W4.2 Goffman's book, Self-Presentation in Daily Life —JIA YUAN

 1. My progress

Recently, I read Erving Goffman's sociological classic, "Self-Presentation in Daily Life," and have now completed the first three chapters. One of the core viewpoints in the book is to compare social interaction to a "stage performance," arguing that everyone is an actor in their daily life, playing different roles in various contexts. This analogy is both vivid and inspiring, giving me a fresh perspective on seemingly ordinary social behavior.

While reading, I was particularly impressed by the concepts of "front-end" and "back-end." Goveman notes that people present images that meet societal expectations at the "front desk," such as being good students in class and polite customers in restaurants; in the "backstage," they can relax, shed their masks, and showcase their more authentic selves. This distinction, though simple, greatly enhances my understanding of the mechanisms behind interpersonal interactions. For instance, when I performed interactive observation tasks by singing orders at a fast-food restaurant, I broke the "front desk" rule, eliciting reactions from those around me, which precisely illustrates how carefully we maintain our roles on stage in our daily lives.

2. Interesting? Difficult?

Although the theoretical part of this book is excellent, it is undeniable that some challenges were encountered while reading it. Goffman used many technical terms, such as "performance breakdown," "impression management," and "team performance," which require specific case studies to truly understand. Moreover, since this book was published in the 1950s, with some of its language styles and examples being rather outdated, more effort must be devoted to extracting the underlying universal principles when reading it. But once these concepts are understood, they become widely applicable and can even explain many phenomena in modern society.

Especially worth noting is that, despite being written several decades ago, this book still holds significant practical relevance for today's social media era. Now, almost everyone has a "front-end self" on social platforms, showcasing their life through carefully selected photos, text, and tags, and running a "persona." And in reality, the "backend" is hidden outside the photo album or beyond the permissions of WeChat Moments. This online self-presentation process is actually an extension of what Goffman describes as "impression management." People continuously control others' perceptions and evaluations of themselves through content editing and publishing.

3. I think this is a good book for social science students in the 2020s?

For social science students in the 2020s, this book is definitely worth reading. It not only offers a fresh perspective on human behavior but also helps us understand many complex phenomena in contemporary society. For example, "professional image" in the workplace, "role-playing" in romantic relationships, "group performances" at friend gatherings, and even online "filter culture" can all be analyzed using Goffman's theory. This ability to "see through everyday life" is a fundamental trait that every social science learner should possess.

In summary, while "Self-Presentation in Daily Life" may be somewhat obscure in language, its content is rich and inspiring, making it a book that can truly transform how people perceive society. Reading it not only helped me understand my own interactive observation experiments but also sparked more interest and reflection on seemingly "ordinary" social behaviors in my daily life. I believe this book will continue to offer me new insights in my future studies and life.