Developing a sense of self in the modern world : gaining deeper insight into the role of social media in young peoples’ lives : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2024-12-11
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Massey University
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© The Author
Abstract
In a world where the ability to connect globally and instantaneously has reached a profound level, the challenges and opportunities presented by digital environments are now greater than ever before. The current generation of adolescents represent the first generation to have grown up with 24-hour access to modern social media platforms, and are therefore at the forefront of social, cultural, political, and technological change. Thus, social media platforms now have far-reaching implications for identity development, social interaction, self-presentation, privacy, and connection. However, young peoples’ social media use occurs within a wider public discourse of risk and concern. Therefore, the aims of the research were to explore young peoples’ positive experiences of social media platforms, identify the narratives used by young people in discussing their online engagement, and to explore how social media informs young peoples’ identity practices and sense of self. To explore what could be learnt from taking an affirmative approach to social media, this study utilised cooperative inquiry as an action research methodology. Between 4-5 workshops were held with young people over the course of several weeks. Sixteen participants aged 16 and 17 were recruited through local secondary schools by way of advertisements and recruitment of friendship groups. Data gathered from these workshops was analysed through phenomenologically informed thematic analysis. Overall, participant responses were highly nuanced and insightful. They negotiated their engagement with platforms carefully and challenged dominant risk discourses with dialectical understandings. They also recognised contextual factors associated with developmental age and stage that influenced their engagement over time. However, the implementation of individual solutions were limited by sociocultural and political systems underpinning platforms, resulting in a sense of helplessness among participants. Additionally, young people criticised adults for not recognising their expertise and requested collaborative support to generate effective solutions. Social media platforms were also found to intimately shape the identity practices of young people through the utilisation of impression management strategies and development of safe spaces online. Importantly, cooperative inquiry was found to be a meaningful methodology for engaging with young people and highlights the importance of intentionally designing affirmative oriented research in this area.
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Keywords
clinical psychology, young people, social media, technology, well-being, identity