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Mediated Youth Cultures pp 11–25Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Youth Identities in a Digital Age: The Anchoring Role of Friends in Young People’s Approaches to Online Identity Expression

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Abstract

Adolescence has long been viewed in Western cultures as a period of individual self-searching. Newly aware of a world beyond their immediate sphere of experience, youth begin to contemplate what role (or roles) they will assume, how they will be recognised by others, and what contributions they will make to society. In our rapidly changing, interconnected, and technological world, the number of roles open to today’s generation of youth has never been greater. Digital media technologies, in particular, have expanded adolescents’ range of self-expression, as well as the potential audiences for those expressions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, USA

    Katie Davis

Authors
  1. Katie Davis
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Griffith University, Australia

    Andy Bennett

  2. University of Tasmania, Australia

    Brady Robards

Copyright information

© 2014 Katie Davis

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Cite this chapter

Davis, K. (2014). Youth Identities in a Digital Age: The Anchoring Role of Friends in Young People’s Approaches to Online Identity Expression. In: Bennett, A., Robards, B. (eds) Mediated Youth Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137287021_2

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