subscribe to this pageGirl wide web : girls, the Internet, and the negotiation of identity / edited by Sharon R. Mazzarella. [0820471178 (pbk. : alk. paper) ] New York : Peter Lang, c2005.
Call#: Van Pelt Library HQ798 .G525 2005
Call#: Van Pelt Library HQ798 .G525 2005
Looking specifically at the scholarly article entitled, "The Constant Contact Generation: Exploring Teen Friendship Networks Online." By Lynn Schofiend Clark. Pp. 203-221.
This essay examines how teenage girls are using the Internet and online social networks to stay constantly connected to friends and exert power over their social lives, even as they are confined to their parents’ homes. The author cites Giddens’ theory of using new technologies to minimize risk and applies it to how teenage girls use the Internet: They want to bring stability to their social status and peer groups (which is utterly important at that age), and they try to do so by remaining in constant contact. The author interviews teenage girls and attempts to find out, “how young people themselves explain what is important to them about their new media use” (208). What she found was that, as the essay chapter implies, what is important to them is to be always interacting with their peer groups and to get a private space to communicate with friends even within the public space of their home (online is private even when family members are in the same room, as opposed to the telephone). The author also asserts that online networks are a way for teenagers to approach peers and subjects that they might not feel comfortable confronting in person. This is another way in which social networks and online chatting can minimize risk.
Beyond this though, another major function of social networks is to “quantify, measure, and verify one’s popularity with one’s peers” (214). That one is the most problematic to me, as networks become popularity and attractiveness contests – this is definitely seen on facebook.com and MySpace.com. One of the most popular features of these two social networking sites is the ability to upload and tag pictures. In that way, not only can young girls choose pictures that frame their identity in a certain way, but it is also a way to show off what one did the previous weekend and who one’s friends are. Clark discusses the fragility of this age, but does not directly address the physicality that is brought to the forefront in many social networks. However, she does discuss the important element of “control over one’s environment” (216) which expresses itself in the formation of identity and the presentation of an edited/deliberate version of the self. As a side note, there are some other interesting essays in this collection (there are 11 total in this volume) which deal with the gendered nature of Internet interactions and how teenagers take part in fan culture.
tagged gender instant_messaging new_media online_popularity privacy social_networks teens virtual_friends
by rachee
...on 10-MAR-07