{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,18]],"date-time":"2025-12-18T19:54:58Z","timestamp":1766087698373,"version":"3.41.2"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,5]],"date-time":"2021-04-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1617580800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["ICS"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This paper aims to identify the data elements that social network sites (SNS) users consider important for shaping their digital identity and explore how users\u2019 privacy concerns, self-esteem and the chosen SNS shape this process.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study conducted an online survey with the participation of 759 individuals, to examine the influence of privacy concerns, self-esteem and the chosen SNS platform, on the shaping of the digital identity, through a classification of identity elements that users disclose when using a SNS, the Rosenberg self-esteem scale and relevant constructs from the literature.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Findings reveal that users consider the name, gender, picture, interests and job as most important elements for shaping their digital identity. They also demonstrate that privacy concerns do not seem to affect the amount of information users choose to publish when shaping their digital identity. Specific characteristics of SNS platforms are found to affect the way that users shape their digital identity and their privacy behavior. Finally, self-esteem was found to affect privacy concerns and digital identity formation.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>To avoid a lengthy questionnaire and the risk of low participation, the respondents answered the questions for one SNS of their choice instead of answering the full questionnaire for each SNS that they use. The survey included the most popular SNSs at the time of the survey in terms of popularity.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Practical implications<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>The results contribute to the theory by furthering our knowledge on the elements that shape digital identity and by providing evidence with regard to the role of privacy and self-esteem within social networking. In practice, they can be useful for SNS providers, as well as for entities that design security and privacy awareness campaigns.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec>\n<jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This paper identifies novel factors that influence digital identity formation, including the specific SNS used with its particular characteristics in combination with privacy concerns and self-esteem of the user.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/ics-01-2020-0003","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,6]],"date-time":"2021-04-06T08:17:01Z","timestamp":1617697021000},"page":"240-262","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Forming digital identities in social networks: the role of privacy concerns and self-esteem"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"29","author":[{"given":"Thanos","family":"Papaioannou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Aggeliki","family":"Tsohou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]},{"given":"Maria","family":"Karyda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"key2021080202131836300_ref001","first-page":"36","article-title":"Imagined communities: awareness, information sharing and privacy on the Facebook","volume-title":"6th Workshop on Privacy Enhancing Technologies","year":"2006"},{"key":"key2021080202131836300_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"788","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chb.2015.10.033","article-title":"Strategic self-presentation on Facebook: personal motives and audience response to online behavior","volume":"55","year":"2016","journal-title":"Computers in Human Behavior"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1467-6494.1982.tb00743.x","article-title":"Self\u2010esteem, self\u2010presentation, and future interaction: a dilemma of reputation","volume":"50","year":"1982","journal-title":"Journal of Personality"},{"article-title":"Social network sites as networked publics: affordances, dynamics, and implications","volume-title":"A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites","year":"2010","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref004"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"210","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x","article-title":"Social network sites: definition, history, and scholarship","volume":"13","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"467","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1083-6101.2012.01580.x","article-title":"Social networking sites: their users and social implications \u2013 a longitudinal study","volume":"17","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of computer-Mediated Communication"},{"year":"2001","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref007","article-title":"Studying the internet experience"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.20459","article-title":"Development of measures of online privacy concern and protection for use on the internet","volume":"58","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1089\/cpb.2008.0226","article-title":"Information disclosure and control on Facebook: are they two sides of the same coin or two different processes?","volume":"12","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cyberpsychology and Behavior: The Impact of the Internet, Multimedia and Virtual Reality on Behavior and Society"},{"volume-title":"The Antecedents of Self-Esteem","year":"1967","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref010"},{"key":"key2021080202131836300_ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"407","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijer.2012.05.005","article-title":"\u2018Who am I?\u2019: exploring identity in online discussion forums","volume":"53","year":"2012","journal-title":"International Journal of Educational Research"},{"year":"2007","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref012","article-title":"Trust and privacy concern within social networking sites: a comparison of Facebook and MySpace"},{"issue":"4","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1143","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1083-6101.2007.00367.x","article-title":"The benefits of Facebook \u2018friends\u2019: social capital and college students\u2019 use of online social network sites","volume":"12","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication"},{"issue":"11","key":"key2021080202131836300_ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1466","DOI":"10.1177\/0146167214549944","article-title":"Can you tell that I\u2019m in a relationship? 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