The Fronts Students Use: Facebook and the Standardization of Self-Presentations

This empirical study explored the impression management techniques and standardized performances college students use on their Facebook profiles to ensure their peers believe they are fully participating in the undergraduate experience. Employing an ethnographic research design and data collected using participant-observation and interview methods, I considered the texts and images that appear repeatedly on Facebook profiles from a dramaturgical framework. I found that participants in this study identified at least 6 standardized fronts that students use to help ensure they give peers the impression of conforming to appropriate undergraduate norms.