Abstract:

Recent technological innovations, especially internet-related innovations, have changed the ways in which people present themselves on social media and social networks. Typically, presenting oneself involves the careful and deliberate display of certain aspects of the self. Given the changes engendered by technological innovations, a number of studies have focused on the ways in which people present themselves through social networks. In this context, Erving Goffman’s Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, a seminal work in American sociology, remains as salient as ever. People’s tendency to share photos on social media and networks points to the growing centrality of visual objects in their attempts to present their selves online. This study aims to examine the ways in which people express themselves online, their motivations to do so, and the influence of their actions. To this end, this study actively draws from Goffman’s seminal work. This study also focuses extensively on Black Mirror, a television series that predicts the ways in which technology will change human lives in the future. A dystopic series, Black Mirror mainly deals with the negative effects of technology. For instance, the series shows how people accrue or lose points for their actions and the ways in which this points-based system affects their social status. Notably, the system has an all-pervading influence of people’s everyday lives: that is, it determines what they can and cannot do. Nosedive, the first episode of the show’s third season, focuses especially on this aspect of the points-based social system. Self-presentation becomes the norm as people rate each other based on their actions. Moreover, people also tend to governed by an overwhelming need to be liked. This study uses Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to examine the ways in which the people depicted in Nosedive present their selves to others. In particular, this study involves a detailed semiotic analysis of the ways in which Lacie—the episode’s main character—tailors her public conduct in order to present the best version of herself. In fact, it can be argued that our present lives bear marks of the dystopian society depicted in this series.

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