Introduction

Social media platforms are cultural spaces (Tagg & Lyons, 2021) where the boundaries between online and offline interaction, as well as local and global practices, converge and merge (Blommaert, 2019; Garcés-Conejos Blitvich, 2022a, b), and the digitization of identity becomes a focal point of study. Internet users claim, negotiate, challenge, and (non)verify self and other identities. Digitally mediated identity construction is still in need of further investigation, especially regarding discursive practices conducted in different varieties of Spanish . This is precisely the objective of the present volume. This introductory chapter specifically discusses the centrality of identity construction to discourse in general and digital discourse in particular. It crucially shows how the authors included in this volume help advance the field with their contributions.