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@article{190468,
        author = {Dr. Priyadarsini. P.G and Dr. D. Vishnuvardhan},
        title = {Digital Reputation and Aura Debt: Managing Online Image in the Age of Reels},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {3792-3798},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190468},
        abstract = {In the modern digital environment, specifically short-form video features of social media platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have greatly redefined the formation and maintenance of individual digital reputation. This paper examines a newer idea of aura debt, a popular cultural construct that is applied to describe the loss of perceived social credibility, confidence, or coolness due to online embarrassment, negative feedback or viral blunders. With the rise of digital interactions in the personal identity and social perceptions of an individual, aura debt is seen as the intensified pressure that people experience in ensuring they are perfect and socially confirmed online. The abstract analyses the role played by sustained exposure, visibility, and assessment by viewers to enhance reputational vulnerability in the reel era. Even such simple errors as awkward expressions, content that is poorly received or unintended controversies can quickly spread like wildfire, causing reputational tension and emotional impact. The article points to the importance of performative self-presentation, quantifiable metrics of validation, including likes and comments, and meme culture as some of the factors that increase both the gains and losses of digital reputation. Moreover, it explains how users willingly follow the aura recovery strategies, such as content curation, humour, authenticity, and strategic silence to rebuild credibility and trust among the audience. This paper has demonstrated the importance of aura debt in terms of digital culture, social psychology, and management of online identity, and it concludes that aura debt is a phenomenon to be studied due to the fact that reputation management has ceased to be a prerogative of high-profile personalities and has become a pressing issue across the board when it comes to dealing with an ever-present and increasingly interconnected online society.},
        keywords = {},
        month = {January},
        }