Social Presence, Identity, and Context Collapse: Navigating the Discursive Terrain of Personhood in Online Learning

• In Event: Social Presence in Online Learning: Extending the Research Conversation on Definitions, Learning, Conflict, Identity, and Othering

Abstract

Social presence and identity are intertwined concepts that set the foundation for social learning to occur within online classes. If we define social presence as the thing that enables one student to perceive another (Biocca, Harms, & Burgoon, 2003) or, in terms of the popular Community of Inquiry framework, as the ability to have interactions and relationships with others in an online class (Garrison 2009), then we must examine identity as the corollary element of unique characteristics displayed or performed by an individual that facilitate these perceptions, interactions, and relationships. Simply put, social presence is what allows us to discern that others are occupying the same virtual space, and identity is what allows us to distinguish among these individuals. Without sense of identity, individuals in a class could interact, but would effectively be anonymous. Identity adds a sense of emotional presence to social presence (Bozkurt & Tu, 2016), which can be important for promoting active engagement, but also generates vulnerability.

This paper explores the role that identity plays in an online class, and how context collapse shapes that identity and, ultimately, a learner’s social presence. Identity is both fluid and discursive, co-constructed through positions we take and accept during our interactions with others (van Langenhove & Harré, 2009). Further, identity is contextual (Georgakopolou, 2006) and develops and changes over time (Mishler, 2006). When an individual’s identity within an online class collides with their identity from another setting, context collapse occurs. It may have positive (Uusiautti & Maatta, 2014) or negative (Hogan, 2010, Vitak, 2012) effects on learners. While an individual’s presence in an online class may be primarily constructed based on their active contributions (e.g., words posted to a class forum; Riva, 2003), identity is also gleaned from a variety of other elements, including avatars, usernames, and the other people in one’s network (Author, 2009). In the age of Google and social media, identity construction and management becomes even more complex, and students’ perceptions of their classmates’ presence may be influenced partly by identity information from other contexts.

Drawing upon data from three recent studies – a survey (Author, 2017a), a classroom-based case (Author, 2017b), and an ethnography (Author, 2017c) – this paper discusses how students perform identity among their peers, how their class identities are alternately combined with and separated from their other identities (enabling and avoiding context collapse), and the range of effects on social presence in an online class. Findings synthesized across these studies show that learners are generally astute when it comes to managing their online identities, and their identity management behaviors – specifically the identity narrowing or separating ones -- are mostly driven by context collapse concerns. Students who are less savvy about managing online identities tend to follow one of two paths; they either heavily limit their social presence in one context (in class or online in general) or do nothing until they experience discomfort and reactively lessen their social presence.

Author

• Vanessa Paz Dennen, The Florida State University