LinkedIn as a platform: The pragmatic strategies of self-presentation and self-praise

The employment of social networking sites (SNS) for self-presentation and self-praise is widespread throughout cultures; however, it has rarely been examined inside the Iranian environment. This study examined the pragmatic methods of self-presentation and self-praise to elucidate the underlying ideology of these tactics in social networking sites (SNS). Utilizing the qualitative analysis, the researchers identified 262 LinkedIn accounts to examine the mini-corpus of Iranian professional users. Drawing on MAXQDA, the researchers assigned distinct codes through content analysis, organized them into categories, and subsequently synthesized themes. The research indicated that Iranian users employ self-presentation and self-praise techniques to project an ideal image and promote the self. The results indicate that Iranian LinkedIn users employ speech acts to get recognition, affecting job recruiters. The study's implications for recruiters and employers to enhance their LinkedIn profiles and to be seen in their professions are discussed and elaborated on. • The employment of Social Networking Sites (e.g., LinkedIn) for self-presentation and self-praise is important. • Analyzing the corpus of LinkedIn profiles by MAXQDA software, the researchers allocated a separate coding for each independent strategy, then classified and synthesized emerging themes. • The study suggested educators presented their experience and qualification through self-presentation strategy and self-praise tactics to display an ideal image and to promote the self. • Thematic analysis, used to analyse the corpus, highlighted the users' tendency toward utilizing assertive self-presentation, including ingratiation, entitlement, augmentation, basking, and exemplification. • Likewise, they tended to use more indirect and implicit self-praise, i.e., evidential and proxy brag using upgrading modifiers contrary to degrading devices which are rarely observed. • The findings highlight the LinkedIn users draw on different speech acts and strategies to attract the readers' attention and gain credit and social status that bear some implications for job recruiters and organisations.