The study aimed to identify how digital identity landmarks are formed and built, self-presentation through social networks, and explore the role of social networks in shaping digital identity and self-presentation. In addition, it sought to monitor the strategies used by content creators in creating a digital identity.
While content creators often agree that some digital identities negatively affect the values of society, as these identities are immoral in nature, and their main goal is to gain fame only, without taking ethics into account.

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