Author(s)

Tali Heiman¹, Adi Zafrir²

¹Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University of Israel, Ra’anana, Israel.
²The Gender Studies Program, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.

The study examines the nature of the use of social networks sites (SNS) from a developmental perspective, and self-presentation activities, investigating the development and shaping of identity, during young adulthood. The study model examined personal aspects of identity, mental and behavioral aspects and gender that shape the self-esteem of young adults today, among 800 young men and women aged 20-25, who completed online self-report questionnaires. The current study provides a comprehensive theoretical model that explains the set of connections between identity status, self-presentation, and self-disclosure on SNS, and self-esteem among young adults. The mediation model emphasizes that for different identity states, young people tend to certain modes of self-presentation which explain their degree of self-esteem. This model’s contribution lies in understanding the significant role of SNS in development and identity formation during young adulthood. Alongside the theoretical contribution, the present study has practical implications.

Social Networks, Self-Presentation, Self-Esteem, Identity States, Young People, Gender

Heiman, T. and Zafrir, A. (2024) The Role of Self-Presentation on Social Networks Sites: Examining the Self-Esteem of Young People in Different Identity Status and Gender Differences. Psychology, 15, 155-172. doi: 10.4236/psych.2024.152011.