ABSTRACT During times of crisis, fear may prompt a greater need for identity confirmation in order to reduce uncertainty. People find comfort in identifying with an online in-group, but this could worsen societal division. Our study analyzed Facebook discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war in order to identify the common patterns of economic and social uncertainties expressed through repeated anti-narratives. We focused on the public Facebook pages of the two Czech TV news outlets with the largest and most diverse audiences during two phases of each crisis. We analyzed 1,680 comments with grounded theory coding procedures. The findings reveal that, regardless of the media outlets’ ideology, crisis topic, and political representation, similar polarizing narratives that resemble populist discourse are used to construct the identity of “the people” standing against “the elites.” The study highlights how repetitive narratives in mainstream online spaces can reinforce polarization and pose broader societal risks.

Social media has revolutionized the way people communicate, leading to significant shifts in language use across digital platforms. A significant number of studies are available on linguistic expressions and social media usage, but limited research is available on the linguistic impact of social media by reviewing existing literature on lexical innovation, grammatical variation, and discourse transformation in online communication. The research adopts a qualitative, review-based research design. The thematic analysis of the study highlights that social media promotes rapid lexical growth, introducing new words, abbreviations, and hybrid terms. The main focus of the study is on neologisms, slang, acronyms, hashtag language, sentence simplification, punctuation, lowercase usage, informal grammar, emojis, gifs, memes, tone, speech acts, and online identity. Hashtags and emojis also act as semi-lexical tools. Online discourse simplifies syntax and relaxes grammar rules, creating informal, speech-like structures. Social media reshapes how users express tone, intent, and identity. Through multimodal communication, indirect speech acts, and performative language, users adapt traditional pragmatic tools for online spaces.

This article explores how English language learners (ELLs) negotiate identity and language use across diverse digital environments such as social media, online forums, and language learning platforms. Drawing on sociolinguistic and educational perspectives, it critically reviews studies on digital identity, online communication, and technology-enhanced language learning. Using an integrative qualitative approach, it synthesizes findings from empirical and theoretical research. The analysis highlights how ELLs perform and co-construct identities online through choices of language, dialect, and self-presentation, including profile curation and engagement in affinity groups. Practices such as code-switching, translanguaging, and the use of internet slang are shown to serve as powerful tools for both communication and identity expression, helping learners build confidence and a sense of belonging in global communities. The article also discusses challenges such as identity fragmentation and cultural bias. It concludes by emphasizing the pedagogical importance of recognizing online spaces as meaningful contexts for language development, intercultural competence, and identity negotiation.

This qualitative descriptive study investigates the rapid process of semantic change (meaning change) within Generation Z's vocabulary, specifically driven by the social environment of the TikTok platform. The research was designed to systematically compare a word’s original, established meaning with its new digital use, addressing a key gap in current studies. Utilizing a purposive sample of public TikTok comments, the research applied a descriptive review, comparing the dictionary meanings of key lexical items (e.g., slay, cap, rizz, glow up) with their contextual usage to categorize the change based on established linguistic mechanisms. The results clearly show that Gen Z vocabulary is changing significantly. The review confirmed four primary categories of change: Broadening (expansion of meaning, e.g., Slay and Glow Up), Narrowing (specialization, e.g., Rizz), Amelioration (positive or lighter shift, e.g., Cap and Clingy), and Metaphorical Extension (shift to figurative use, e.g., Peak). This research concludes that TikTok acts like a powerful engine for language evolution, accelerating the diffusion of these semantic change. This speed is driven by Gen Z's functional need for words that are highly expressive, efficient, and clearly mark their social identity online.

Sanctity has always been mediatized. In fact, hagiographic production has always been a narrative construction of the memory of holiness, and the figure of the saint has always been the subject of intersemiotic translations to disseminate his cult, and even as an example to be imitated etc. In the past the elaboration of a saint’s identity was expressed in a polyphonic and multimodal network of texts: books, paintings and sculptures, prints, sacred representations; today this has been extended to include cinema, television, comic books and so on. But how is the identity of the saints built through the media? How do the productive constraints and discursive features of each media affect narrative and figurative choices? And what role do the forms of the different narrative genres and iconographic traditions play in the ways of presenting the character-Saint? We will use as a case study the figure of St. Giovanni Bosco (1815-1888), a priest and educator active in Turin, and founder of the congregation of the Salesians, an interesting case in several respects. He was pioneeringly attentive to communication issues, and he was also a precociously mediatized saint: as educator his figure was proposed to young people by the Salesian publishing in a multitude of hagiographies, illustrated books, etc. Just one year after his sanctification, in 1935, he was the subject of a movie; two others followed in more recent years. In 1951 he starred in a comic about his life, drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist Jijé. His intermedia diffusion has continued over the years, including a television miniseries about his life broadcast in 2004. To investigate the narrative construction of Don Bosco’s socio-semiotic identity through different texts we will use a model of semiotic analysis allowing us to compare how different texts construct the character’s identity; a model that we have already used to analyze fictional characters as well as personal identities online.

This study investigates the occurrence and functions of nonstandard language variation in Instagram headlines posted by @folkative, a popular digital media account known for its creative use of informal language. Despite the growing attention to social media discourse, little research has focused on how nonstandard forms operate in short, attention-grabbing digital headlines. Guided by Labov’s (1972) variationist sociolinguistic framework, this study employs a descriptive qualitative method complemented by simple quantification. The data consist of headlines uploaded by @folkative throughout September 2025. The analysis reveals four main types of nonstandard variation: code-mixing, nonstandard spelling, colloquial expressions, and lexical innovation. Among these, code-mixing appears most frequently (33.93%). The use of nonstandard language is not arbitrary but rather reflects deliberate stylistic and social choices. These variations serve several communicative and pragmatic functions, including attracting readers’ attention, conveying humor, saving space within limited character counts, expressing solidarity with followers, and constructing a modern, cosmopolitan online identity. The findings demonstrate that nonstandard language in Instagram headlines contributes to meaning-making and audience engagement, showing how Indonesian users creatively manipulate linguistic resources to suit digital communication norms.

The digital age has changed how people present themselves online and perceive representations of the truth. This paper examines how online anonymity, disinformation, and identity reconstruction can undermine authenticity in digital spaces. Today, with over five billion social media users worldwide, the boundary between genuine and manufactured realities has been blurred by the rise of deepfakes, filters, and AI-generated content. This paper explores how anonymity creates conditions where fake content can thrive, accountability is reduced, and digital deception is normalized. It also discusses the motivating factors and consequences of spreading disinformation online. The paper further examines how identity reconstruction through curated personas leads to cognitive dissonance, loneliness, and the potential disintegration of authentic selfhood. Ultimately, it argues that unchecked anonymity and disinformation can pose ethical, psychological, and societal risks that impact digital integrity and democratic stability. Promoting media literacy, enforcing digital accountability, and developing AI-based content verification systems are essential to safeguarding authenticity in an era where online deception is rapidly increasing.

This study examined the influence of social media on youths’ national identity and civic engagement in Southwestern Nigeria. The target population originally comprised undergraduates from public universities across three Southwestern states—Oyo, Osun, and Lagos. To strengthen representativeness, the study also considered youths in private universities, polytechnics, and non-student populations such as apprentices and employed youths. Using a descriptive survey design complemented by digital ethnography and exploratory interviews, data were collected from 600 undergraduates in public universities and supported with qualitative insights from other youth groups. The main instrument was a structured questionnaire titled Social Media, National Identity, and Civic Engagement Scale (SMNICES), while interviews and digital content analyses were employed to capture deeper narratives of online identity construction. Descriptive statistics were used to answer research questions, while Pearson correlation and regression analysis were employed to test hypotheses. Findings revealed a high level of social media use among youths, with significant relationships between social media exposure, national identity formation, and civic engagement. Qualitative evidence further illustrated how hashtags, memes, and online debates shaped both unity and division. The study concludes that social media is a powerful tool that must be strategically regulated and integrated into civic education to enhance national unity while recognizing the diversity of youth voices beyond the university setting.

Online platforms have become fertile ground for the emergence of social media personas and trends, blurring the boundaries between personal, professional, and public life. The negotiation of identity and assumption of public roles have undergone significant transformations. This study explores the strategic visibility negotiation of LGBTQ+ content creators on TikTok, particularly within Hungary’s increasingly restrictive socio-political landscape, where LGBTQ+ rights are under growing pressure. Drawing on a critical technocultural discourse analysis of 400 TikTok uploads by 4 prominent LGBTQ+ content creator, and 16 in-depth interviews with Hungarian LGBTQ+ youth, this research identifies four predominant roles fulfilled by these creators: Casual Creator, Influencer, Activist, and Influencer–Activist. Creators strategically engage with platform affordances to navigate audience, and market demands while maintaining a central narrative grounded in the lived LGBTQ+ experience. Hungarian LGBTQ+ creators, however, must carefully balance commercial and political roles within an increasingly hostile socio-political climate, often adopting subtle forms of activism and community-driven content to mitigate risks. By leveraging humour, cultural references, and coded messaging, they carve out spaces of resistance while meeting the expectations of their diverse audiences. The study underscores the nuanced negotiation of visibility undertaken by LGBTQ+ content creators, highlighting how they balance online identities to navigate the complex interplay between consumerist and political demands.

Social media has continuously emerged as a transformative platform for youth civic engagement, enabling young leaders to participate in public discourse, advocate for causes, and shape community narratives. The aim of this study is examine how Filipino community youth leaders, specifically Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Chairpersons, approach their social media engagement in relation to online activism. Employing a qualitative narrative inquiry approach grounded in Social Constructionism, this research captures the lived experiences of student leaders from a teachers' college. A semi-structured interview guide distributed through Google Forms was used to collect data through written interviews, enabling participants to provide in-depth, reflective answers. Findings reveal three major themes: (1) Crafting an Online Identity, where digital spaces allow for both personal self-expression and public image building; (2) Reimagining Activism Online, wherein social media actions become meaningful forms of civic participation; and (3) Developing Purpose in Activism, highlighting how pivotal events, emotional connections, and leadership roles deepen commitment to advocacy. These themes highlight how social media engagements strongly influence the political activities of community youth leaders, thus encouraging them to engage in digital forms of activism. These findings demonstrate that youth engagement online can evolve into reflective and sustained activism, underlining the role of social media as both a platform and a catalyst for youth-driven civic leadership in the digital age.

This study aims to examine the relationship between online identity construction, social media addiction and self-esteem levels of university students who are active in sports. In the study, a quantitative research design was created using descriptive and relational survey model and data were collected from 288 licensed student-athletes studying at the Faculty of Sports Sciences. Data collection tools included Online Identity Construction Scale, Social Media Addiction Scale and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The findings of the study show that there is a significant and positive relationship between online identity construction and social media addiction. This situation reveals that as students construct their athlete identities in online environments, they tend to use social media more. On the other hand, no significant relationship was found between online identity construction and self-esteem. A negative and significant relationship was found between social media addiction and self-esteem, indicating that an increase in social media addiction may decrease self-esteem levels. Regression analysis results show that social media addiction and self-esteem variables explain 18.9% of the total variance in online identity construction. In this process, social media addiction stands out as a stronger predictor. The results reveal that university student athletes' identity construction processes on social media are closely related to their digital interaction levels, but these processes do not have a direct effect on self-esteem.

The development of information and communication technology has presented new opportunities as well as challenges in the life of the global community. One of the negative impacts of digital transformation is the emergence of various forms of cybercrime, especially online fraud and identity theft. These two crimes have transnational characteristics so that they are difficult to deal with with national law alone. This study uses a normative juridical method with a qualitative approach to analyze national regulations and relevant international legal instruments in countering cybercrime. The results of the study show that Indonesia already has a legal basis through the ITE Law, the Criminal Code, and the Personal Data Protection Law, but still faces obstacles in terms of jurisdiction, capacity of law enforcement officials, and limitations of international agreements. At the global level, the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) are important instruments, although their implementation is limited by the lack of universal state participation. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen national regulations, increase international cooperation through extradition mechanisms and mutual legal assistance, and digital literacy of the public to prevent the widespread impact of online fraud and identity theft.

In the dynamic landscape of digital communication, bilingual expression has become an essential tool for online identity construction, especially among content creators in the gaming community. Despite increasing interest in social media discourse, limited attention has been paid to the linguistic strategies used by Indonesian game streamers on social media platforms. This study aims to explore the use of code mixing and language play in shaping digital personas through the public posts of three popular Indonesian streamers on Threads. Using a qualitative method, 90 purposively selected posts were analysed to identify code-mixing types, communicative functions, and creative language patterns. The study found that insertion and alternation were the most frequent code-mixing strategies, used to express emotion, share information, and maintain social connection. Each streamer demonstrated distinct language play styles, ranging from humorous exaggeration to brand-oriented clarity. These linguistic choices contribute to authenticity, audience engagement, and identity signalling. The study underscores how bilingual creativity operates as a social and aesthetic practice in digital youth culture.

ABSTRACT Research has extensively addressed teacher identity, yet the construction of online teacher identity remains underexplored. Therefore, in this study, we focused on how teacher online identity can be reconstructed through online peer observation. To bridge this gap, we employed a social constructivist framework to explore the online identity development of language teachers. Through video recordings, reflective diaries, and interviews, we examined the impact of online peer observation on such identity by six lecturers working at a private university in Türkiye. Our findings indicate that online peer observation can enable teachers to learn how to teach online and embark on the process of reconstruction of their online teacher identities.

Rapid developments in information technology have significantly increased the convenience and efficiency of everyday life. Innovations such as mobile phones and other smart devices have changed the way we communicate, allowing for near-constant internet connections and unlimited access to information. Among the various technological innovations that have emerged, social media stands out as one of the most influential aspects. Through their social media accounts, users have the ability to publish various aspects of their personal lives, both in the form of photos and videos, without facing significant obstacles. However, this freedom is often not accompanied by sufficient awareness of privacy. As a result, the phenomenon of oversharing has become widespread. Therefore, this article will discuss the phenomenon of oversharing from a sociological perspective. Using a descriptive qualitative research method with a library data collection method, researchers found that the phenomenon of oversharing is triggered by various factors rooted in sociology, including; Need for Social Validation, Formation of Online Identity, and FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

This training program represents a form of community service aimed at enhancing the skills of teachers in developing video content-based online marketing strategies. In the digital era, social media has become a powerful tool for educational institutions to strengthen their online visibility and identity. The partner institution in this program faced challenges in building a digital presence to increase student enrollment. The training introduced participants to the use of the CapCut application for creating engaging and strategic video content. The activities included both theoretical sessions on digital marketing and practical sessions on video editing. As a result, participants improved their skills in digital content production and social media utilization for institutional branding. This program is expected to enhance the institution’s credibility and broaden its reach to a wider online audience.

Given global environmental challenges, developing sustainable behavior among pre-service teachers is crucial, as they will be responsible to educate future generations who must contribute to solving environmental problems. Offline pro-environmental identity refers as the individual's environmental commitment in real-life setting. Previous studies have primarily focused on online identity and behavioral intentions, while real-life behavioral context have not been fully examined. The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of the online pro-environmental identity, the perceived behavioral control, and the moral identity on the behavioral intention and the offline pro-environmental behavior. The study employed a quantitative research design and adopted Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) to analyze the data. The population was all Economics Education students of Universitas Negeri Semarang. A proportionate simple random sampling method was employed to choose 277 respondents. Questionnaire-based data were obtained and analyzed using CB-SEM. The findings reveal that intention was a strong and positive predictor of offline pro-environmental behavior (H1). Moral identity significantly influences intention (H2) and affects offline behavior both directly (H3) and indirectly through intention (H8). Online pro-environmental identity also has a significant influence on both intention (H4) and offline behavior (H5), with both effects mediated by intention (H9). However, perceived behavioral control has no impact on either intention (H6) or discharge behavior offline (H7), even indirectly through intention (H10). R value for intention is a moderate 0.539 whereas offline pro-environmental behaviour shows a strong R value at 0.963. These results emphasize the importance of intention for transforming values and identity to actual ecological behaviour. Enhancing moral and online pro-environmental identity can be beneficial to the development of sustainable behavior in offline context which calls for joint efforts in environmental education and behavioral interventions.

This study examines the phenomenon of digital nationalism in the Baloch separatist struggle. The study looks at the use of social media contacts to build a separatist narratives, in the years, 2020 to 2025. We draw upon both digital nationalism and framing theories temporally to understand the actual characteristics of Baloch digital activism, and the Baloch dorganisation, as found on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Telegram. We use qualitative content analysis and digital ethnography, where we focus on how the frames of 'victimhood', 'state repression', 'cultural legitimacy', and 'transnational solidarity' range from the Tik Tok and hashtagged, daily persistence of Baloch digital activism to the ongoing, long lived collective memories of state repression across the Baloch diaspora. The findings suggest that Baloch sepraitsts engaged binge each of the identified frames, but the role of diaspora activists stood out in the collaborative work to develop online spaces for the Baloch nationalism, alternatively: for the visual dissent related to the locally produced media, and nationalist agendas, as the evidence indicates that the use of digital media uniquely construct and amplify diaspora brings. While these digital spaces offer visibility and coherence for the Baloch nationalist cause, they also invite state disavowal, state repulsion, censorship of accounts of and processes of distance from state interactions and distance from the Baloch cause via the polarisation of the collective digital space. In terms of conclusions; these frames provides actions solutions for inclusive dialogue, that move toward disruption of diverse digital rights, and most of importantly locally rooted counter-narratives. Overall, this study contributes to the wider understanding of the characteristics of online insurgency and identity politics, and the role of state–society relations in opened potentially digitally mediated conflicts.

Background: In the evolving digital era, consumers are increasingly vulnerable to various cyber threats such as online fraud, identity theft, and misuse of personal data. This paper discusses the concept of "Human Firewall", an approach that places individuals as the main component in the defense against digital threats through increased awareness and digital literacy. Methods: By applying a systematic literature review method to various international scientific journal sources, this study shows that low levels of digital literacy increase consumers' risk of cybercrime such as personal data theft, online fraud, and information manipulation. Findings: A good understanding of digital ethics, privacy and safe use of technology helps people make wiser decisions in the digital world and prevent digital threats. Conclusion: Efforts to improve these skills can be done through interactive training, psychology-based approaches, and the use of gamification methods to strengthen user engagement. The gap in digital access and understanding in disadvantaged areas is also a challenge that needs to be addressed through an inclusive education approach. Novelty/Originality of this article: The novelty of this research is in the integration of educational and psychological approaches to form digital resilience based on proactive individuals, not just relying on technological systems. Therefore, society must build digital awareness as protection from cyber threats.

Counterfeit accounts still pose a big problem for Instagram users. Trust is being eroded, and online security is being compromised as a result of these accounts' constant contribution to Instagram's spam, harmful information, and deceptive content problems. To find these profiles, we use a number of analytical parameters. Using machine learning is one of the main reasons for developing a model to effectively combat these false accounts. We investigate and provide a solution to the issue of Instagram's ability to identify phony accounts in this research. An F1 score of 98%, a recall of 98%, a precision of 98.3%, and an accuracy of 98.24% are all achieved by the new, perfectly accurate model that is used in the proposed research. Our method combines scale_pos_weight optimization technique with XGBoost, SMOTE with balanced classes, and GridSearchCV to fine-tune key hyperparameters of Random Forest for fine-tuning purposes, therefore achieving this goal. This paper provides state-of-the-art methods for reducing the prevalence of false accounts, which will improve the efficiency and trustworthiness of identity verification systems used online. In this study, we provide an improved hybrid system with optimization that finds trends in phony accounts over time using adaptive discovery and strong analysis and class-balancing methods. In addition to improving online identity verification systems' detection capabilities, this framework establishes a new standard for trust safeguarding via user trust and lays the groundwork for future breakthroughs in social media security.