Conference Program

Over the past fifteen years, social media platforms have become key environments for processes of socialization, identity construction, and the production of social relationships. Digital platforms now represent central spaces of interaction and self-representation in which individuals construct and negotiate their public identities within environments characterized by constant social visibility (boyd, 2014; Papacharissi, 2011). However, social media practices are not homogeneous across generations, but reflect different ways of engaging with public visibility, self-presentation, and the management of others’ gaze. This paper proposes an exploratory reflection on generational transformations in social media practices, focusing in particular on the differences between Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha.

Generations who encountered social media in adulthood or late adolescence - particularly Gen X and Millennials - tend to use these platforms as an extension of their offline lives. Shared content often serves a narrative and documentary function through which users recount and archive moments of everyday experience, reflecting dynamics of self-presentation similar to those described in classical sociological analyses of social interaction (Goffman, 1959). With Generation Z, a significant shift emerges in the relationship with content publication. In a context characterized by heightened awareness of public scrutiny and platform-based mechanisms of social evaluation, content production appears more carefully curated and aesthetically oriented. Profiles become identity showcases through which users construct selective and stylized representations of themselves, participating in what has been described as an economy of visibility and online reputation (Marwick, 2013; Papacharissi, 2010). With the emergence of Generation Alpha, a further transformation in communication practices can be observed. In this case, the permanence of content gradually loses centrality in favor of more ephemeral communication formats such as stories or other time-limited media. At the same time, a growing tendency toward identity splitting emerges through the management of multiple profiles: on the one hand, a highly controlled public profile often characterized by minimal visible content; on the other, a private account - commonly referred to as a “spam account”- accessible only to a restricted circle of contacts and used for more informal and spontaneous communication. These practices reflect an increasing strategic management of visibility and a renegotiation of the boundaries between private and public spheres in digital environments (boyd, 2014; Turkle, 2011). Through this comparative perspective, the paper suggests that the evolution of social media practices across generations reflects a broader transformation in the relationships between identity, visibility, and digital memory. From the autobiographical dimension typical of early digital users, practices progressively shift toward strategic image management and, more recently, toward communication models based on ephemeral media and segmented online identities. Examining these generational dynamics allows us to better understand how digital platforms are reshaping the ways individuals construct their public selves, negotiate visibility, and manage the boundaries between private and public spheres in contemporary social and educational contexts.