Abstract
The aim of this systematic review was to gather, review, summarize, and analyze the studies on professional identity construction in social media from various scholar perspectives. The search was conducted on the WoS Core Collection, Scopus, and EBSCOhost databases using keywords “professional identity construction” and “social media.” Seventeen full-text articles were studied searching for the essential aspects of professional identity construction. Results discussed professional identity as a complex phenomenon with two dominating perspectives: (a) professional identity as a cognitive structure and (b) professional identity as a social construct. Cognitive structures of professional identity construction in social media were mainly or partially covered in education, communication, medicine, and medical tourism-related contexts. Studies that envisage professional identity as socially constructed dominate in management, organizational, medical tourism, and neuroscience. The core topics of professional identity construction cover the blurring of professional stereotypes and reconstruction of multiple professional selves; merging public and private identities; belonging to a group and trusting social media. In researched papers, scholars argue virtual behavior can be predicted and smart technologies could help maintain physical and psychological balance. Findings show the overlapping landscape of studies and identify areas for future interdisciplinary research.
Highlights
Professional identity is described as a homogeneous whole of the professional and personal self and can be studied from two perspectives
The systematic literature review revealed that the concept of professional identity construction in social media is studied from different perspectives by scholars representing different disciplines: education, management, communication, organizational studies, studies of medical education, medical tourism, neuroscience, and interdisciplinary
Professional identity construction is studied for different age, gender, society groups, and environments
Summary
Professional identity is described as a homogeneous whole of the professional and personal self and can be studied from two perspectives. Researchers representing the first perspective investigated how an individual, as a part of a social structure, could influence identity construction. Akkerman and Meijer (2011) elaborated a professional identity as (a) simultaneously unitary and multiple, (b) continuous and discontinuous, and (c) individual and the same time social. Authors revealed that the coherent and consistent sense of a professional self within the professional identity could be maintained through a variety of individual and group participation and self-investment throughout the professional career (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011). In their qualitative longitudinal study on professional
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