Social media use and personal branding identity of Myanmar freelancers

This study examined social media use, self-expression, professionalism, self-efficacy, self-disclosure, and personal branding identity among Myanmar freelancers, and investigated how these factors influence their personal branding identity on social media. An online survey of 200 freelancers aged 18 to 45 years was conducted. Respondents reported high levels of social media use (M = 4.07), self-expression (M = 4.13), professionalism (M = 4.16), self-efficacy (M = 4.17), personal branding identity (M = 4.30), and a moderately high level of self-disclosure (M = 3.95). Regression results showed that the five variables together explained 24.4 percent of the variance in personal branding identity (R² = 0.244). Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor (β = 0.208), followed by self-expression (β = 0.199) and professionalism (β = 0.175), while social media use and self-disclosure were not significant. These findings indicate that internal confidence and professional conduct play a more important role than platform usage in shaping how Myanmar freelancers develop their personal branding identity online.