The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

Tyler Holland
Mr. Roddy
IHSS
29 September 2019
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life

Erving Goffman has suggested the idea that social interaction is similar to a form of theater on a stage, the actors being ourselves, and the plot being how we interact with others. This theory is quite interesting because he goes on to explain everyones role in any sort of interaction, you have the audience which is the onlookers who are watching an interaction between multiple "actors." Whats interesting about this is that he goes on to explain how it isn't just the interaction between the parties involved, but also the impression of the "audience" and how it affects the way that the people conduct themselves, trying to stay in character and show the audience what they want/expect to see. There is also the backstage where people can be themselves and not who they are expected to be when they step on stage. I think that this is a very interesting and quite frankly accurate way to represent social interaction. A key part is when Goffman discusses "impression management" and how it affects how people act when they know that the audience is watching, it is an instinct to want to try to avoid embarrassment for one's self. I think that the most important part of this article was the backstage idea. Being "backstage" is probably where most people feel most comfortable without trying to fit in or change how they act and react to impress other people. However, I don't think that being backstage necessarily has to mean being out of the spotlight, I think that it is just a place where you are yourself, even if you are able to be yourself all day every day then you could shout it out to the world but I think it can still be considered "backstage" because you are being your true self. 


https://www.thoughtco.com/the-presentation-of-self-in-everyday-life-3026754 

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