BETWEEN THE DIGITAL AND THE REAL: SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND IDENTITY CLARITY AMONG ARAB FEMALE ADOLESCENTS : THE MEDIATING ROLES OF SELF-ESTEEM AND ONLINE SELF-PRESENTATION

Abstract

This study looks at the relationship between social media use and identity clarity among Arab female adolescents in Palestine and the mediation role of self-esteem and online self-presentation in this relationship. The study uses a quantitative cross-sectional design and collected data from 414 Arab female adolescents aged 14–18 years. The participants were asked to complete a structured questionnaire that measures social media use, self-esteem, online self-presentation and identity clarity. Social media use was assessed through behavioural indicators. These are time spent on social media (intensity) as well as passive and active use. The study measured self-esteem using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Online self-presentation through an adapted scale that split approached this variable through two dimensions: digital authenticity and impression management. Finally, it used an adapted scale from identity development and self-concept clarity frameworks to measure identity clarity. The findings showed that the initial proposed model did not achieve acceptable fit. However, after theoretically supported modifications, the adjusted model achieved good fit and explained 30.1% of the variance in identity clarity. In this adjusted model, self-esteem and impression management had significant positive effects on identity clarity, whereas digital authenticity showed a small negative effect. Moreover, active social media use positively predicted identity clarity and negatively predicted self-esteem, while passive use positively predicted self-esteem. In addition, significant finding of this research was concerning time spent on social media, which showed a negative indirect effect on identity clarity through impression management. Finally, the findings showed that online self-presentation did not significantly moderate the relationship between self-esteem and identity clarity. The study significance is due to its contribution to clinical and developmental psychology on identity clarity within a Palestinian adolescent context, which remains limited. The study recommends further longitudinal and culturally sensitive research on adolescent identity, self-esteem, and online self-presentation in Arab and Palestinian contexts.