Social Avatar Theory: From In Vitro to In Vivo (Instagrammer Cognition - Mind the Gap)

Abstract

The concept of a social avatar was proposed in 2013, in response to observed patterns of human behaviour on social media. Social avatar theory has since developed to provide a framework which can assist in the necessary task of being able to examine the potential effects of social media use upon user psyche. Through ubiquitous use of social media, social avatar theory has effectively moved from in vitro, to in vivo, and can now be applied in non-hypothetical terms. Via de-construction of publically available social avatar material, several aspects of social avatar theory manifest, with examples which illustrate the principles of curation, positive skew and gap/facade. In the process of de-construction, prototypical cognitive schema can be recognised (Instagrammer Cognition).It is of concern that the mooted potential for psychological costs to be incurred, has also moved from hypothetical to real life (e.g. via a decrease in personal authenticity). Social avatar theory holds that a psychologically significant gap can develop between the online facade and the reality of life offline, and in doing so, that social avatars can be inherently psychoactive. For select users (further research required with respect to vulnerability factors), the creation/maintenance of a social avatar can become all-consuming, and even contribute to states of emotional distress and discord such as envy, smiling depression, or when the gap has grown so big as to be untenable, even risk psychological breakdown. As such, a social avatar health-check should be part of digital citizenship/education initiatives -Mind the Gap.