Analisis Impression Management Pelaku Love Scaming

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impression management strategies employed by love scammers through the lens of Erving Goffman’s Dramaturgical Theory. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, the research applies qualitative content analysis to three YouTube video contents as primary data sources, namely videos published by CNBC Indonesia, Kumparan, and Grace Tahir. The units of analysis encompass verbal narratives, visual symbols, and identity representations. Data analysis is conducted through dramaturgical categorization, including front stage, back stage, and impression management techniques, alongside interpretations of computer-mediated communication and hyperpersonal interaction. The findings reveal that love scammers consistently construct a front stage characterized by high-status professional identities, religious and empathetic personas, and affluent lifestyles to foster trust and emotional intimacy. Behind this performance, the perpetrators’ back stage exposes the reality of organized criminal syndicates driven solely by financial extraction motives. Impression management strategies such as love bombing, empathy exploitation, professional mystification, and the fabrication of artificial crises is shown to be highly effective in manipulating victims, including cognitively intelligent individuals categorized as the “lonely smart.” Digital media functions as a dramaturgical stage that enables perpetrators to control narratives, filter information, and produce simulacra of romantic relationships that victims ultimately perceive as authentic reality.