Fall 2024: Jessie Cordwell
Constructing the Online Self: Examining the Extent and Reasoning Behind Self-Presentation on Social Media
Jessie Cordwell
Strategic Communications, Elon University
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in an undergraduate senior capstone course in communications
Abstract
Since the early twenty-first century, social media has evolved into a pervasive communication tool and has continued to expand ever since. This research examines how users of social media construct identities online and how self-presentation varies by the platforms Instagram, LinkedIn, and various dating apps including Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and Grindr. The research seeks to examine to what extent social media users transform or embellish their identities online and why. The study was conducted via a dual method approach of one snowball convenience sample anonymous survey and a series of eight individual interviews with respondents of the survey. The study ultimately found that a majority of respondents had, in some way, altered their identity online. Responses from individual interviews, along with survey questions, suggest that the main reasons for people altering their identities online are to feel more confident or less insecure, and to publicize the best versions of themselves. Additionally, the study revealed that women are more than twice as likely to alter their identities on social media, particularly their physical appearance, compared to their male counterparts. One reason for this may be increased exposure to certain beauty characteristics over time.
Keywords: social media, self-presentation, identity, self-image
Email: jcordwell@elon.edu
I. Introduction
Nearly three-quarters of Americans use some form of social media (Jones, 2024). A 2023 Gallup poll revealed 39% of Americans use Instagram either daily or weekly, and 24% use LinkedIn (Jones, 2024). Additionally, one-in-ten U.S. adults in committed relationships have met their significant other on a dating app according to Pew Research (Vogels, 2023). A Statista report estimates that more than 60 million Americans use online dating platforms, or 23.3% of the adult population (Dixon, 2024). Nearly one-third of Americans have ever used an online dating app or service, according to Pew Research (Vogels, 2023).
This research will examine how people translate and construct their real-life identity to online social media including Instagram, LinkedIn and dating apps. This research seeks to answer whether or not social media users transform, select, fabricate, and adapt their identities online, and for what specific reasons they do so. It also seeks to explore whether this is a general expectation among social media users. Is it collectively assumed that most people will inevitably alter their identity online? This research will explore why individuals do this and why society may have generally accepted that people are not their full and honest selves online.
This research also seeks to consider what, if any, differences of age and gender exist among individuals who do alter their identities online. Additionally, it seeks to explore how different social media platforms impact how an individual translates their real-life identity to their online profile.
II. Literature Review
Social media has become a pervasive communication tool since the beginning of the twenty-first century and has continued to grow since its inception. Since the medium itself is relatively new, much of the research that explores behavioral and sociological actions and interactions on such platforms is emerging. Because research on sociological behavior online is recent, it is also somewhat limited. However, the foundations of such research, especially pertaining to affordances of social interaction, extends well into the mid-twentieth century.
Goffman’s Presentation of Self Theory
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (Goffman, 1954) has been the foundation of much relevant research in this area of study. Goffman’s original study introduced the theory of the multiple selves’ individuals show to different “audiences,” or social groups. He reasons that there is a “front stage” and “backstage” that these “performances” act upon. The front stage performance relates to one’s social interactions with others, whereas the backstage refers to the individual identity one holds when they are alone, or not performing. The study theorizes that individuals divert certain presentations of self in order to manage social interaction–specifically, reactions and perceptions of their identity by others. Goffman’s theory argues that individuals’ presentations of self are dependent on a multitude of factors including environmental impact, intragroup relations, and characteristics of one’s identity.
Goffman also introduced the concept of “given” and “given off” expressions. Given expressions are usually those of what individuals say and subsequently, given off expressions are the non-verbal social cues that individuals enact to situate and validate the words spoken. Typically, it is understood that an individual has more control of what is said as opposed to how it is said. Ultimately, Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to understanding social interaction revolves around the notion of “impression management” and how individuals change or shift character dependent on different situations based on both environment and actors to maintain a certain perception.
Hogan (2010), expanding on Goffman’s theory, argues that “exhibitions” are at the forefront of self-presentation online and on social media. Hogan suggests that these exhibitions exist as an extension of individual situational “performances” and take form in aspects of social media such as posts, status updates, and comments. To Hogan, such “artifacts” act as representations of an individual. Hogan additionally notes that individuals enacting such exhibitions exist online as “virtual curators” of their lives and identity. Hogan presents that since individuals on social media can control what is shared and curate said shared expressions, some may seek to present an idealized façade. Further, Hogan states that curation of self-presentation online can be dependent on how many virtual “friends” an individual holds on social media and the importance of such connections. The virtual curator holds the capability to be selective with what they share online and make certain determinations with how they are represented.
Applications of Self-Presentation in Research
One area of scholarship focuses on deceptive self-presentation online. Kolesnyk et al. (2021) examined individuals across 25 different countries and various social media platforms. Deceptive self-presentation, it was hypothesized, could produce a better result regarding a mate: men would be more deceptive for personal achievement, and women to be perceived as more attractive. This presented further hypotheses of today’s social media culture: that men were most likely to be deceptive in regard to achievements (such as monetary success), and women to misguide and bolster their physical attractiveness. Both hypotheses were supported to some degree.
Guadagno et al. (2012) and Chen et al. (2023) both explored deceptive self-presentation in online dating. In the former, the multiple-methods research found that men participated in self-deception in online dating more often than women, and men were more likely to enhance personality traits (Guadagno et al., 2012). It is important to note that online dating has changed significantly in the decade following the study. The Chen study, which consisted of multiple elements including examination of how cisgendered women on Tinder employed photo editing tools, found that the relationship between strategic and authentic presentation of self was interceded by the motivation to seek approval from others (Chen et al., 2023).
Choi et al. (2020), examined 277 survey participants’ self-concept and identity shift due to social media use, specifically how one’s view of themselves changed after posting on social media. Specifically, the study examined whether participants’ views of themselves shifted to align more with their presentation of self on social media, based on permanent or ephemeral temporality. The research ultimately determined that users were less strategic about ephemeral posts as opposed to permanent ones.
Other researchers have focused on potential motivations for behavior on social media. Yue & Stefanone (2022) specifically examined “selfies,” arguing that self-worth based on approval and attachment anxiety from parental relationships anticipates selfie-related behavior. The study found that individuals with attachment anxiety were more likely to edit their selfies. Further, that the reason for selective self-presentation was to develop and maintain positive social feedback. Rodman et al. (2017) studied whether adolescents would assume self-protective coping mechanisms in response to feedback on social media. The study found that adults deprecated peers who rejected them, while adolescents were more likely to expect and subsequently internalize rejection. Further, adults externalized negative social feedback, cushioning their respective self-view. The study found that, in general, healthy adults inherently hold a positive self-view, and that self-protective biases that buffer rejection develop close to young adulthood.
Strimbu & O’Connell (2019) used survey analysis of two measures –the Self-Concept Clarity Scale and Presentation of Online Self Scale – to examine the relationship between participants’ self-concept and their online presentation of selves. The study found that the higher one had of self-concept clarity, the less likely they were to engage with multiple selves online or to have a preference of online presentation. Ultimately, the study exhibited that the lower one’s self-concept, the more divergent their online self was presented.
Of particular relevance to this study are the findings of Zheng et al. (2020) in which researchers sought to compare and consider the intersection of self-verification (more personal revelations of identity) and self-enhancement of individuals on social media platforms. Research showed that self-enhancement was prevalent in both close and distant friend audiences, but that tie strength, (the closeness of online connections between certain individuals) contributed to greater self-verification among close friend audiences. This research aims to fill in the gaps among recent behavioral research on social media interactions. In doing so, this research seeks to explore the intersection of self-presentation across multiple social media platforms, including Instagram, LinkedIn, and various dating apps.
Research Questions
The four following research questions shape this study on the ways and reasons people construct and adapt their identities online.
RQ1: How and in what ways do people change/shape their identities online?
RQ2: To what extent do people fabricate their identities online?
RQ3: In what ways do people construct online identities differently depending on the social media platform?
RQ4: Why do people fabricate, select, or transform their identities on social media?
This topic is important as it considers an important behavioral aspect of how people not only present themselves, but also interact with each other online through social media as opposed to the real world. It also considers in what ways social media is a priority in our society, especially pertaining to the way people showcase their identities online and interpersonally connect with one another. Additionally, this research seeks to understand why, if at all, we as a society have adapted to be cautious of or even accept that people do not always accurately represent themselves online.
III. Methods
This research was conducted using a dual-method approach of an anonymous survey and a series of optional, short-form, individual interviews. The purpose of using two methods was to create a quantitative understanding of the make-up of various social media platforms while also providing qualitative insight into why certain decisions are made when constructing online identities and what judgements are made by social media users to themselves and others. While the survey focuses on the social media platforms Instagram, LinkedIn, and various dating apps, discussions in individual interviews mention other platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Facebook.
Survey
An anonymous survey collected responses using a snowball convenience sample. The survey was made anonymous in an effort to motivate participants to be as honest as possible with their answers. It generated a total of 110 responses, however 10 had to be omitted due to their lack of completion. The survey consisted of a total of twenty-three questions, including multiple choice and descriptive answers. The number of questions presented to respondents were conditional based on which social media platforms they selected for having used presently or in the past. The method of survey was selected in part due to the nature of being able to quickly obtain results, given the timeframe of this project. The survey was pretested among peers to gain a better understanding of what was necessary to include when exploring this topic (Rosenberry & Vicker, 2022).
The specific social media platforms examined in the survey were Instagram, LinkedIn, and various dating apps dependent on the usage of the respondent including Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, and Grindr. Of the various social media platforms, 97 respondents had used Instagram, 91 had used LinkedIn and 54 had used dating apps all either currently or in the past. Of the four dating apps and 54 respondents, 45 had used Tinder, 25 had used Bumble, 34 had used Hinge and two had used Grindr.
The only demographical data collected from the survey was age by generation (the birth years of which were determined by the U.S. Census Bureau), and gender. Of the total respondents, 89 were of Generation Z (1997-2013). Two identified as Millennials (1981-1996), five were of Generation X (1965-1980) and four identified as Baby Boomers (1946-1964). Of all participants, 71 identified as women, 29 as men. Respondents were given the option to provide contact information if they were interested in participating in a follow-up individual interview.
Individual Interview
Of the 100 survey respondents, eight elected to participate in individual interviews. Participants varied in age, race, gender, and sexuality. Participants were all asked the same questions which differed from that of the survey questions. They were asked whether or not they personally believed there to be a societal expectation that people embellish their identities on the internet. If they answered yes, they were asked whether or not they believed that to contribute to a distrust of online media. Additionally, they were asked what motivations they personally believed contributed to people presenting themselves differently online compared to real life. Some interviewees even offered insight into their own personal motivations for altering their identity online. Interviews primarily served the purpose of providing more specificity of survey answers, as well as to analyze whether or not there was commonality or a trend, (Rosenberry & Vicker, 2022).
All responses to the survey as well as information and quotes collected from individual interviews are kept anonymous. Participants were only asked for contact information if they voluntarily elected to participate in individual interviews.
IV. Findings
Table 1: Number of Survey Respondents By Platform
| Total | Dating Apps | ||||||
| Total | Tinder | Bumble | Hinge | Grindr | |||
| 100 | 97 | 91 | 54 | 45 | 25 | 34 | 2 |
The combination of both qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey provided various insights into the ways in which people alter their identities not only by digitally manipulating photos but also embellishing information. Interviews in particular provided insight into the thinking behind posting on social media, both before and after, as well as the interpretations of other people’s posting behavior. It is evident based on responses to both methods that users of social media in general not only care about their own self-concept, but how perceptions of themselves by others impact their own self-esteem. Motivations for altering identity online varied dependent on platform and gender.
RQ1: How and in what ways do people change/shape their identities online?
Across all social media examined through the survey, participants were asked if they had ever digitally altered photos using apps such as Photoshop or Facetune for each respective platform and in what ways (Table 2).
Table 2: Method of Digitally Altering Photos Across Platforms
| Platform | Total Number of Users | Users Who Digitally Altered Photos | Teeth Whitening | Adjusting Body Part Sizes | Removing Imperfections (acne, hair, wrinkles, undereye bags, etc.) | Adding Makeup Filters |
| 97 | 48 | 34 | 18 | 30 | 3 | |
| 91 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Dating Apps | 54 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
Of all respondents who currently use or have used Instagram, nearly half indicated that they had digitally altered photos for Instagram posts in ways that included teeth whitening, adjusting body part sizes and removing imperfections. For LinkedIn, seven respondents said they had digitally altered photos for the platform, while 83 said they had not. The only ways in which photos were digitally manipulated for LinkedIn included teeth whitening and removing imperfections. Of the 54 survey participants who currently use dating apps or have in the past, eight affirmatively answered to having digital altered photos for the platforms. Nearly one-third of respondents indicated they had used a photo for dating apps in which they looked significantly different to their current self.
RQ2: To what extent do people fabricate their identities online?
Of the 97 Instagram users, 21 said they have only digitally altered photos for Instagram once, while 27 said “sometimes,” and 49 said they never had. For LinkedIn, three respondents indicated they had used an AI generated image for their LinkedIn profile picture. Half of the participants indicated they had embellished information on their LinkedIn profile including their resumé/work experience. For dating apps, three respondents had falsified their height, two had embellished their occupation, and two had used a different name that was not theirs or an iteration/nickname of their name. Overall, 11 percent of participants said they had explicitly and intentionally been dishonest on Instagram, LinkedIn, or dating apps for any purpose, including making up a persona or using another person’s identity to access certain information.
RQ3: In what ways do people construct online identities differently depending on the social media platform?
Nearly half of Instagram users (49.5%) had digitally altered their photos, while only 15% of dating app users and 8% of LinkedIn users did so. However, LinkedIn, which inherently consists of more written posts and is information-sharing driven, saw nearly one-third of users embellish information about their work experience.
One interviewee said, “I think it depends on what you use social media for… Are you using it to catch up with other people or to feel good about yourself?” Certain social media, like LinkedIn for example, are intended for specific purposes, in this case job searches and highlighting career successes. In comparison to dating apps, which are designed with the intent of forming romantic relationships for users, motivations for altering one’s identity for each is likely to vary due to the more relevant importance of physical attraction.
RQ4: Why do people fabricate, select, or transform their identities on social media? For what reason?
Only 30 survey respondents chose to disclose reasoning and motivations for altering their identities (Table 3). Within individual interviews, all eight respondents referenced the notion of people constructing and even embellishing their identities online as a means of putting their “best self” out there. One interviewee gave an example saying, “My friend recently moved, and my other friend said to me [referencing the former’s Instagram] ‘my god she is just living the life, she seems so happy,’ and I said, ‘I do know that she’s not happy, she’s really lonely.’” Survey participants who responded with “other” offered explanations such as “using AI to remove a mirror in the background of my image,” and “I used to alter photos for Instagram but more to play around with how photos looked with filters.”
Another female interviewee responded, “The first time I had altered a photo was actually when I had taken pictures with my friend in high school, and she started editing photos and even editing me. At first, I was like, ‘don’t do that’ but then I saw it had made me look better and I posted it.” However, that same interviewee has said that she no longer edits her photos. When she was asked why she believed others altered their identities online she said, “I think people present themselves differently online because you are doing it get affirmation and validation… why else would you post?… It’s to show people what you’re doing and what you look like.” Other interviewees referenced likes being a focal point of posting on social media, particularly Instagram. Several mentioned paying attention to how many likes posts would get and what kinds of posts would garner more likes versus another.
Table 3: Motivations Regarding Altering Identities Online
| Motivation | ||
| Male | Female | |
| To feel more confident/less insecure | 2 | 15 |
| Anonymity | 2 | 5 |
| To increase chances of receiving a job, relationship, etc. | 1 | 6 |
| To gain access to certain information/pages/profiles | 0 | 5 |
| Because I can | 2 | 6 |
| Other | 1 | 3 |
The Role of Gender
This research suggests that women are more likely to digitally alter their appearance online. Women were more likely to digitally alter across all platforms, but a majority (44 of 68) did so primarily for Instagram. Of those 44, 27 said they have done so more than once. Four out of 29 male respondents who used Instagram had digitally altered photos. Additionally, two had done so for LinkedIn and one had done so for dating apps. Male respondents said they had whitened their teeth and/or removed imperfections such as acne or hair.
Table 4: Characteristics of Altering Online Identities By Gender
(not including digitally manipulating photos)
| Social Media Characteristic | ||||
| Female | Percentage | Male | Percentage | |
| Been intentionally dishonest on social media | 8 | 11.3% | 3 | 10.3% |
| Used an AI generated LinkedIn profile picture | 1 | 1.4% | 2 | 6.9% |
| Embellished information on LinkedIn | 22 | 31% | 5 | 17.2% |
| Falsified their height on a dating app | 1 | 1.4% | 2 | 6.9% |
| Used a different name on a dating app | 1 | 1.4% | 1 | 3.4% |
| Embellished their occupation on a dating app | 1 | 1.4% | 1 | 3.4% |
| Used photos for dating apps in which they looked significantly different | 14 | 19.8% | 2 | 6.9% |
Male participants were more likely to falsify characteristics such as their height, name, or occupation, while female respondents were more likely to use photos in which they looked different, and even digitally alter photos (Table 4). Women were also more than twice as likely to embellish information on their LinkedIn compared to men. Both men and women shared the same likelihood of being intentionally or explicitly dishonest on social media. When given the opportunity to further explain why they had altered their identity online, one male respondent said, “I remove imperfections that are not permanent and do not define me.”
In conversations throughout individual interviews with female respondents, four female respondents identifying as Gen-Z each brought up the notion of “unrealistic beauty standards” that they said were perpetuated through social media. They had said social media contributed to increased insecurity revolving around traits such as body image/weight and acne. Additionally, they attributed greater societal beauty standards that are often enforced by influential users on social media to insecurity.
Ultimately, 68% of the sample had at least once altered their identity on social media. 11 out of 29 men surveyed had altered their identity online and 56 out of 71 women had. This included participants having falsified or embellished information and/or digitally altered photos across any of the three social media platforms studied at least once. In addition to confidence, one interviewee stated that they believed the purpose of social media to be centered around receiving validation based on likes and comments. Additionally, interviewees agreed that they felt there is a larger understanding within society and on social media that most people are not their full and honest selves.
V. Discussion
It is evident based on this research that social media users, particularly women, are greatly concerned with how they are perceived online. In addition to the affordances built into social media including likes and comments, for example, appearance especially plays a large role in posts themselves, paving the way for measurable assessments of physical attractiveness.
All the eight individual interviewees mentioned that they believed one of the main reasons people may alter their identities online (either by embellishing information about themselves and their experiences, or digitally altering their physical appearance) is to present the best version of themselves. One question that stems from this is whether altering one’s identity online can be considered their “best self” if it does not accurately reflect who the person is offline. Better suited language may suggest that majority of people do this to create a more idealized version of how they will be perceived by others.
A majority of respondents answered that one of their motivations for altering their identity online was to feel more confident. The issue of confidence when presenting oneself online points to a larger question of what the purpose social media is in the first place. As one interviewee mentioned, validation is built into social media through responsive affordances such as likes and comments. They are then quantified and subsequently commodified. Pictures themselves become commodities. These findings correspond to this in a study by Baker et al. (2019), where female college students referenced the process of capturing “good” photos, and the pressure and frustration of doing so. Students also mentioned how it feels good to receive “lots of likes,” and inversely feels bad to not receive a certain amount of likes in a short amount of time.
Interviewees attributed an unattainable standard of beauty that they have noticed throughout social media—particularly Instagram—to specific posing like sucking in their stomach or flexing muscles, filtering and digitally altering photos, and diet culture. It should be further emphasized that actions taken when digitally manipulating photos such as adjusting body part sizes and removing imperfections like wrinkles or pimples further stigmatizes matters of natural aging, as well as weight gain/loss and acne. In addition to stigmatization, such edits when taken too far can create an unhealthy or physically impossible standard of beauty, such as minimizing an individual’s waist to an unrealistic extent or blurring one’s skin so there is no texture.
A question that has emerged out of this research is why women are over twice as likely to alter their identity, particularly their physical appearance, over men. As previously stated, multiple participants attributed social media use to their increased insecurity of how they were perceived. One answer may be that women feel more societal pressure in regard to their appearances compared to men. Previous studies have shown that since one’s perception of beauty can change based on even minimal exposure, repeated exposure to certain characteristics can further influence and shape one’s perception of beauty (Maymone et al., 2019, as cited in Laughter et al., 2023). Results from this study confirming that men were more likely to embellish information whereas women were more likely to digitally alter their physical appearance aligns with the study from Kolesnyk et al. (2021) in which researchers referenced primal factors of attractiveness by gender.
Additionally, there may be real-world social motivations in individuals’ altering their identities online, particularly physical appearance. In Klebl et al. (2022), researchers found that people who were considered attractive were awarded with association of positive moral traits more so than those deemed unattractive. Interviewees in this current study referenced that on social media much of the beauty standards perpetuated were done so by female celebrities and influencers and sometimes even peers. These posts could be considered exhibitions, as Hogan (2010) referenced them, that may function to appeal to patriarchal-based interests.
Many studies have been conducted on how patriarchal and heteronormative interests influence societal pressure of women to conform to beauty standards. For example, a series of studies conducted by Ramati-Ziber et al. (2020), found that women not only felt more pressure to pursue certain beauty standards via the phenomenon known as “the prescriptive beauty norm,” but that it was reinforced by appearance-based discrimination in the workplace, particularly by characterized “sexist” male counterparts or superiors. Further, a study by Rollero (2022) found that in heterosexual relationships women were not only more likely to internalize mass media beauty standards, but subsequently surveille their own figures. Their male partners were more likely to surveille their partner’s body/figure, and not surveille their own bodies.
As stated in the findings section, all interviewees agreed that there is a general assumption that most people are not their full and honest selves online. Many of them affirmed this logic by saying that the inherent purpose of social media to showcase the best aspects of individuals’ lives. Additionally, because only 30% of survey respondents provided insight into what their motivations were for altering their identity online, this could point to an idea that people either do not consider alterations of their identity online to be inherently deceptive, or perhaps that they do recognize that they may appear deceptive and are reluctant to accept that it may be perceived as wrong. Due to the anonymous nature of the survey, along with other limitations in this research, it makes it difficult to discern how deceptive people consider certain alterations of identity online to be.
A primary limitation for this research is the small sample size, including only 100 respondents. Based on the demographical data collected from the sample it is clear that the sample was not reflective of the greater population. A majority of the sample consisted of Gen-Z women, who only makes up a little over 10% of the U.S. population and nearly 15% of the global population. Because the only demographical data collected from the survey was gender and age, there is no way to tell whether the sample was representative of the greater population with respect to race, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.
VI. Conclusion
This study examined in what ways and to for what reasons people may alter their identities across various social media including Instagram, LinkedIn and dating apps. This research confirmed that majority of people, 68% of the sample examined, have digitally manipulated their physical appearance or embellished information about themselves online at least once.
Gender also played a large role in the motivations behind why people altered their identities online, with women being twice as likely to alter their identity on social media in some way. It found that 78.9% of women were likely to alter their identity in some way compared to 37.9% of men. The study also confirmed that women were more likely to alter their physical appearance while men were more likely to alter information about themselves.
Motivations for altering identities online varied by platform and general intent. A majority of respondents altered their identity to create a greater sense of self-concept and to feel less insecure. In some instances, especially with female users, the creation of greater self-concept emerged as a result of submitting to societal pressure regarding beauty standards.
Potential future research opportunities could focus solely on women and motivations for altering identity online, further seeking reasoning behind feelings of societal pressure to digitally manipulate photos or embellish information online. A qualitative analysis on the history of beauty standards in media and its impact on female audience members may point to specificities regarding internalization of societal pressures.
Additionally, future research could examine how people of a larger sample of different genders, ages, races, sexualities, and even education levels alter their identities online, even perhaps across more platforms with different temporal affordances such as Snapchat or tailored to video content such as TikTok.
Further, because beauty standards vary greatly based on culture, future studies could examine how people of different regions of the world feel pressure to or do conform to beauty standards. Studies could even explore the impact of western beauty standards on the rest of the world through the lens of social media.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the principal investigator and advisor of this research project, Dr. Daniel M. Haygood for his continued support from ideation to the IRB application, to research, to publication. Thank you to additional Elon University faculty Dr. Kenn Gaither, Dr. Karen Lindsey and Dr. Devin Proctor for their support and encouragement throughout this project. I would also like to thank Professor Bill Anderson, who had taught my Strategic Research Methods class, for pushing me to ask questions and instigating my interested in research and data. Lastly, thank you to fellow classmates of Dr. Haygood’s Great Ideas: Issues and Research class who provided attention and constructive feedback to this project.
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