Insight into the motivation of selfie postings: impression management and self-esteem
Abstract
Purpose
Social media enables consumers to regularly express themselves in a variety of ways. Selfie-postings are the new tool for self-presentation, particularly among millennials. The purpose of this paper is to identify the motivations associated with selfie-postings among female millennials.
Design/methodology/approach
The exploratory study consisted of 15 in-depth interviews with women who were 19-30 years of age. The analysis of data was facilitated by an iterative constant comparison method between data, emerging concepts and extant literature.
Findings
Textual analysis reveals impression management to be pivotal in understanding the consumer selfie-posting process. Other sub-themes include happiness and physical appearance. In addition, self-esteem was revealed as a motivator and an outcome.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to females who were 19-30 years of age. Future research should include males and a wider age group and focus on empirical testing of the identified themes.
Practical implications
This research sheds light on the motivation and outcomes associated with selfie-postings. Implications for marketers and advertisers include a better understanding of how to engage consumers to post content in the form of selfies with brands and products.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to explore the growing trend of selfie-postings and contributes to academic literature in consumer behavior by identifying the motivations of selfie-postings.
Keywords
Citation
Pounders, K., Kowalczyk, C.M. and Stowers, K. (2016), "Insight into the motivation of selfie postings: impression management and self-esteem", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 50 No. 9/10, pp. 1879-1892. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-07-2015-0502
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited