Social Network Sites (SNSs) have emerged as a new way of socializing in the internet age with TikTok being the latest platform to emerge as a worldwide phenomenon, particularly popular amongst the youth. However, there is a knowledge gap about how youth in Sweden’s self-presentation is shaped by the design of TikTok. This explorative study aims to examine what possibilities and restrictions TikTok facilitates for self-presentation and what relevance the users’ physical location, more specifically Sweden, has for their content. We conducted qualitative interviews with ten individuals between the ages of 18 and 23, living in Sweden and that have all created videos on the platform. The gathered data, analyzed using thematic analysis, resulted in five different themes, Usage, Functionality/Platform design, Socializing, Personal life and Expressing oneself; each with underlying categories and codes. From the analysis it became apparent that it is not only the design of the platform, but also its use in relation to other SNSs which shapes how users present themselves on it. The unique downplay of following friends and family as well as the encouraged use of filters and sounds from other users’ videos result in a distinct freedom of expression as well as video creation based on imitation. We also found that the platform seems to offer easy accessible tools for creative exploration without the imposed expectation of posting publicly. These findings show that youths in Sweden have a profound understanding and awareness of how SNSs can be utilized regarding self-presentation in daily life.

Denna uppsats är baserad på en kvalitativ studie utförd med syftet att bidra till förståelse för föräldrars dilemman kring sharenting och deras sätt att hantera dem. Definitionen av ordet dilemma, i denna uppsats, är att föräldrarna står mellan två olika val där båda valen kan leda till både positiva och negativa konsekvenser för barnet eller föräldrarna själva. Begreppet sharenting är enligt Statens medieråd (2021) när innehåll på barn publicerats på digitala plattformar av vuxna människor som tar hand om barnen, exempelvis föräldrareller lärare. Begreppet är en sammansättning av de engelska orden parenting och sharing, och det finns ingen svensk översättning. Forskningsfrågan undersöktes genom tolv semistrukturerade intervjuer med föräldrar som har minst ett barn i åldrarna 0–10 år samt kännedom om sociala medier. Studien identifierar tre dilemman: Att välja mellan att presentera sig själv eller att skydda sitt barns integritet. Att välja mellan att publicera innehåll trots ovisshet om konsekvensernaeller att avstå från att dela. Att välja mellan att konsumera andra föräldrars inlägg på sociala medier, som kan bidra till stärkt föräldraskap men också minskad självkänsla, eller att avstå från att konsumera. Dessutom identifierades två problem som föräldrarna står inför. Dessa problem är att det inte finns tydliga riktlinjer för hur man som förälder ska dela på sociala medier och att andra människor publicerar bilder på ens eget barn. De tillvägagångssätt som föräldrarna använder för att hantera ovanstående dilemman och problem är att avstå naket innehåll, undvika känsliga situationer, inte visa ansikten och att inte skriva om barnen specifikt, gällande problem i föräldraskapet. Andra tillvägagångssätt är att tänka utifrån barnets perspektiv, vad de hade kunnat läsa om sig själva utan att ta illa upp, och att tänka utifrån sig själv för att förstå vad barnet kan tycka är okej.

This dissertation explores elite athletes’ strategic personal brand management on social media. Social media have become a primary platform for personal branding integrated into athletes’ lives and careers. Yet, the psychological and strategic processes underlying personal brand management have lacked scholarly inquiry as extant research tends to focus on consumer perspectives as opposed to decision-making, negotiations, and strategies from the point of view of branded individuals. This has hindered the understanding of how personal branding is managed as a unique type of self-enterprising activity. In this dissertation, I employ a multi-study approach to address three issues pertaining to athletes’ personal brand management on social media, namely: 1) experience of fit in pursuit of personal brand monetization, 2) negotiation of authenticity in self-presentation, and 3) joint effects of brand fit, athlete brand authenticity, and self-disclosure tactics in athlete corporate social responsibility (AxCSR) promotional content. Theoretically, the dissertation advances a view of how athletes, as public personas, manage their personal brands on the verge between their personal concerns and identities, commercial demands, and expectations stemming from sports industry stakeholders. Practically, it delivers insights to athletes, their managers, and sponsors on how to optimize athletes’ personal branding experiences and business outcomes. / Tourism and Sport

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The steady increase in social media use, combined with a new opportunity for individuals to express and/or redefine their social identity, has created many new platforms and forums. The global pandemic and the further digitization of communication and self-expression amplified the trend. As individuals shape their online identities, they receive feedback from their online networks (likes, comments, shares, etc.). The feedback can reinforce or challenge their identities, leading them to adapt their self-presentation accordingly. This research investigated the under-explored interplay between Social Identity (SI) formation and Social Media (SM) adoption. While the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model has been practical, it has become crucial to enhance it based on the relationship/intersection of SI expression and SM use and its implications for social media companies, policymakers, individuals, businesses, and society, as a whole. The research employed inductive qualitative analysis on “public-primary posts of personal narratives from X platform and subreddit communities while preserving participant anonymity. Study 2 data corpus was 62,429 posts. There is a bi-directional influence on social identity formation and social media adoption. The limitations of this study include the subjective nature of qualitative research and the fact that the posts were not intended for academic study. Further, there were no follow-ups and member checking; thus, I could not validate the findings with participants. I also note that many people came to the subreddit platform with their problems, and the entries did not include the resolution of their issues. Only an interview would reveal the outcome, which was not carried out in this study. One recommendation is that social media providers install AI chatbots that scour their platforms for people needing help and render support to people who are vulnerable, especially those seeking mental health resources. Finally, this study’s proposition that when people are lonely, they seek support and comfort on social media needs more research. Further, in the advent of mainstream adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023, research will need to be conducted to ensure the safe and viable long-term use of social platforms for good, as opposed to evil. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

Humblebragging is a tactic where an individual disguises a boast or brag as a complaint or humility while simultaneously emphasizing their achievements or desired results. According to previous literature, individual athletes' social media postings are seen as branding or self-promotional content to enhance their brand image. However, these posts can also be considered a form of bragging, with sport celebrities trying to hide their true intentions by using humbleness. This strategy is often used by sport celebrities to enhance their brand image. However, this subject remains largely unexplored in sport management literature, primarily due to the lack of a clear definition, unexplored humblebragging strategies from the viewers' perspective, and the absence of a measurement scale for evaluating humblebragging in the sport context. Thus, the purpose of this study is to explore sport celebrities’ self-promotion strategies from the perspective of social media users, based on signaling theory and self-promotion theory, and to suggest a measurement scale that can empirically study the formation of humblebragging. This dissertation consists of two studies using online surveys for data collection, utilizing a total of 349 samples for the first study and 426 for the second study for quantitative data analyses. The results of the first study suggested that social media users are more likely to appreciate sport celebrities’ honest self-promotion, characterized by humble and sincere posts. The second study generated six dimensions of humblebragging: (a) self-praise plus disclaimer; (b) praise from a third party; (c) self-praise plus shift of focus; (d) self-praise plus self-denigration; (e) self-praise plus reference to hard work; and (f) self-praise as a complaint. It was also found that self-praise plus shift of focus and self-praise plus self-denigration had a positive and significant impact on predicting post likability. This dissertation enriches the literature by establishing a theoretical basis for humblebragging as a self-promotion strategy on social media and revealing its effects on consumers’ perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. These studies provide valuable insights for sport celebrities, social media influencers, and marketers aiming to enhance their influence on consumers. The findings also suggest practical strategies to improve the effectiveness of promotional messages using humblebragging.