CONSTRUCTION OF DIGITAL GENDER IDENTITY IN SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES

Abstract

Social media application is not just a tool for sending messages; instead, it’s a place where people of different genders, different thoughts, and different perspectives make their place in the digital world. This study analyzes self-identity and gender performance in different social media applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp. For this purpose, 60 social media profiles have been collected and analyzed though mixed method research. Textual Analysis of data lead to linguistic Analysis and Visual Analysis of social media profiles. The data shows significant variation in linguistic and visual features of profiles of male, female and non-binary users in digital world. The study reflects that female social media users employ indirect and casual way of linguistic communication relying on visual and typographical indicators to create friendly atmosphere; while, males use direct, formal and professional expressions to reflect their social gender role in their profiles. Non-binary gender participants display distinctive visual features i.e animated avatars rather than profile pictures to conceal their gender identity. This study manifests that online gender identity is carryover of offline gender identity. These findings can assist different companies of online marketing and technology layout to focus accurately on the gender identity on social media for achieving efficient/ comprehensive digital competence, desirable for growth.