Erving Goffman viewed social life as theatre. We are all performers managing impressions, moving between a 'front stage' where we play our roles and a 'back stage' where we drop the mask. A waiter is warm and composed before diners, then vents in the kitchen. A student projects confidence in class and doubt in private.
Goffman called this 'dramaturgy': the self is not a fixed thing hidden inside us but something continuously produced through interaction, props, and audiences. Social media has turned nearly everyone into a full-time front-stage performer, blurring the line Goffman drew. His work invites a gentle question—when, if ever, are we truly off stage?