St. John's University

Identity formation and MySpace usage among American teens

MySpace is an online social networking site that
allows members to share photos, journals, music, and
personal information with other members. The focus of
this study is on how MySpace is being used by American
adolescents aged 16-18, and its effects on identity
formation. The study will take psychosocial
perspective, examining how teens utilize this tool to
examine who they are and how they fit within a social
network. Participants in this study will be given a
survey regarding their use of the site, as well as
having their profiles examined for things such as
personal information, emoticons, and language use in
blog postings.