Background: The understanding of human identity has shifted from an essentialist view to a constructivist one, where the self is seen as a product of narrative. Individuals create and sustain a sense of identity by weaving personal experiences into a coherent life story. However, in the contemporary era, this process is complicated by the intersection of personal, social, and digital spheres. While existing research has examined these dimensions in isolation, a comprehensive framework that integrates them is lacking.

Aims: This article aims to synthesize a multifaceted theoretical framework for understanding identity construction in the 21st century. It seeks to analyze how individuals use narratives to navigate the complexities of their internal lives (personal), their interactions with others (social), and their presence on digital platforms (digital), and to explore the points of convergence and conflict among these dimensions.

Methods: This study employs a systematic literature review and theoretical synthesis of 30 core academic texts spanning narrative theory, sociology, and digital media studies. Using a thematic analysis approach, the paper integrates foundational concepts from thinkers like Paul Ricoeur and Margaret Somers with contemporary research on digital self-presentation.

Results: The analysis reveals three distinct but interconnected dimensions of narrative identity. The personal dimension involves the creation of an autobiographical self, providing continuity and meaning. The social dimension demonstrates that identity is a relational achievement, co-constructed and constrained by cultural scripts and group affiliations. The digital dimension introduces a new arena for identity work, characterized by the "curated self," where platform affordances reshape the nature of narrative performance.

Conclusion: The construction of a coherent self is a dynamic process of "narrative labor," requiring the constant integration of personal, social, and digital stories. This paper proposes an integrated model of narrative identity that accounts for the complexities of the modern, mediated world and suggests that understanding the architecture of our narratives is key to understanding ourselves.

Narrative Identity, Identity Construction, Social Media

Ahn, J. (2011). Review of children’s identity construction via narratives. Creative Education, 2, 415–417. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2011.25060

Ala-Kortesmaa, S., Laapotti, T., & Mikkola, L. (2022). Narrative start-up identity construction as strategic communication. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 16(2), 222–238. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2022.2027772

Arendt, H. (2019). The human condition. University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1958)

Ashforth, B. E., & Schinoff, B. S. (2016). Identity under construction: How individuals come to define themselves in organizations. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 3(1), 111–137. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-041015-062322

Baker, M. (2006). Translation and conflict: A narrative account. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203099919

Baldauf, H., Develotte, C., & Ollagnier-Beldame, M. (2017). The effects of social media on the dynamics of identity: Discourse, interaction and digital traces. Alsic. Apprentissage des Langues et Systèmes d’Information et de Communication, 20(1). https://hal.univ-lorraine.fr/INRP/halshs-01660794

Bamberg, M. (2011). Who am I? Narration and its contribution to self and identity. Theory & Psychology, 21(1), 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309355852

Bruner, J. (1991). The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1086/448619

Calzati, S., & Simanowski, R. (2018). Self-narratives on social networks: Trans-platforms stories and facebook’s metamorphosis into a postmodern semiautomated repository. Biography, 41(1), 24–47. https://doi.org/10.1353/bio.2018.0007

Carr, D. (1986). Narrative and the real world: An argument for continuity. History and Theory, 25(2), 117–131. https://doi.org/10.2307/2505301

Ezzy, D. (1998). Theorizing narrative identity. The Sociological Quarterly, 39, 239–252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1998.tb00502.x

Freeman, M. (2011). Stories, big and small: Toward a synthesis. Theory & Psychology, 21(1), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309354394

Gandana, I., & Nissa, L. (2021). Globalization, English, and identity construction: A narrative inquiry. Conference: Thirteenth conference on Applied Linguistics (CONAPLIN 2020). https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210427.038

Grimaldi, S., Fokkinga, S., & Ocnarescu, I. (2013). Narratives in design: A study of the types, applications and functions of narratives in design practice. Proceedings of the 6th international conference on designing pleasurable products and interfaces. Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/2513506.2513528

Guerrero, A. (2011). Narrative as resource for the display of self and identity: The narrative construction of an oppositional identity. Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal, 13, 88–99. https://doi.org/10.14483/22487085.3771

Khazraee, E., & Novak, A. N. (2018). Digitally mediated protest: Social media affordances for collective identity construction. Social Media and Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305118765740

Labov, W. (1972). The transformation of experience in narrative syntax. In W. Labov (Ed.), Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English vernacular (pp. 354–396). University of Pennsylvania Press.

Phibbs, S. (2007). Four dimensions of narrativity: Towards a narrative analysis of gender identity that is simultaneously personal, local and global. New Zealand Sociology, 23(2), 47–60. https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/NZS.Vol23_No2_2008

Pozniak, K. (2009). Talking the “immigrant talk”: Immigration narratives and identity construction among Colombian newcomers. Canadian Ethnic Studies, 41(1), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2009.0001

Ricoeur, P. (1984). Time and narrative (K. McLaughlin & D. Pellauer, Trans.; Vol. 1). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226713519.001.0001 (Original work published 1983)

Ricoeur, P. (1992). Oneself as another. University of Chicago Press. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo3647498.html

Romele, A. (2014). Narrative identity and social networking sites. Études Ricoeuriennes / Ricoeur Studies, 4, 108–122. https://doi.org/10.5195/errs.2013.202

Sadler, N. (2018). Narrative and interpretation on Twitter: Reading tweets by telling stories. New Media & Society, 20(9), 3266–3282. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817745018

Shipp, A. J., & Jansen, K. J. (2011). Reinterpreting time in fit theory: Crafting and recrafting narratives of fit in medias res. Academy of Management Review, 36(1), 76–101. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0279

Somers, M. R. (1992). Narrativity, narrative identity, and social action: Rethinking English working-class formation. Social Science History, 16(4), 591–630. https://doi.org/10.2307/1171314

Somers, M. R. (1994). The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach. Theory and Society, 23(5), 605–649. [suspicious link removed]

Somers, M. R., & Gibson, G. D. (1993). Reclaiming the epistemological other: Narrative and the social constitution of identity. https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/51265

Taylor, J., & Kay, S. (2015). The construction of identities in narratives about serious leisure occupations. Journal of Occupational Science, 22(3), 260–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2013.803298

Trzebinski, J. (1998). Self-narratives as sources of motivation. Psychology of Language and Communication, 2(1), 13–22. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259562629_Self-narratives_as_sources_of_motivation

White, H. (1987). The Content of the form: Narrative discourse and historical representation. John Hopkins University Press.