Authors: Niland, P., Lyons, A. C., Goodwin, I., & Hutton, F.
Abstract
Young adults utilise social networking sites (SNSs) like Facebook to engage as friends. However, there has been limited systematic research exploring their sense-making of friendship in relation to Facebook use and how Facebook, as a socio-technical system, interacts with their friendship practices. We conducted twelve friendship discussion groups in both urban and non-urban areas of New Zealand, involving 26 women and 25 men aged 18–25 years, across same and mixed-gender groups.
Our social constructionist thematic analysis revealed that young adults make sense of friendship through themes of ‘fun times together’, ‘investment’, ‘protection’, and ‘self-authenticity’. These meanings were enacted in specific ways within Facebook. The SNS was primarily used for enjoying friendship and investing in friendships, with friendship protection necessary to maintain friends’ online privacy. Facebook served as a platform for demonstrating self-authenticity within friendship relationships through curated ‘show off’ self-displays and favoured friendship activities.
Furthermore, Facebook supported, disrupted, and modified these specific friendship understandings by expanding the audience for friendship actions and intensifying friends’ responses through 24/7 accessibility and instantaneous activity notifications. These interactions between friendship understandings and Facebook as a socio-technical system illustrate how friendship was reinforced, negotiated, and re-worked within this online context.
Keywords: friendship; young adults; Facebook; technology; identity
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