Abstract

AMANTE, Lúcia; CRISTOVAO, Maria Do Rosário; OLIVEIRA, Paula  and  MENDES, Sandra. Young and network identity construction processes: the case of Facebook. Educ. Form. Tecnol. [online]. 2014, vol.7, n.2, pp.26-38. ISSN 1646-933X.  https://doi.org/10.1646‐933X-v7n2201407120003.

By participating in social networks, young people seek not only information, but, more importantly, to build and insert themselves actively in a social network of relations, which becomes a fundamental part of building their own identity and as a mean to assure their character. According to the research in the area, the interaction developed between young people has effects on a superficial social dimension but it also has significant effects on the construction of the selfrepresentation. Based on the most popular social network, Facebook, we want study how teenagers express their identity in this context, considering implicit and explicit processes of self-presentation. It is also our goal to understand the construction of identity and nature of the relationship between the online and offline world. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, as we analyzed the Facebook pages of a group of young people, aged between 12 and 18 years. We do not intend to generalize the results, but we can say that forms of construction /affirmation of identity have been clarified in this social network, indicating the predominant role of the picture as well as the close relationship between the online and offline world of adolescents.

Keywords : Facebook; identity construction; young people; Social networks..

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