INTRODUCTION
Today, social media reigns supreme in our lives. Over the last 18 years, the number of active social media users has shown a significant increase of an estimated 16000% – with 0.3 million back in 2005 (Build Ops, 2023), it has grown to a whopping 4.88 billion as of July 2023 (We Are Social, 2023).
The remarkable growth of these platforms clearly shows the expansion of social media usage within our society and as a result, it has allowed us to portray ourselves however we please.
Erving Goffman’s perspective of dramaturgy further depicts our social life as a theatrical performance. He likens us to actors and our society to a stage – where we present ourselves in ways more likely to be accepted at the front, while reserving our genuine selves backstage as it is a safe space (Erving Goffman, 1959). Goffman further emphasises on the concept of impression management – which involves controlling the information we reveal to shape how others perceive us (Sociology Group, 2019).
But what happens when information, that is meant to be withheld, starts to leak, and cracks emerge in the façade that we put on? How much longer can we sustain it for?
THE SINGAPOREAN YOUTUBE SCENE
Night Owl Cinematics (NOC) is a Singapore-based production company that was founded back in 2013 by Sylvia Chan and her ex-husband, Ryan Tan
Chan, NOC and its creators were undeniably popular for their comedy skits which revolved around Singaporean culture, and were also renowned for developing multiple signature video series that helped them gain millions of views on YouTube. Apart from content production, Chan was also seen as a mentor to newer local creators on the platform (Today Online, 2015).
However, in October 2021, a series of allegations were made by one anonymous Instagram user accusing Chan of bullying, verbal abuse and open discrimination towards her colleagues. 
Following this, several former and then current employees of NOC came forward to speak about the unhealthy work environment and criticised Chan’s management style and attitude (Yahoo Life Singapore, 2021).
This eventually led the public to develop a negative perception of NOC, as fans started calling out the Singaporean YouTube collective for fostering a toxic work culture and their founder’s misconduct, with major brands announcing the termination of their partnership due to their disapproval of the “unacceptable behaviour” (The Drum, 2021).
The more genuine aspects of Chan’s behaviour and emotions were concealed in the ‘backstage’ but they began to surface as the incident unfolded, and over time, the cracks in her carefully constructed front stage persona became very apparent.
CONCLUSION
Aspiring to work in media production myself, I cannot help but think about how vulnerable I could be, to lose myself to the façade I choose to put on.
The desire for us to express our authentic selves is a universal one, yet we cannot underestimate the complexity of it. We will likely continue to feel compelled to maintain a façade in our interactions, but I believe there is a silver lining that lies in personal growth. By striving to embrace authenticity, we can hopefully learn/support one another to confront our flaws and strive to be a better version of ourselves, day by day!
REFERENCES
BuildOps. (2023). Number of social media users worldwide from 2005 to 2025. BuildOps. Available from https://buildops.com/commercial-construction/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/#:~:text=In%202005%2C%20there%20were%20only.
Couldry, N. and Hepp, A. (2016). The mediated construction of reality. Cambridge, Uk ; Malden, Ma, Usa: Polity Press.
gabby.kenny@wearesocial.net. (2023). Social media use reaches new milestone. We Are Social UK. Available from https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2023/07/social-media-use-reaches-new-milestone/.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Anchor Books.
Group, S. (2019). What is Goffman’s dramaturgical theory ( Impression Management)? Sociology Group: Welcome to Social Sciences Blog. Available from https://www.sociologygroup.com/dramaturgical-perspective/?utm_content=cmp-true.
Lim, S. (2021). Colgate and Nestle drop Singaporean influencer after alleged workplace harassment claims. The Drum, 11 October. Available from https://www.thedrum.com/news/2021/10/11/colgate-and-nestle-drop-singaporean-influencer-after-alleged-workplace-harassment.
Tham, R. (2015). How Night Owl Cinematics’ Ryan and Sylvia became Singapore’s YouTube power couple. TODAY. Available from https://www.todayonline.com/entertainment/celebrity/how-night-owl-cinematics-ryan-and-sylvia-became-youtubes-power-couple.
Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore. (2021). NOC staff spill more tea about Sylvia Chan’s employee abuse. sg.style.yahoo.com. Available from https://sg.style.yahoo.com/noc-staff-spill-more-tea-about-sylvia-chan-employee-abuse-023602637.html.
I like that you got retrospective at the end, showing that you are aware of the dangers of losing yourself to social media and how you are actively taking steps to ensure that you don’t fall into the trap.