Abstract:
This thesis explored the identity negotiation of student leaders in Wesley Grammar
School. The qualitative case study focuses on capturing the perspectives of the
participants on the use of social media and how they negotiate their identity on
Facebook and in real life. Data was collected using interviews and observation. The
study purposively sampled twenty participants consisting of thirteen girls’ prefects
and seven boys’ prefects. The participants were selected and interviewed individually
to determine their individual and familial experiences of their leadership roles and
their social presence. Interpretive thematic analysis was used to analyze the comments
and posts of the participants. The research identified the influence of social media use
in shaping their identity, their attitudes and perception with themes of selfconcealment,
online negotiation and subthemes of variation of names and fake
identity. The analyses explored the processes through which identities are negotiated,
claimed and performed and also the intersection of conventional identity categories.
The study employed Social Identity Construction and Identity Negotiation Theory to
conclude that many of these behaviors of participants are encouraged or reinforced by
the very structural characteristics of the virtual space, and sometimes the
manifestation of certain behaviors is necessary in order to participate with others in
cyberspace and enjoy the full benefits of online applications. The study concluded
that the social networking sites are increasingly becoming an essential part of our
lives and these sites are involved in the different aspects of our social presence. In
negotiating identity online and offline, social networking sites influence people to
play some social roles on the media as well as what they do in real life.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Strategic Communication, School of Communication and Media Studies submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Master of Arts (Business Communication) in University of Education, Winneba
October, 2021