Giving good 'face': playful performances of self in Facebook

Facebook use is a ubiquitous part of contemporary life. Based on user interviews this paper probes the performative actions presenting self on Facebook. Instead of a medium or a place Facebook usage is approached as a collection of social situation. The findings support earlier small scale studies of Facebook use and find that Facebook is mostly a playful context where (semi)public utterances are consumed privately, 'friends' are managed as a an audience and a public 'face' is performed.

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