Social networking technology: place and identity in mediated communities

Goodings, Lewis, Locke, Abigail and Brown, S.D. (2007) Social networking technology: place and identity in mediated communities. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 17 (6). pp. 463-476. ISSN 10529284

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Abstract

This paper explores the rise of social networking technology as instances of mediated communities. A dialectic between collectivity and place, resulting in the grounding of a shared sense of the past in a particular place, is at the base of all communities. In this sense, community is, by its very definition, inherently mediated. We reformulate the notion of a virtual community to examine the particular modalities of mediation across interactions occurring on Myspace. Data from two separate conversational exchanges are taken from open access Myspace profiles. Drawing on an approach broadly informed by the principles of Discursive Psychology (DP), we examine how identity is constituted within interaction by drawing on symbolic resources. The significance of place and of establishing a delicate relationship between the on-line and off-line accomplishments is underlined. The paper develops the arguments of Benwell & Stokoe ([2006]) and Dixon & Durrheim ([2000]) to arrive at an account of place identity as the central dynamic in mediated community

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Schools:	School of Human and Health Sciences School of Human and Health Sciences > Centre for Applied Psychological Research School of Human and Health Sciences > Centre for Health and Social Care Research School of Human and Health Sciences > Centre for Research in the Social Sciences School of Human and Health Sciences > The Institute for Health Citizenship School of Human and Health Sciences > Centre for Applied Childhood, Youth and Family Research
Related URLs:	Author
Depositing User:	Briony Heyhoe
Date Deposited:	14 May 2009 13:18
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2016 05:04
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/4339

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