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Abstract:The findings from this qualitative study provide a comprehensive typology of Instagram users and elaborate their discourse portraits through analyzing Instagram posts, comments, and profiles. This study explores the ways in which Instagram users express themselves within the digital landscape. By analyzing the interplay between visual and textual elements, the semiotic mechanisms that users employ to convey their personal and social identities are uncovered. The discourse portraits of Instagram users are shaped by their choice of language, in particular, the selection of the appropriate role, time and space deixis reflecting the three types of Instagram users-creators, attractors and participants. Through the application of profiling method in linguistics and critical discourse analysis, this research identifies key themes and patterns in user-generated content, revealing how the identities are articulated on Instagram social media platform. This integrated approach allows for a nuanced understanding of how Instagram users construct and maintain their online identities. This investigation aims to enhance the understanding of the dynamic and performative nature of online identity in contemporary digital culture. The study also highlights the role of Instagram as a platform for social interaction and identity performance, where users navigate the tensions between self-expression and audience expectation. This paper contributes to the understanding of digital identity construction by demonstrating how the profiling method in linguistics provides a framework for analyzing the dynamic and complex ways in which users engage with and contribute to the evolving discourse on social media. Ultimately, this research underscores the importance of considering both linguistic and visual elements in the study of online communication and the construction of contemporary digital identities. |