"As soon as you get on Bebo you just go mad": young consumers and the discursive construction of teenagers online

Abstract - The purpose of this paper is to analyse how young people as consumers are using one particular social networking site (Bebo), and how these young consumers are engaging with discourses which position them variously as vulnerable to online risk and as members of the knowledgeable "net...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Young consumers 2009-11, Vol.10 (4), p.283-296
Main Author: Willett, Rebekah
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behaviour
Child development
Children & youth
Children age groups
Consumer behavior
Consumer psychology
Consumers
Culture
Cyberbullying
Social networks
Social structure
Studies
Teenagers
Websites
Young adults
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Summary:Abstract - The purpose of this paper is to analyse how young people as consumers are using one particular social networking site (Bebo), and how these young consumers are engaging with discourses which position them variously as vulnerable to online risk and as members of the knowledgeable "net generation".Design methodology approach - The article provides an in-depth analysis of data collected from 24 Bebo participants, ages 14-16, focusing mainly on interviews. Discourse analysis is used to uncover the ways that the participants in the study position themselves in relation to discourses surrounding teenagers as consumers on social networking sites.Findings - The analysis demonstrates that teenagers are using Bebo in very specific ways as part of a range of modes of communication with different audiences. Often their use of Bebo is quite banal, highlighting the possibility that adults (parents, researchers, government, NGOs) over-invest in the meaning of Bebo for young teens. However, typical of the tensions involved in people's subject positioning, the interviewees also indicate that Bebo is serving particular purposes in relation to their identities as teenagers. Therefore, the article considers dimensions of the "life stage" of adolescence as a way of understanding the significance of Bebo in teenagers' lives.Originality value - The article provides an in-depth analysis of qualitative data related to a small age-range of consumers on a specific social networking site. This focus highlights the specificity of Bebo as a social networking site, as well as the particular ways that these 14-16 year olds engage with various technologies and discursive practices surrounding young consumers online.
ISSN:1747-3616
1758-7212
DOI:10.1108/17473610911007120