Self Presentation in Interpersonal Relationship in Online Media: Netnographic Study on Self Presentation in Online Dating

This research discusses the self presentation in online dating in Indonesia. The development of online dating in the country is marked by the growing number of online dating service followed by the number of its users. However, there is not much dissertation that discusses this issue. This research aims to find out how an individual present him/herself in online dating. As one of the important element on online dating, the researcher uses Goffman's dramaturgy theory to observe the self presentation. Although Goffman's theory places dramaturgy in offline context, this research is trying to put dramaturgy in online context. The method used in this research is netnography. It is a method to find out how the sample represent itself in conversing with the match (future partner) online. This research will observe n online dating user (N=1) from setipe.com. The data are the sample's profile and interaction with the match through the chat feature provided by setipe.com. The result shows that the sample was presenting himself in online dating.The sample presented himself by shaping his profile and conversing with his match. The online dating system also makes it easy for the sample to present himself gradually. The sample was also presenting himself by exchanging contact with his match. Therefore, it can be concluded that the sample was doing the presentation of self by selecting the profile information, using the match's information to define the situation, emphasizing a certain topic as an impression management, and asking for the match's number so that they can switch into a more private communcation medium.