ALAN - V41n2 - Construction And Depiction Of Identity In .
Melanie D. Koss and Eli Tucker-RaymondConstruction and Depiction of Identityin Young Adult Novels with DigitalCommunication TechnologiesTeens’ lives are permeated by their own digitallymediated participation in social worlds throughthe use of media such as Twitter , YouTube ,Facebook , text messaging, emailing, and socialnetworking sites (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010;Livingstone, 2008; Williams & Zenger, 2012). The2012 revision of the International Reading Associa tion’s (IRA) position paper on Adolescent Literacyrecognizes the growing importance of digital media inthe lives of teens and the ways those media are “trans forming how adolescents use literacy to constructboth their online and offline identities” (p. 7). Theseonline social worlds provide today’s adolescents withnew ways of exploring and expressing their identitiesthrough evolving types of literacy practices. Teens’use of digital media should be conceptualized as partof their fluid and dynamic identity development in aworld of networked technologies.Young Adult Literature and Constructionsof IdentityIn young adult (YA) literature, the exploration of iden tity development has always been a common trope.Today, increasing numbers of novels include digitalcommunication within their narratives, either as snip pets embedded within traditional narrative or as bookscomprised solely of digital messages (Koss & TuckerRaymond, 2010), reflective of the current influx ofdigital media in the lives and identities of adolescents.The construct of identity development, so central toYA literature, is now being explored through char acters using digital media as a part of their everydaylives. These novels depict characters’ uses of digitalmedia as venues for their identity play, construction,and development. They describe how adolescentsposition and present themselves as people, includinghow they develop online profiles and engage in onlineinteractions, which also opens the door to exploringissues of reliability. Are individuals truly who they saythey are online? Are they manipulating personal factsin order to be a better version of themselves? Are theypretending to be someone else? For what purposes arethey creating their online selves?As new literacies continue to impact the dailylives of teens, an examination of characters’ in-textidentity constructions is a way to encourage compari sons with teens’ real-life identity explorations. Aware ness of how these identity construction practicesare represented in fictional literature can help teenscritically analyze the types of digital media they use intheir own lives and how online identity constructionsare changing the ways people express and understandthemselves and others in both off- and online spaces(Koss & Tucker-Raymond, 2010; Bean & Moni, 2003).Although digital media is an integral part of manyteens’ daily lives, teens rarely are given the opportu nity to actively discuss and unpack the significance ofthis in school, especially in regards to identity con struction.34The ALAN Reviewg34-43-ALAN-Winter14.indd 34Winter 20141/20/14 1:15 PM
organization of the novels, the writing conventionsused, and the reasons the digital communication wasused by the characters. The study aimed to present anoverview of how digital media was being infused intoYA literature.During the larger study, in addition to the struc ture of the novels, the ways in which the characterswere using the digital technologies to construct andpresent their identities stood out. Several meta-themesrelated to characters’ digital technology usage andadolescent identity development began to emergeContext of the Study(Glaser, 1965), specifically teens using digital technol Youth identities, as constructed through representa ogies to: a) maintain social status, b) position them tions of digital technologies in six realistic fiction YAselves as part of a group, c) find acceptance, d) findnovels published between 2007–2010, were analyzedromantic relationships, e) hide one’s true self, and f)as a way of identifying the identity constructs por be anonymous.trayed in the novels in order to ultimately share themIn order to examine more closely characters’with teens. Novels selected for this study were a partidentity motivations, as depicted by the novels, weof a larger study looking at overall types of digitalselected six focal novels we felt exemplified thesecommunications represented in YA novels with thethemes, given their primary plot emphases on theintent of identifying which characters were usingprocesses and implications of constructing identitydigital communication, how and why they were usingvia digital media. Also, novels written more recentlyit, and how digital communication was representedwere intentionally selected to best represent currentoverall (Koss & Tucker-Raymond, 2010). The largeradolescent literacy practices. (See Table 1 for a list ofstudy focused on the structure and types of digitaladditional novels that incorporate themes of digitalcommunications included in the books, including themedia and identity construction.) The six novels werethen analyzed by focusing on theinterpersonal discursively constitutedTable 1. Additional YA titles with digital communication technologiesrelationships in which the main characters engaged (Harré & Gillet, 1994).TitleAuthorCopyrightAs Hobbs (2011) has written, “IssuesButterLange, E. J.2012of representation come into play whenExposedVaught, S.2008people use digital images of themselvesLittle Blog on the PrairieBell, C. D.2010and their peers to represent their per Miss Fortune CookieBjorkman, L.2012sonal and social experiencesMy Invisible BoyfriendDay, S.2011. . . . What we do online affects ourMy Life UndecidedBrody, J.2011identity, our self-esteem, our relation serafina67 *urgently requires life*Day, D.2008ships, and our future” (p. 17).In this analysis, we focused onSeth Baumgartner’s Love ManifestoLuper, E.2010identity construction, or how charac Something to Blog AboutNorris, S.2008ters position, present, and representthejuliangameGriffin, A.2010themselves through forms of digitalThis Girl Is DifferentJohnson, J. J.2011technology as purposeful types ofTweet HeartRudnick, E.2010people and how these representationsUnfriended (Top 8 - Book 3)Finn, K.2011impact the way teens see themselvesWant to Go Private?Littman, S. D.2011and idealize themselves within theirWhat Boys Really WantHautman, P.2012social worlds. We also focused on is What’s Your Status (Top 8 - Book 2)Finn, K.2010sues of online truth telling and identityThis article discusses intersections of adolescents’digital media and identity practices within YA litera ture by exploring the ways fictional characters, as por trayed in YA novels, construct their identities in onlinespaces. It presents a literary analysis of six exemplarnovels that explore how fictional teen characters useonline literacies, specifically social networking sites,chatrooms, and blogs, to construct and represent theironline selves.35The ALAN Reviewg34-43-ALAN-Winter14.indd 35Winter 20141/20/14 1:15 PM
manipulation in the novels, recognizing that an impor tant part of identity development is the manipulatingof personal facts to present different possibilities—ei ther idealized projections or some degree of substitu tion—for offline selves. A closer examination of thenovels allowed each theme to be unpacked in depthand in turn. In the following sections, each of the sixthemes is explored through one of the focal novelsand is contextualized with research on adolescents’digital media usage.Reasons to Construct and Online IdentityDigital communication as a particular, but integrated,practice of characters’ daily lives was reflected in alltitles, much like digitaltechnologies are integratedPrivate jokes were out- into real adolescents’ livesand identities (Leanderwardly shared to show the & McKim, 2003; Lewis &Fabbos, 2005). This analy closeness of a friendship, sis examines how teencomments were left to characters communicatedigitally, thus constructingcause drama, and roman- dynamic, networked, andsocial personal identities,tic notes were posted as a and how they test the verysign of affection. meaning of identity bycreating online personasto meet and communicatewith friends and unknown others.To Maintain Social StatusAs one part of their identity-building repertoire, teensoften negotiate and maintain social status via socialnetworking websites (Cox Communications, 2012).On such websites, the acts of posting status updates,keeping up a personal profile page, sending andreceiving comments, and assembling an acceptablefriend list are key components of a teen’s relation ships and social status. This ritualized focus on socialnetworking sites as a way to maintain social statuswas a central part of the plot in the novel Top 8 (Finn,2008).Popular girl and main character Madison reliedon her Friendverse page as a part of her social lifeand offline social standing. As she stated right in thebeginning of the book, setting the stage for the im portance of the social networking site Friendverse inher social life, “Friendverse was crucial. . . . Friendverse was a necessity” (p. 13). She took great care inher profile picture, her top 8 friends, and her sharedpersonal information. As described by Stone (in Zhao,Grasmuck, & Martin, 2008), “the construction of anidentity is . . . a public process that involves boththe ‘identity announcement’ made by the individualclaiming an identity and the ‘identity placement’ madeby others who endorse the claimed identity” (p. 188).The presentation of self on a social networking siteinfluences how a person is perceived and classified inthe social network.A key part of Madison’s identity-announcingpractices was her ability to be visible on Friendverseby posting comments, photos, and private jokes onher personal page and on those of others in her net work of friends. Who was in her network was criticaland signified her popularity, replicating in fiction theimportance of a teen’s online profile page and one’ssocial standing (Williams, 2008). Comments and postswere crucial, too, as the act of sending a commentwas carefully crafted with the knowledge that otherswould read it. Private jokes were outwardly shared toshow the closeness of a friendship, comments wereleft to cause drama, and romantic notes were postedas a sign of affection and ownership. Friends and sig nificant others were expected to read, post, and com ment, and offense could be taken if such reactions toposts were not provided (Cox Communications, 2012).When describing the importance of how herfriends were presented on their personal pages andtheir correlation with their relationship status, Madi son stated, “My friends and I took our Top 8s seri ously. It had been a big deal when I’d moved Justin tomy number one spot . . .” (Finn, pp. 29–31), signify ing that they were in a serious relationship and thatshe put her boyfriend above all others. This was animportant convention in the “rules” of Madison’ssocial network and a key identity announcement. Herstatus and page updates were carefully scrutinizedby her peers, and significant changes were noticed.For example, shortly after Madison updated her pagemoving her boyfriend in her friend rankings, a friendcommented, “You changed your status! And I see youupdated your Top 8—and put Justin in the numberone spot! I guess this means you two lovebirds areofficial!” (p. 3). As a result of the importance and36The ALAN Reviewg34-43-ALAN-Winter14.indd 36Winter 20141/20/14 1:15 PM
close scrutiny social networking site updates signified,Madison took care to present herself as the populargirl she was and wanted to remain. She was consciousof following social norms, because the “goal [of thecareful creation of a personal social networking page]is to look cool and receive peer validation” (boyd,2006, para. 1), a crucial component of maintainingsocial status.When Madison went on vacation, someonehacked her Friendverse page and wreaked havoc onher relationships due to jealously over Madison’spopularity status. Her friends and classmates quicklyaccepted the falsified hurtful posts as truth, knowingthe importance and careful thought behind each post.They assumed information provided by an individualwas reliable, as they knew the person behind theposts. In other words, such announcements, autho rized or not, were endorsed by others. Because oftheir existence on the Web, they are permanentlystored, existing into perpetuity—pasteable, postable,and judgmental. As one “friend” wrote in the com ments soon after Madison was hacked, “Okay, Mad,we’ve been friends for a long time. So what’s up withwriting about the TOTAL MISTAKE I made at camplast summer that you swore you’d never tell anyoneabout? Apparently, that didn’t include BLOGGINGabout it. Thanx a lot, Mad. Really” (p. 27). No attemptwas made by this friend or others to consider thatMadison was not the person behind the posts. If itwas on Friendverse, it was truth.When she returned home, Madison needed toface the consequences of the fabricated posts, attemptto repair friendships, and reclaim her social status.Group status can be fragile, and online perceptionscan color offline relationships. It took offline conver sations, a Friendverse bulletin, and an online groupapology, but ultimately, fictional Madison and herfriends realized the power of how one can be rep resented in an online profile, how the truth can betwisted, and how to learn when to trust that what isshown online is also true offline.To Position Themselves as Part of a GroupFeelings of belonging are a crucial part of adolescentidentity development (Mazarella, 2005; Thiel, 2005).Teens want to fit in and be accepted, and group af filiations help to define identity. In Top 8, Madisondefined her group via her network of friends on asocial networking website; others find different typesof online social networks from which to find selfvalidation. Many teens seek offline groups to belongto, such as school or religious groups; in fact, someyoung people situate their identity building in deep in volvement with one group, such as being a member ofan athletic team. For teenagers, membership in suchsocial groups can be tenuous.Breaking into groups can be difficult. Groupmembership implies that others recognize and ratifya potential member aslegitimate, that they“place” that person in theThrough the blog, peoplegroup. Such placementbegan claiming memberby others makes clear thedialogic and discursiveship in the elite group,nature of identity work.The novel The Rule of Won and friendships and feel (Petrucha, 2008) tells ofings of belonging emergedan enigmatic new studentwho forms an almostin the online and offlinecult-like group called“The Crave,” based onworld.a controversial self-helpbook that promotes thepower of positive thinking. The group presented itselfas all-inclusive; its initial members were those whowished to be a part of something but who belongedto no other school group. By joining The Crave, thesefictional students who felt on the fringe of their socialworlds quickly found themselves an integral and ac cepted part of a group.Although membership was initially open, thegroup members began segregating themselves in orderto feel special, even elite—a new feeling for many ofthe group members. The leader of the group createdan online blog as a venue for group members to beinvolved. Participants in the blog shared their offlineidentities, but used the online space to position them selves as members of the group and establish theirsocial standing. “I’ve set up a private message board.Sign in with the password, real names only, andplease don’t share it with anyone outside the Crave”(Petrucha, 2008, p. 22). The blog became a tool forsegregation, identity, and status. Through the blog,people began claiming membership in the elite group,and friendships and feelings of belonging emerged inthe online and offline world.37The ALAN Reviewg34-43-ALAN-Winter14.indd 37Winter 20141/20/14 1:15 PM
Initially all seemed to be going well. One schoolloner began to blossom, “I really want to thank everyonefor saying hello to me whenever they see me; it reallylifts my spirits! After being so unpopular for so long,I’m so happy to have a bunch of new friends . . .”(p. 96). But after initial friendships developed, thegroup took on a life of its own and started to grow.The initial members started to lose the feeling of be ing special, and their sense of belonging was com promised. “It’s great thatthe club is getting big andall,but for some peopleFinding peers to conit makes it really hard tonect with in an online, talk about certain peoplebecause now those certainsemi-anonymous manner people are members andallowed these fictional listening in. So, I’m wondering if we can limit theteens to share and even membership or maybe havea separate meeting justboast about some of their with the original Cravers?”suicidal thoughts. (p. 135).The use of a private,password-protected blog asa way to claim membership in and position oneself asa member of a group was reliant on the group remain ing small and exclusive. When the group became toolarge, posts on the blog switched from being primar ily positive messages celebrating group belonging tonegative messages complaining about other groupmembers, particularly those newer to the group. Theblog became the antithesis of its original intention.Private online content impacted offline social stand ings and group memberships. What initially began asa means for finding a group in which to belong ulti mately transitioned into an unsafe place where manydid not feel accepted.To Find AcceptanceAs discussed above, group belonging is a crucial partof a teen’s identity. Many teens, in particular thosewith few friends and relationships, feel alone, unableto become part of real-life offline groups. In The Ruleof Won, teens joined online groups where they knewthe other group members in their offline worlds. Acommon alternative to that is joining online affin ity groups where the teens do not already know themembers. Going online to find friends or others whofeel similar to oneself is a natural extension of teens’digital worlds and a way to find acceptance. Onlinechatrooms are one venue used to find others in similarmental or social states. Chatrooms are online social fo rums based on common interests, and in such spaces,“a socially constructed and shared culture develops”(Borzekowski, 2006, p. 5). The sites are not used forpopularity status, but as a way for teens to connectwith others and to find peer validation.The Kaiser Family Foundation (Rideout, Foehr, &Roberts, 2010) found that 18 percent of “discontentedteens” (those who were lonely, had few friends, orwere frequently in trouble) used online media, such aschat rooms, to reach out to similarly minded people.Teens go online to find unknown others as a way ofmaking connections and to help them feel that theyare not alone, as depicted in the novel Crash into Me(Borris, 2009).In Crash into Me, four depressed teens who werecontemplating suicide because they felt alone andmisunderstood found one another in a suicide chatroom, formed a tenuous group, and created a suicidepact. By keywording “suicide. myspace friends” (p.53), the teens found peers to connect with and confidein about sensitive and personal matters. Online, theywere able to interact in ways impossible in their of fline lives. “It’s so much easier to talk to people on thecomputer. You don’t have to look at their faces. Youcan walk away. You can write whatever you want andthen turn the computer off. I like it that way. Fartheraway from people” (pp. 3–4), yet closer to others atthe same time.Finding peers to connect with in an online, semianonymous manner allowed these fictional teens toshare and even boast about some of their suicidalthoughts; it acted as a means of finding peer valida tion and then friendship. They bonded over their per ceived cau
digital media in the lives and identities of adolescents. The construct of identity development, so central to YA literature, is now being explored through char acters using digital media as a part of their everyday lives. These novels depict characters’ uses of digital media as venue
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