5. MAKING
FRIENDS
“TEENS
MAY
SELECT
THEIR
FRIENDS,
BUT
THEIR
CHOICE
IS
CONFIGURED
BY
THE
SOCIAL,
CULTURAL,
AND
ECONOMIC
CONDITIONS
AROUND
THEM.”
• Most
teens
use
social
media
to
socialize
with
people
they
already
know
while
a
small
%
of
others
use
social
media
to
meet
knew
people.
• Facebook
or
MySpace
is
an
easy
way
to
do
so.
• “Hanging
out”
occurs
within
this
social
media
• Should
teens
venture
out
to
meet
new
teens
online
or
is
that
too
dangerous
for
“Stranger
Danger?”
6. MAKING
FRIENDS
CONT.
• Perhaps
some
people
are
too
shy
or
too
nervous
to
• Personally,
I
find
random
make
friends
in
the
class
room
or
face
to
face,
friend
requests
strange
and
therefore
they
strive
to
creepy.
I
believe
in
mee>ng
make
online
friends
where
they
are
more
new
people
but
online
is
comfortable.
not
the
way
to
do
so,
I
believe
in
“Stranger
Danger.”
Don’t
feel
judged,
be
yourself!!!
7. PERFORMING
FRIENDSHIPS
“Friends
in
the
context
of
social
media
are
not
necessarily
the
same
as
friends
in
everyday
sense.”
• Facebook,
AIM
and
MySpace
play
a
big
role
in
this
concept
of
friends.
• Facebook-‐how
many
friends
you
have.
AIM-‐Your
“buddy”
list.
MySpace-‐Friends
that
follow
your
page
and
who
you
follow.
• Teens
must
determine
their
boundaries
concerning
whom
they
accept
and
whom
they
reject
as
friends.
Do
you
accept
random
people
or
do
you
keep
social
media
to
close
friends
and
family?
8. PERFORMING
FRIENDS
CONT.
• By
choosing
who
you
allow
to
become
“Friends”
with,
you
run
the
risk
of
offending
people.
• A
girl
named
Jennifer
from
Kansas
accepts
everyone
as
her
friend
because
“She’d
feel
bad
if
she
didn’t.”
• Penelope
from
Nebraska
says
“dele>ng
a
friend
is
rude…unless
they’re
weird.”
• It
really
is
a
personal
decision
on
• By
declining
or
dele>ng
a
friend
who
you
allow
to
see
your
profile.
they
person
asking
might
feel
lea
Just
remember,
anyone
can
out
or
not
“cool”
but
you
as
a
friend
request
anyone
and
the
person
need
to
protect
your
internet
is
worldwide.
Think
what
privacy.
is
best
for
yourself.
9. FRIENDSHIP
HIERARCHIES
“A
friend
connec>on
alone
says
nothing
about
its
strength.”
• I
found
this
interes>ng
because
I
can
see
how
easily
it
can
create
controversy
and
stress
between
friends.
• Par>cularly
with
MySpace
you
have
your
“top
friends”
or
your
“top
8.”
the
site
makes
you
choose
who
your
“bestest”
friends
are
and
displays
it
for
everyone
to
see.
• “Top
friends
surfaces
insecuri>es
by
forcing
teens
to
face
where
they
stand
in
the
eyes
of
those
around
them.”
• For
example,
your
“BFF”
didn’t
get
the
number
one
spot
on
your
list,
so
he/she
picks
a
fight
with
you
because
of
that.
10. FRIENDSHIP
HIERARCHIES
CONT.
• Many
teens
think
that
if
your
number
one
on
a
friends
list,
then
they
should
be
number
one
on
your
list.
• Jordan
from
Texas
says,
“Oh,
its
so
stressful
because
is
your
in
someone
else’s
top
friends,
then
you
feel
bad
if
they’re
not
in
yours.”
• This
creates
stress
for
young
teens
and
possibly
friendship
breakups.
I
think
the
top
friends
list
should
be
eliminated
all
together.
11. Status
Aden>on
and
Drama
• “Teens
use
social
media
to
• AIM-‐
People
can
talk
to
each
develop
and
maintain
friendships,
other
in
complete
conversa>on
but
they
also
use
them
to
seek
• Facebook-‐
People
can
post
status’
aden>on
and
generate
drama.”
and
post
informa>on
that
pops
• Most
teens
seeking
to
spread
up
on
newsfeeds
and
“chat”
as
rumors
or
create
drama
usually
well.
use
social
media.
• MySpace-‐People
can
post
all
sorts
• GOSSIP,
GOSSIP,
GOSSIP!!!
of
things
on
your
own
page
or
• Gossip
occurs
everywhere
and
other
peoples
pages
as
well.
with
technology
today,
it
can
get
• Rumors
or
everyday
talk
can
go
spread,
shown
or
talked
about
viral
in
an
instant
which
can
lead
very
easily
and
quickly
now.
to
aden>on
seekers,
bullying,
• AIM,
Facebook
and
MySpace
all
harassing,
or
even
depression.
are
used
for
gossip.
12. STATUS,
ATTENTION
AND
DRAMA
CONT.
• “Teens
want
to
be
validated
by
their
broader
peer
group
and
thus
try
to
present
themselves
as
cool,
online
and
offline.”
• When
teens
are
harassed
online,
it
is
oaen
by
people
they
know
offline.
• Gossip,
drama,
bullying
and
posing
are
unavoidable
side
affects
of
teens
everyday
nego>a>ons
over
friendship
and
peer
status.
• We
have
all
been
through
our
teens.
I
think
everyone
has
bullied
or
been
bullied.
We
know
what
it
is
like
to
want
aden>on
and
to
honestly
get
jealous.
It
is
called
being
a
teen.
Now
that
we
are
all
older
and
wiser
we
should
help
the
cause
of
these
teenage
reputa>ons.
13. REFERENCES…
• Allan
1998
• Lenhart
and
Madden
2007;
Subrahmanyam
and
Greenfield
2008
• Corsaro
1997,
164
• Boyd
2006
• Boyd
2008
• Thompson,
Grace,
and
Cohen
2001,
62
• Milner
2004
