Open AccessOnline identity: constructing interpersonal trust and openness through participating in hospitality social networks
Author(s) -
Alexander Ronzhyn
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of education, culture and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2081-1640
DOI - 10.15503/jecs20131.47.56
Subject(s) - openness to experience , hospitality , identity (music) , service (business) , interpersonal communication , sample (material) , social network (sociolinguistics) , sociology , psychology , social psychology , world wide web , public relations , internet privacy , computer science , social media , political science , business , tourism , marketing , aesthetics , philosophy , chemistry , chromatography , law
The present article describes the results of research on online identity construction during the participation in the hospitality social networks. Specifi cally the user references are analy-sed to understand patterns that form the image of a member. CouchSurfi ng service (couch-surfi ng.org) allows users to leave short texts where the experience of hosting/being hosted by a CS member is described, is an evaluation of the CS members of each other’s personal traits, skills and common experience. Therefore references can become a good instrument for portraying a CouchSurfi ng member and understanding his or her particular traits. Refe-rences form an important part of a user’s virtual identity in the network. Using a sample of references of Spanish CouchSurfi ng users, the research established main characteristics of the references, which are the openness, readiness to share ideas and experiences and trustworthi-ness. These concepts illustrate the typical traits associated with a user of the network and also shed light on the activities common during offl ine CS meetings