Dissertation
Digital Life: Formation of Self-Identity and Activism within Online Cultures
Washington State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
2023
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005047
Abstract
The social context of youth has been expanded by the creation of digital media technologies, which have increased awareness among youth about interpersonal relationships and their associated roles in different social contexts. Social media can serve a vital function in the formation of youth’s self-identity in determining who they want to be and how they want to reach their goals. This project examines how engagement with social media influences the formation of self-identity and social activism of Iranian and American youths. This research branches into two studies. One examines how social media communication and offline social connectedness are associated with the development of self-identity among Iranian and American youths. The other investigates the relationships between social media (especially Instagram) among Iranian and American youth with respect to their engagement in social movements. The research design includes both mixed methods and social network analysis to develop a mixed method research social network analysis design (MMRSNA). Despite significant results of three different phases of study (survey, interviews, and assessment of digital images), implicit and explicit representations of self-censorship are a fact of life for youth born and raised in digital age in a censored network society in which they have to be careful when expressing their opinions, behaviors, and communications. Although engagement via social media platforms provide a hybrid reality context that benefits users at individual, local, and cultural levels and increases active participation in socio-political concerns/issues, long-term ingrained practices of self-censorship limit self-representations across online platforms. Exploring the influence of globalization on social movements via media and social media communications in Iran contributes to the body of media anthropology studies. Such studies provide more examples of social media studies and policies on participatory visual and MMRSNA.
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Details
- Title
- Digital Life
- Creators
- Arian Karimitar
- Contributors
- Jeannette-Marie Mageo (Advisor)Andrew AID Duff (Advisor)Clare CW Weber-Wilkinson (Committee Member)Jessica JW Willoughby (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Anthropology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 288
- Identifiers
- 99901019231801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation