Individual Identity and the Dynamics of Digital Social Interaction

Folashade Oluwatoyin

Authors

Folashade Oluwatoyin Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

Keywords:

identity crisis, digital technology, social interaction, self construction, symbolic representation, recognition, meaning

Abstract

This literature study examines identity crisis in the digital era by exploring how technology mediated social interaction reshapes the way individuals understand and construct their sense of self. Digital environments expand symbolic interaction while accelerating social exchange, which alters the stability of identity formation. Identity emerges as an interpretive process shaped by representation, recognition, and continuous adjustment to social expectations. The study highlights how visibility, comparison, and fragmented interaction intensify meaning tension within personal and social identity. Rather than offering a fixed outcome, digital interaction produces an ongoing negotiation between lived experience and symbolic expression. This condition fosters uncertainty, as individuals struggle to maintain coherence amid rapidly changing social cues. The findings suggest that identity crisis does not appear as a sudden rupture but develops gradually through cumulative pressures embedded in digital interaction. By synthesizing theoretical perspectives, this study provides a conceptual framework for understanding identity as a fragile and evolving construct within technologically mediated society. The analysis contributes to social theory by clarifying how digital interaction reshapes self-understanding and collective meaning formation.

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