DIGITAL SELF-PRESENTATION: PERSONAL BRANDING STRATEGIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG STUDENTS IN INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31947/aiccon2025.v1i2.47694Keywords:
Digital self-presentation, Facebook, Filipino students, Indonesian students, Instagram, personal branding, Southeast AsiaAbstract
This qualitative study, grounded in Personal Branding Theory, examines how cultural contexts shape digital self-presentation and personal branding strategies among college students in Indonesia and the Philippines. The study focused exclusively on Instagram and Facebook as the primary social media platforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants, consisting of 10 students from Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges (Philippines) and 10 students from Politeknik Negeri Padang (Indonesia), along with a review of their publicly accessible profiles. The findings reveal that Indonesian students are more focused on curating aesthetic aspects of their social media feeds, maintaining consistent visual styles to reflect professionalism and cultural expectations of modesty. In addition, they frequently use “dummy” or secondary Instagram accounts to communicate more freely with close friends, allowing them to segment their audiences and preserve a controlled public image. Conversely, Filipino students adopt a more open and expressive approach, using Facebook to highlight academic accomplishments, share personal narratives, and incorporate religious or motivational themes, consistent with cultural values of community belonging and faith. These contrasting strategies illustrate how personal branding practices are negotiated within culturally rooted understandings of self-presentation. The study underscores the significance of culturally sensitive digital literacy education to help students balance global personal branding practices with local values.
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