From Lessons to Likes: Exploring Pakistani English Teachers’ Instagram Brand Identities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.62843/jssr.v6i4.790Keywords:
Teacher Identity, Personal Branding, Instagram, Looking-Glass Self, English Language Teaching, PakistanAbstract
The use of social media has become a daily practice in modern times. It has also been observed that teachers and students frequently use it for academic purposes. This study examined how Pakistani English instructors build their Instagram identities, what factors drove these teachers to build Instagram identities, and how students perceive them. The sample comprised six Pakistani English teachers and 18 student followers. The framework of Looking-Glass Self theory has been employed to determine how English teachers construct their Instagram identities in the Pakistani context, how students perceive these identities, and what impact these perceptions have on the content of their Instagram profiles. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. The responses of the participants were analyzed through a thematic analysis. This thematic analysis revealed three different identities (‘professional self’, ‘role model self’, and ‘influencer self’) that Pakistani instructors wished to build on Instagram. The results revealed Pakistani instructors’ preference towards maintaining professional self and role model self as compared to influencer self, which may be due to the conventional image of a teacher in Pakistani society. The study also highlights the impact of feedback from followers on the self-perception of instructors and their choice of techniques to build Instagram brand identities. The findings highlight the relationship between social media and teacher identity in Pakistan and have significant implications for language teachers’ education and research.
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