Date of Award

Fall 12-11-2025

Document Type

Honors Project

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Communication and Digital Studies

Department Chair or Program Director

Whalen, Zach

First Advisor

Adria Goldman

Major or Concentration

Communication and Digital Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how Communication and Digital Studies (CDS) seniors tailor how they self-present on social media on a social app compared to a professional one. As seniors are transitioning from student life to professional life, it is significant to understand how that meaningful shift influences how they present themselves online. This study employs a qualitative content analysis of Instagram and LinkedIn profiles, including two posts from each platform, belonging to four CDS seniors at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The findings suggest three themes in self-presentation, which are personality, communication style, and academic work. These results demonstrate how CDS seniors strategically adjust their online identities depending on the platform context and the perceived audience of the app. These findings contribute to a gap in the literature, as many studies focus on only one social media platform and do not compare multiple platforms.

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