Picture Perfect or Picture True: A Comparative Study on Social Media Profile Picture Presentation and Motivations for Use among Chinese and American from Cultural Perspective

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

This research explores the impact of cultural contexts on the choice and significance of social media avatars, focusing particularly on the contrasting behaviors of users in China and the United States, which represent the two largest global social media markets. Avatars, as visual representations of users online, offer a unique lens to examine implicit behaviors and self-perceptions, as they make manifest aspects of individuals’ identities that may remain concealed in traditional forms of communication. The disparities in avatar selection between these two cultures are striking: while US users predominantly opt for authentic photographs, Chinese users display a preference for idealized or virtual images, such as anime, animals, or landscapes, often employing filters and beautification tools when their own images are used. The aim of this study is to scrutinize these differences in avatar styles, analyzing how varying cultural definitions of the ‘self’ and differing value systems influence personal definition and expression. In-depth interviews with social media users from both countries were conducted to corroborate these theories and provide firsthand accounts of user experiences. The central conclusion of this research posits that the divergences in avatar choices between Chinese and American users are primarily driven by distinct cultural conceptualizations of the ‘self’ and the varying influence of societal values on self-definition in the two countries. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the intersection of technology, culture, and identity, highlighting the role of social media as a platform for self-expression and cross-cultural understanding.