In today’s digital world, our identities are to fixed. Instead, they are performed, edited, and shared across platforms. Kim Kardashian is a celebrity, influencer and also an entrepreneur. She has turned her online image into a powerful example of how identity can be constructed through media.
Erving Goffman (1959) once compared social life to a stage. People act differently in front of different audiences. Kim’s Instagram shows her perfect makeup, luxury lifestyle, and authentic photos, where she performs a carefully designed image. This version of her represents success and beauty, matching what her followers expect to see. While, when she appears on Keeping Up with Kardashian or posts more personal updates, we see another version of her, that she is also a mother, sister and business woman managing the real life struggles.
Maeshall McLuhan (1964)said, “the medium is the message,” meaning the platform shapes how we communicate. Instagram, being visual, encourages Kim Kardashian to present her identity through polished images and branding. Twitter (now called X), which is more text-based and active, used to show her unplanned posts and replies. Even when she posts similar topics, the medium itself changes how her massage feels. On Instagram, her posts look glamorous, while on Twitter (X), they feel more conversational.
Judith Butler (1990) described identity as something performed rather than something we simply “have”. Kim’s repeated selfies, fashion moments, family scenes are not random. They continuously reinforce who “Kim Kardashian” is supposed to be. Over time, these digital performances become her brand and her public identity.
In the digital age, identity is both a product and a performance. Kim Kardashian’s success shows how modern celebrities construct who they are through different platforms. Every photo, tweet or story helps Kim keeps showing her online image. This is a performance that is not fake, but carefully planned and designed for the online world.
Reference
Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: Doubleday.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Your blog addresses its topic very well, seamlessly blending from discussing Goffman and his theory to a specific example, Kim Kardashian and her online identity. I particularly like the contrast between her Instagram and her television show, as it reinforces your point effectively. This post effectively analysis the theory of constructing a digital identity in a modern world. In order to delve deeper into this topic, you could consider if it is Kim Kardashian who determines her online identity, or her audiences expectations and the media systems’ algorithms. Furthermore, you could consider if commercialisation has an influence on the Kardashian’s authenticity, especially in her television show.
Your analysis does a great job connecting theory to practice by using Kim Kardashian as an example of identity construction in the digital age. I like how you incorporated Goffman, McLuhan, and Butler to frame the discussion—it shows strong theoretical grounding. One suggestion would be to tighten the flow and clarify transitions between ideas. For instance, when moving from Goffman’s “stage” metaphor to McLuhan’s “the medium is the message,” you could explicitly link how the platform (Instagram vs. Twitter) influences the type of performance. Also, consider addressing the phrase “our identities are too fixed” at the beginning—it seems like a typo and could be revised to “not fixed.” Finally, you might expand on the idea that these performances are “not fake but planned”—perhaps by briefly discussing the tension between authenticity and branding in influencer culture. Overall, this is a thoughtful and well-supported piece!
This article on digital identity construction shows a clear discussion structure and a solid theoretical foundation. The article successfully took Kim Kardashian as a typical case, organically integrating Gofman’s drama theory, McLuhan’s media theory and Butler’s performance identity theory, forming a multi-level analysis perspective and rigourous logical discussion, from the differences in identity performance of different social platforms to the influence of media characteristics on information transmission. Sound, and then to the process of identity being consolidated through repeated performance, the duality of digital identity is revealed layer by layer, which is both a product and a performance. The article accurately applies the theory, especially expanding Butler’s gender performance theory to a wider range of identity construction, reflecting the contemporary applicability of the theory. The case selection is very representative, and Kim Kardashian’s cross-platform image comparison vividly supports the core argument. If it can be slightly extended at the level of commercial brand construction and analyse the relationship between its identity performance and capital operation, it will make the discussion more critical and in-depth. The format of references is standardised and the source is authoritative, which provides reliable support for the discussion.