Sprache als Mittel zur Identitätssuche in medizinischen Internetforen

The fictitious self-portrayal in social media is often seen as a form of self-deception, with internet users consciously creating an artificial pseudo-identity in online life that temporarily suppresses their real identity in offline life. However, various studies have shown that such construction of an alternative, sometimes very different identity does not only entail risks, but potentials too, and can even contribute to reflective self-discovery. Scientific interest has focused so far on social networks such as Facebook or MySpace, where self-presentation has been a central concern right from the start. Nevertheless, it seems instructive to also focus on forums, because the various configurations of this form of communication produce different types of self-portrayal: while in discussion forums the exchange of subjective opinions can lead to an expansion of the writer's ego, giving way to altered identities which only exist in online life, help forums tend to highlight a specific partial aspect of the real identity, precisely the aspect which is associated with the problem to be solved. People seeking advice have really no interest in appearing better or other than they are, so their concern is to try and be so objective as possible in their self-presentations. In medical forums patients very often identify with their illness, which they describe in a detailed manner. The paper shall discuss the cases of two self-help forums, showing that the selective self-presentation through symptomatic self-awareness, i.e., the careful description of the symptoms felt, is primarily a search for the true self by means of language.