Backstage in the Digital Age: Goffman’s Dramaturgy and the Shifting Boundaries of Online, Offline, and Private Behavior

This paper reinterprets Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to examine the interplay between online and offline behavior, with particular attention to the boundaries between public and private life. Central to Goffman’s framework is the idea of a “backstage” space where individuals retreat from performative roles, preparing or engaging in more candid behavior. In digital environments, however, the distinction between front stage and backstage becomes increasingly fluid, as social media and messaging platforms invite constant negotiation of self-presentation. Examples like finsta accounts, anonymous forums, and encrypted messaging apps illustrate how digital spaces provide new, hybrid forms of the backstage. Yet, these spaces are neither absolute nor free from intrusion; platform structures, surveillance mechanisms, and the viral spread of content mean that even private performances can become unexpectedly public. This precariousness highlights a tension between the affordances of technology and the individual's ability to maintain control over identity and privacy. The paper contends that Goffman’s theories remain relevant but require reconfiguration to address the erosion of temporal and spatial boundaries in the digital society. Identity performances online are marked by selective authenticity, as users tailor their front and backstage behavior to different audiences within semi-public or quasi-private contexts. As a result, the digital backstage becomes less a space of full retreat and more a zone of strategic self-management. This theoretical exploration contributes to digital sociology by advancing new insights into how identities are performed, curated, and regulated in the hybrid landscape of online-offline life. It also underscores the need for sociological frameworks to keep pace with a world in which privacy is no longer guaranteed, and even the most intimate spaces may be subject to external scrutiny. Through this lens, the paper offers a nuanced understanding of identity management within the digital age, where public and private boundaries continually shift.