Achieving self-congruency? Examining why individuals reconstruct their virtual identity in communities of interest established within social network platforms

In communities of interest established within social network platforms (such as QQ in China), some people reconstruct a virtual identity different from their physical identity for various reasons. Prior studies have investigated identity reconstruction in less anonymous environments, such as online dating sites and Facebook, and also investigated the more general topic of “self-presentation” in online settings. A comprehensive and systematic investigation of identity reconstruction in anonymous social network communities, however, is still called for. Using a qualitative approach, this study investigated 47 community members through interviews or questionnaires to explore the reasons for reconstructing virtual identity in communities of interest established within the second largest social network platform of the world: QQ. Content analysis reveals that people reconstruct their identity in anonymous social network communities due to vanity, disinhibition, enjoyment, access to new social networks, escape from old social networks, privacy concern, and avoidance of disturbance. These factors are interpreted based on self-discrepancy theory and regulatory focus theory. The theoretical contributions of this study are discussed and practical implications are also presented.