Young People’s Uses and Understandings of Online Social Networks in Their Everyday Lives

Abstract

This article examines young people’s uses and understandings of social networking sites and instant messaging tools within the context of their everyday lives. It draws upon data from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded qualitative study, ‘Young people’s creative understanding of their mediaworlds’ (2008–10), in which young people aged 14–15 from six locations across England created ‘identity boxes’ which were meant to reflect their identities and the place of media in their lives. The results demonstrate that young people considered and negotiated their online practices in relation to three primary areas: ‘Connecting and convenience’, ‘Openness and control’ and ‘Privacy and authenticity’. In doing so the article reveals nuanced insights into young people’s online media use and communication, and contributes empirically to knowledge about young people’s online practices within their everyday lives.