For same-sex attracted youth (SSAY), the Internet affords a unique combination of opportunity, risk, and benefit. The present study provides a narrative analysis of four diverse SSAY’s experiences (ages 18-20 years), selected from a larger sample (N = 32) to highlight variation in (a) frequency of Internet use (extensive, incidental) and (b) impact of Internet use (pivotal, missed opportunity) during identity development. Presenting narratives individually, we depict how variations in frequency and impact of Internet use interact with the content, tone, and overall form of these youths’ identity development narratives. We also explore the individual and contextual factors (e.g., family relationships, peer norms) and characteristics of the Internet (e.g., increased anonymity) that appear to relate to these SSAY’s Internet use.
AdamsG. R.MarshallS. K. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person-in-context. Journal of Adolescence, 19, 429-442. doi:10.1006/jado.1996.0041
2.
BarghJ. A.McKennaK. Y. A. (2004). The Internet and social life. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 573-590. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141922
3.
BarghJ. A.McKennaK. Y. A.FitzsimonsG. M. (2002). Can you see the real me? Activation and expression of the “true self” on the Internet. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 33-48. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00247
4.
BersonI. R.BersonM. J. (2005). Challenging online behaviors of youth: Findings from a comparative analysis of young people in the United States and New Zealand. Social Science Computer Review, 23, 29-38. doi:10.1177/0894439304271532
5.
BoiesS. C.CooperA.OsborneC. S. (2004). Variations in Internet-related problems and psychosocial functioning in online sexual activities: Implications for social and sexual development of young adults. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 7, 207-230. doi:10.1089/109493104323024474
6.
BondB. J.HefnerV.DrogosK. L. (2009). Information-seeking practices during the sexual development of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: The influence and effects of coming out in a mediated environment. Sexuality & Culture, 13, 32-50. doi:10.1007/s12119-008-9041-y
7.
BorzekowskiD. L. G. (2006). Adolescents’ use of the Internet: A controversial, coming-of-age resource. Adolescent Medicine Clinics, 17, 205-216. doi:10.1016/j.admecli.2005.10.006
8.
BrownJ. D.L’EngleK. L. (2009). X-rated sexual attitudes and behaviors associated with US early adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit media. Communication Research, 36, 129-151. doi:10.1177/0093650208326465
9.
ClarkeR. (1999). Internet privacy concerns confirm the case for intervention. Communications of the ACM, 42(2), 60-67.
10.
CohlerB. J.HammackP. L. (2007). The psychological world of the gay teenager: Social change, narrative, and “normality.”Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 47-59. doi:10.1007/s10964-006-9110-1
11.
DeHaanS.KuperL. E.MageeJ. C.BigelowL.MustanskiB. (2012). The interplay between online and offline explorations of identity, relationships, and sex: A mixed-methods study with LGBT youth. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 421-434. doi:10.1080/00224499.2012.661489
12.
DiamondL. M. (1998). Development of sexual orientation among adolescent and young adult women. Developmental Psychology, 34, 1085-1095. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.34.5.1085
13.
DiamondL. M. (2003). What does sexual orientation orient? A biobehavioral model distinguishing romantic love and sexual desire. Psychological Review, 110, 173-192. doi:10.1037//0033-295x.110.1.173
14.
FogelJ.NehmadE. (2009). Internet social network communities: Risk taking, trust, and privacy concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 153-160. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2008.08.00
15.
GergenK.GergenM. (1983). Narratives of the self. In SarbinT.ScheibeK. E. (Eds.), Studies in social identity (pp. 245-273). New York, NY: Praeger.
16.
GreenfieldP.YanZ. (2006). Children, adolescents, and the Internet: A new field of inquiry in developmental psychology. Developmental Psychology, 42, 391-394. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.3.391
17.
HabermasT.BluckS. (2000). Getting a life: The emergence of the life story in adolescence. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 748-769. doi:10.1037OT033-2909.126.5.741
18.
HamerJ. S. (2003). Coming-out: Gay males’ information seeking. School Libraries Worldwide, 9(2), 73-89.
19.
HammackP. L. (2008). Narrative and the cultural psychology of identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 12, 222-247. doi:10.1177/1088868308316892
20.
HammackP. L. (2011). Narrative and the politics of meaning. Narrative Inquiry, 21, 311-318. doi:10.1075/ni.21.2.09ham
21.
HammackP. L.CohlerB. J. (2011). Narrative, identity, and the politics of exclusion: Social change and the gay and lesbian life course. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 8, 162-182. doi:10.1007/s13178-011-0060-3
22.
HammackP. L.ThompsonE. M.PileckiA. (2009). Configurations of identity among sexual minority youth: Context, desire, and narrative. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 867-883. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9342-3
23.
HillierL.HarrisonL. (2007). Building realities less limited than their own: Young people practising same-sex attraction on the Internet. Sexualities, 10, 82-100. doi:10.1177/1363460707072956
24.
JanisW. J. D.MitchellK. J.FinkelhorD. (2007). Does online harassment constitute bullying? An exploration of online harassment by known peers and online-only contacts. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S51-S58. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.019
JuvonenJ.GrossE. F. (2008). Extending the school grounds? Bullying experiences in cyberspace. Journal of School Health, 78, 496-505. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2008.00335.x
MageeJ. C.BigelowL.DeHaanS.MustanskiB. (2011). Sexual health information seeking online: A mixed-methods study among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young people. Health Education & Behavior. doi:10.1177/109019811140138
29.
McAdamsD. P. (2006). The redemptive self: Stories Americans live by. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
30.
McAdamsD. P. (2010). Personal narratives and the life story. In JohnO.RobinsR.PervinL. (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research (3rd ed.) (pp. 242-264). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
31.
McKennaK. Y. A.BarghJ. A. (1998). Coming out in the age of the Internet: Identity “demarginalization” through virtual group participation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 681-694. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.75.3.681
32.
McLeanK. C. (2005). Late adolescent identity development: Narrative meaning making and memory telling. Developmental Psychology, 41, 683-691. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.41.4.683
33.
MehraB.MerkelC.BishopA. P. (2004). The Internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users. New Media & Society, 6, 781-802. doi:10.1177/146144804047513
34.
MitchellK. J.WolakJ.FinkelhorD. (2008). Are blogs putting youth at risk for online sexual solicitation or harassment?Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 277-294. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.04.015
35.
MustanskiB.LyonsT.GarciaS. (2011). Internet use and sexual health of young men who have sex with men: A mixed-methods study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 289-300. doi:10.1007/s10508-009-9596
36.
MustanskiB.NewcombM.GarofaloR. (2011). Mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth: A developmental resiliency perspective. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 23, 204-225. doi:10.1080/10538720.2011.561474
37.
PasupathiM.MansourE.BrubakerJ. R. (2007). Developing a life story: Constructing relations between self and experience in autobiographical narratives. Human Development, 50, 85-110. doi:10.1159/000100939
38.
PeterJ.ValkenburgP. M. (2008). Adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit Internet material and sexual preoccupancy: A three-wave panel study. Media Psychology, 11, 207-234. doi:10.1080/15213260801994238
39.
PeterJ.ValkenburgP. M. (2009). Adolescents’ exposure to sexually explicit Internet material and sexual satisfaction: A longitudinal study. Human Communication Research, 35, 171-194. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2009.01343.x
40.
PurcellK.SmithA.ZickuhrK. (2010). Social media & mobile Internet use among teens and young adults. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
41.
Savin-WilliamsR. C. (2011). Identity development among sexual-minority youth. In SchwartzS. J.LuyckxK.VignolesV. L. (Eds.), Handbook of identity theory and research (pp. 671-692). New York, NY: Springer.
42.
SchachterE. (2004). Identity configurations: A new perspective on identity formation in contemporary society. Journal of Personality, 72, 167-199. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00260.x
43.
SchachterE. (2005). Context and identity formation: A theoretical analysis and case study. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 375-395. doi: 10.1177/0743558405275172
44.
SingerJ. A.SaloveyP. (1993). The remembered self: Emotion and memory in personality. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
45.
SubrahmanyamK.GreenfieldP. (2008). Online communication and adolescent relationships. Future of Children, 18, 119-146.
46.
SzymanskiD. M.Kashubeck-WestS.MeyerJ. (2008a). Internalized heterosexism: A historical and theoretical overview. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 510-524. doi:10.1177/0011000007309488
47.
SzymanskiD. M.Kashubeck-WestS.MeyerJ. (2008b). Internalized heterosexism: Measurement, psychological correlates, and research directions. The Counseling Psychologist, 36, 525-574. doi:10.1177/0011000007309489
48.
TappanM. B. (1997). Interpretive psychology: Stories, circles, and understanding lived experience. Journal of Social Issues, 53, 645-656. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02453.x
49.
TylerT. R. (2002). Is the Internet changing social life? It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 195-205. doi:10.1111/1540-4560.00256
50.
van der AaN.OverbeekG.EngelsR.ScholteR. H. J.MeerkerkG. J.Van den EijndenR. (2009). Daily and compulsive Internet use and well-being in adolescence: A diathesis-stress model based on Big Five personality traits. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 765-776. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9298-3
51.
WolakJ.MitchellK.FinkelhorD. (2007a). Does online harassment constitute bullying? An exploration of online harassment by known peers and online-only contacts. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S51-S58. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.019
52.
WolakJ.MitchellK.FinkelhorD. (2007b). Unwanted and wanted exposure to online pornography in a national sample of youth Internet users. Pediatrics, 119, 247-257. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-1891
