BEYOND THE SELF: HOW NARRATIVES BUILD IDENTITIES IN INTERPERSONAL, COLLECTIVE, AND DIGITAL REALMS
Keywords:
Narrative identity, Identity construction, Narrative structure, Online narrativesAbstract
This article examines the pervasive role of narratives in the construction of identity across personal, social, and digital domains. It argues that identity is not a fixed entity but a dynamic, ongoing project continuously shaped by the stories individuals tell about themselves and the collective narratives that define groups and societies. Drawing upon interdisciplinary literature from philosophy, linguistics, sociology, psychology, and communication studies, the article comprehensively explores how personal narratives provide coherence and continuity to individual lives, how social narratives foster collective belonging and differentiation, and how digital platforms have fundamentally transformed the processes of self-narration and identity presentation. The analysis highlights the intricate interplay between these dimensions, emphasizing that narratives serve as fundamental architectures for understanding selfhood in an increasingly interconnected and digitally mediated world. The discussion underscores the fluidity and situated nature of identity, offering profound insights into its implications for various fields, from design and corporate communication to therapeutic practices and social movements. Methodological challenges in analyzing fragmented digital narratives are also addressed, advocating for innovative analytical tools to capture the evolving nature of online identity.
References
[1] Ahn, J. (2011). Review of children’s identity construction via narratives. Creative Education, 2, 415–417. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2011.25060
[2] Ala-Kortesmaa, S., Laapotti, T., & Mikkola, L. (2022). Narrative start-up identity construction as strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 16(2), 222–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2022.2027772
[3] Arendt, H. (2019). The human condition. University of Chicago Press (Original work published 1958).
[4] Ashforth, B. E., & Schinoff, B. S. (2016). Identity under construction: How individuals come to define themselves in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3(1), 111–137. https://doi.org/10.1146/ annurev-orgpsych-041015-062322
[5] Baker, M. (2006). Translation and conflict: A narrative account. Routledge. https://doi. org/10.4324/9780203099919
[6] Baldauf, H., Develotte, C., & Ollagnier-Beldame, M. (2017). The effects of social media on the dynamics of identity: Discourse, interaction and digital traces. Alsic. Apprentissage des Langues et Systèmes d’Information et de Communication, 20(1). https ://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/INRP/halshs-01660794.
[7] Bamberg, M. (2011). Who am I? Narration and its contribution to self and identity. Theory & Psychology, 21(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309355852.
[8] Bruner, J. (1991). The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1086/448619
[9] Calzati, S., & Simanowski, R. (2018). Self-narratives on social networks: Trans-platforms stories and facebook’s metamorphosis into A postmodern semiautomated repository. Biography, 41(1), 24–47. https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2018.0007
[10] Carr, D. (1986). Narrative and the real world: An argument for continuity. History and Theory, 25(2), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.2307/2505301
[11] Ezzy, D. (1998). Theorizing narrative identity. The Sociological Quarterly, 39, 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1998.tb00502.x
[12] Freeman, M. (2011). Stories, big and small: Toward a synthesis. Theory & Psychology, 21 (1), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309354394.
[13] Gandana, I., & Nissa, L. (2021). Globalization, English, and identity construction: A narrative inquiry. Conference: Thirteenth conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2020) https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210427.038
[14] Grimaldi, S., Fokkinga, S., & Ocnarescu, I. (2013). Narratives in design: A study of the types, applications and functions of narratives in design practice. Proceedings of the 6th international conference on designing pleasurable products and interfaces. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2513506.2513528
[15] Guerrero, A. (2011). Narrative as resource for the display of self and identity: The narrative construction of an oppositional identity. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 13, 88–99. https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.3771
[16] Khazraee, E., & Novak, A. N. (2018). Digitally mediated protest: Social media affordances for collective identity construction. Social Media and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 2056305118765740
[17] Labov, W. (1972). The transformation of experience in narrative syntax. In W. Labov (Ed.), Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English vernacular (pp. 354–396). University of Pennsylvania Press.
[18] Phibbs, S. (2007). Four dimensions of narrativity: Towards a narrative analysis of gender identity that is simultaneously personal, local and global. New Zealand Sociology, 23 (2), 47–60. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/NZS.Vol23_No2_2008.
[19] Pozniak, K. (2009). Talking the “immigrant talk”: Immigration narratives and identity construction among Colombian newcomers. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 41(1), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2009.0001
[20] Ricoeur, P. (1984). Time and narrative (K. McLaughlin & D. Pellauer, Trans. (Vol. 1). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/ 9780226713519.001.0001 (Original work published 1983).
[21] Ricoeur, P. (1992). Oneself as another. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo3647498.html.
[22] Romele, A. (2014). Narrative identity and social networking sites. Etudes Ricoeuriennes Ricoeur Studies, 4, 108. https://doi.org/10.5195/errs.2013.202
[23] Sadler, N. (2018). Narrative and interpretation on Twitter: Reading tweets by telling stories. New Media & Society, 20(9), 3266–3282. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1461444817745018
[24] Shipp, A. J., & Jansen, K. J. (2011). Reinterpreting time in fit theory: Crafting and recrafting narratives of fit in medias res. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 76–101. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0279
[25] Somers, M. R. (1992). Narrativity, narrative identity, and social action: Rethinking English working-class formation. Social Science History, 16(4), 591–630. https://doi. org/10.2307/1171314
[26] Somers, M. R. (1994). The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach. Theory and Society, 23(5), 605–649. http://www.jstor.org/stable/658090.
[27] Somers, M. R., & Gibson, G. D. (1993). Reclaiming the epistemological other: Narrative and the social constitution of identity. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027 .42/51265.
[28] Taylor, J., & Kay, S. (2015). The construction of identities in narratives about serious leisure occupations. Journal of Occupational Science, 22(3), 260–276. https://doi. org/10.1080/14427591.2013.803298
[29] Trzebinski, J. (1998). Self-narratives as sources of motivation. Psychology of Language and Communication, 2(1), 13–22. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/25956262 9_Self-narratives_as_sources_of_motivation.
[30] White, H. (1987). The Content of the form: Narrative discourse and historical representation. John Hopkins University Press