Blasting and posturing: How impression management contributes to inequalities in political expression on Facebook

Abstract

Social media provide opportunities for political engagement. Yet, previous research has shown that political engagement on social media remains socially stratified, with younger, male and more educated individuals more drawn to online politics. This study builds on impression management theory to examine how the expressive and performative nature of online politics contributes to a ‘digital divide’ in political expression. We examine the role of five distinct impression management techniques in German users' political expression on Facebook. Impression management research has found that sociodemographic variables, such as age, gender and education, affect an individual's propensity for distinct impression management techniques. Thereby, examining the role of impression management contributes to our understanding of the sociodemographic stratification of online political expression. Based on a survey of 1012 Facebook users, we find that assertive impression management techniques, in particular, facilitate online political expression. However, young and male users are most likely to engage in these techniques. Political interest relates to four of the five impression management techniques, but not the most assertive technique, which strongly relates to Facebook political expression.