Impression Management to Extended-Self: Effect of WhatsApp Stickers Usage among Young Adults

Digital objects, such as graphicons, have been increasingly used to facilitate communication across social media (SM) networks among young adults. This study investigates the usage of stickers, a type of graphicon, by young adults on WhatsApp from the perspective of the extended self. Self-administered online survey was used to collect data from WhatsApp users aged 18–35 years living in India, and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to analyze the data. Drawing from the theories of impression management (IM) and the extended self, the results indicate that sticker usage on WhatsApp may lead to the formation of an extended self, and this relationship may be mediated by self-promotion and ingratiation. Statistically significant results were obtained based on participant responses in this study, and that construct validity and reliability of the model generated were confirmed. The study contributes to the emerging literature on stickers and extends our understanding of IM and the formation of extended self during WhatsApp communication among young adults.