<![CDATA[The development of social media has transformed the way individuals construct and present their social identities, particularly among university students. Instagram has evolved beyond a mere visual content-sharing platform into a strategic arena where individuals actively shape and manage their self-image before digital audiences. This study aims to examine students' strategies in presenting self-image on the front stage, to explore the role of Back stage in maintaining image consistency, and to understand how students perceive the difference between their online and offline selves. A qualitative approach with a narrative inquiry method was employed, involving five active students from the Public Relations Study Program at Universitas Indonesia, class of 2024, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, documentation, and literature review, with source triangulation applied for data validation. The analysis was conducted through Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective, encompassing four key concepts: front stage, Back stage, Impression management, and Audience segregation. The findings reveal that self-image management on Instagram is a deliberate and strategic process, manifested through rigorous content curation, multi-account ownership as a means of separating public and private spaces, and the archiving of posts as a corrective image mechanism. All informants exhibited tension between the desire for authentic self-expression and the performative demands of digital social norms. Instagram was assigned diverse meanings, ranging from a social medium and personal branding tool to a canvas of personal identity. This study affirms the enduring relevance of dramaturgical theory in digital contexts and implies the need for digital literacy education.]]>
Copyrights © 2026
