Identity, Sexuality, and Relationships among Emerging Adults in the Digital Age (original) (raw)
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Identity Development in the Digital Age: An Eriksonian Perspective
In this chapter, the authors explore the role that networked platforms play in identity development during emerging adulthood. They use the stories of two youth to highlight dominant themes from existing research and to examine the developmental implications of forming one’s identity in a networked era. The inquiry is theoretically informed by the work of the psychologist Erik Erikson, who depicted identity development as a process of exploration that ultimately results in a sense of personal continuity and coherence. The authors consider what insights this theory—formulated in the mid-twentieth century—has to offer in a digital world. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the practical implications relating to education, policy, and the design of new technologies.
Identity Development in the Digital Age
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Youth are growing up amid profound sociocultural change driven by the worldwide spread of the Internet and social media that position the individual at the center of expansive social networks unrestricted by physical propinquity. This chapter reviews literature on the use of social networking sites among adolescents and emerging adults in Western societies and stakes out potential implications for identity development, arguing that social networking sites usher in new practices and meanings for interpersonal relatedness and personal autonomy that adolescents and emerging adults must negotiate during the process of exploration and commitment in identity formation. The concept of customized sociality as well as personal self-expression are key to managing these large social networks. Customized sociality and self-expression are cultural practices that manifest an emphasis on autonomy during identity development; however, ironically, evidence suggests that social networking sites may also foster a reliance on others to validate one's identity claims, value, and self-worth.
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Erikson Online: Identity and Pseudospeciation in the Internet Age
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An Eriksonian perspective posits the importance of the societal context in which the individual develops. Part and parcel of that approach is a consideration of how contemporary technology might affect development. This article examines the impact of the defining technology of contemporary society—the Internet—on individual development of Millennials. Specifically, it delineates how the characteristics and affordances of the Internet may impact those elements of identity formation that may contribute to a sense of pseudospeciation. The focus is on the particular challenges of the Internet age on both identity formation and pseudospeciation at a time in which Millennials begin to undertake positions of influence in both their personal and professional lives. The challenges and possibilities inherent in the above are outlined and discussed.
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Adolescents are at a stage in life where their sense-of-self and identity are evolving. With increasing access to ever-more advanced technologies, it is important to explore the implications for the adolescents who use them. This research aimed to examine the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of adolescent identities through an exploration of the design choices and social practices of elementary students on two social networking sites. Using a mixed-method research approach of qualitative case study analysis and quantitative surveying, we investigated the relationship between a multiliteracies pedagogy and the development of adolescent digital literacies and identity. Findings from the research indicate that social networking sites provide youth a platform in which to explore their identity. With such features as status updates, video/photo uploads, discussion threads and the 'like' and comments functions, these sites facilitated social interaction and identity performance amongst the students during class time and after-school. To maximise the academic and social affordances, however, it is necessary to build in lessons and/or scaffolding to encourage thoughtful and genuine online interaction.
This chapter focuses on the changes in sex education among young adults in Uganda and Kenya. Sex education was previously done through paternal aunties and grandparents. However, in the recent past,the proliferation of social media especially Facebook has seen sex education shift to this social media. Using mostly qualitative methods and limited quantitative information, the chapter explores the ease with which sex information; some laced with sexually explicit photographs, has become so easy to access. Some of the shared information is empowering say about fashion, information about safe sex, relationship advice, connecting with people of the opposite sex as well developing identity formation and the freedom about one’s body through the likes and positive comments made on Photos posted on Facebook walls. However, some of this information has led to cases of risk behavior like freelance sex, exposure to nudity, sharing of nude photos with boyfriends and girlfriends as well as pathological revenge porn by jilted lovers.
The Internet and Adolescent Sexual Identity
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This chapter considers the potential role of the Internet in the process of adolescent sexual identity construction. It starts by providing evidence of the ever-increasing role the Internet is playing in the lives of adolescents and by considering the potential impact such a technology is likely to have given the transitional nature of the adolescent brain. A consideration of theoretical approaches for understanding the role the Internet is likely to play in individuals’ sexual self-identity development is then undertaken. A review of the specific role Internet communication technologies have come to play in the process of adolescent sexual socialization is then carried out. In doing so the authors argue that future research addressing the role of the Internet in the process of adolescent sexual socialization and identity development must consider both the specific structure of the adolescent brain and the unique nature of the Internet as a source of information and an opportunity for social networking.
Over the past two decades, advancements in technology has drastically change the way people communicate, collaborate, and more readily express themselves to others. With these advancements, the process of developing a public persona- a digital identity in this setting- has evolved based off individual’s access to tools that foster development. From the initial simple forms of email, through instant messaging, online journals and blogs, and the current trends of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, the number of interactions one participates in has increased dramatically, and has provided an external outlet to explore different intersectionalities of oneself. By placing their diversities in a digital format, they remove an aspect of the personal nature that may allow stages of identity formation to occur in a more communal environment. We are exploring this hypothesis of online identity formation in relation to the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual population. In this exploration, we will utilize the McCarn and Fassinger (1996) LGB identity formation model in conjunction with practices and theories of digital identity development to discover commonalities between the two concepts. In doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding of how members of the LGB community utilize online tools. Additionally, we will take a historic perspective of these tools and their impact on this population. Following this, we will display a series of micro-case studies and link them to an associated developmental stage. We will conclude with an overview on potential practices and implication for student affairs professionals.
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Teens, including young teens, are using digital tools, including social networking sites at a rapidly growing pace (Madden, Lenhart, & Duggan, 2013). However, few studies have addressed the social networking practices of young teens. In this study, I attempted to address a gap in the current literature by investigating the online identity construction of a 14 year-old female who avidly participated on social networking sites. The purpose of this study was to examine a mid-adolescent‟s use of social networking and what this use might reveal about her identity construction. The following questions guided the research: • What are a mid-adolescent‟s thoughts as she decides what to post on social networking sites to represent herself? • What do the tools and social practices she uses reveal about her online identity construction? • What kinds of identities does she present on social networking sites? This study was grounded in a sociocultural understanding of language, particularly that ...