Usernames of Ghanaian University Students on Whatsapp: An Electronic Socio-Onomastic Study

Abstract

Several studies have been carried out on names, and how names are used as linguistic resource for identity construction in the traditional offline society. The advent of internet has led to the formation of online communities where offline socio-cultural practices such as naming and identity construction have been transported to. Consequentially, this study sought to investigate the categories of username students of the University of Cape Coast use on WhatsApp, the factors that influenced their choice of usernames and how they use these names to construct their online identity. Using Kozinets’ netnographic approach and the concepts of virtual community, symbolic interactionism and Goffman’s presentation of self in everyday life, as well as Aldrin’s theory on naming and identity, 138 usernames were analysed. The findings indicated that the students used real names, nicknames and other symbols such as emojis as their WhatsApp usernames. The choice of the usernames was due to several factors such as the desire for easy identification, to be anonymous, to reflect the character of a popular person, and also to inform about some happenings in the participants’ immediate environment. The findings also showed that the students used their usernames to construct their religious, music, academic, institutional or group affiliation, family, sports, and self identities. The study contributes to the general scholarship on names and identity and also makes significant contributions to internet naming practices in particular.