Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations Department of Middle and Secondary Education 5-11-2015 Filtered Identities: A Digitally Active Mid-Adolescent’s Identity Construction in Social Networking Spaces Tara M. Campbell Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss Recommended Citation Campbell, Tara M., "Filtered Identities: A Digitally Active Mid-Adolescent’s Identity Construction in Social Networking Spaces." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2015. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/mse_diss/10 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Middle and Secondary Education at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Middle and Secondary Education Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ACCEPTANCE This dissertation, FILTERED IDENTITIES: A DIGITALLY ACTIVE MID-ADOLESCENT‟S IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SPACES, by TARA CAMPBELL, was prepared under the direction of the candidate‟s Dissertation Advisory Committee. It is accepted by the committee members in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Philosophy, in the College of Education, Georgia State University. The Dissertation Advisory Committee and the student‟s Department Chairperson, as representatives of the faculty, certify that this dissertation has met all standards of excellence and scholarship as determined by the faculty. _________________________________ Ewa McGrail, Ph.D. Committee Chair _____________________________ _________________________________ Nadia Behizadeh, Ph.D. Amy Seely Flint, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ __________________________________ Ann Kruger, Ph.D. Michelle Zoss, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _________________________________ Date _________________________________________ Gertrude Tinker Sachs, Ph.D. Chairperson, Department of Middle and Secondary Education _________________________________ Paul A. Alberto, Ph.D. Dean College of Education AUTHOR’S STATEMENT By presenting this dissertation as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the advanced degree from Georgia State University, I agree that the library of Georgia State University shall make it available for inspection and circulation in accordance with its regulations governing materials of this type. I agree that permission to quote, to copy from, or to publish this dissertation may be granted by the professor under whose direction it was written, by the College of Education‟s Director of Graduate Studies, or by me. Such quoting, copying, or publishing must be solely for scholarly purposes and will not involve potential financial gain. It is understood that any copying from or publication of this dissertation, which involves potential financial gain, will not be allowed without my written permission. Tara Campbell NAME NOTICE TO BORROWERS All dissertations deposited in the Georgia State University library must be used in accordance with the stipulations prescribed by the author in the preceding statement. The author of this dissertation is: Tara Campbell Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 The director of this dissertation is: Ewa McGrail, Ph.D. Department of Middle and Secondary Education College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 30303 CURRICULUM VITAE Tara Campbell Education 2015 Ph.D. Teaching and Learning/Language and Literacy, Georgia State University 2007 Ed.S. Curriculum and Instruction, Piedmont University 2001 M.A. Early Childhood Education, Piedmont University 1992 B.A. Middle Grades Education, Mercer University Professional Experience August 1992- August 2013 Teacher, Douglas County School System June 2011-July 2011 Teaching Assistant (Content Literacy), Georgia State University August 2013-Present K-12 English Language Arts Specialist, Douglas County School System August 2014-Present Reading Endorsement Instructor, Douglas County School System Publications Flint, A., Anderson, N., Allen, E., Campbell, T., Fraser, A., Hilaski, D… & Thornton, N. (2013). More than graphs and scripted programs: teachers navigating the educational policy terrain. In P.L. Thomas (Ed.), Becoming and being a teacher. (pp. 175-188). New York, NY: Peter Lang. Campbell, T. (2012). Strategies to support students in world making. Language Arts, 90(1), 15. Flint, A., Anderson, N., Allen, E., Campbell, T., Fraser, A., Hilaski, D., . Thornton, N. (2011). When policies collide with conviction. The Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 26(1), 13- 17. Presentations Campbell, T. and Sowerbrower, K. (2012, November) Integrating Common Core Standards into Middle and High School Classrooms Presentation at Annual Convention of the National Council of Teacher of English, Las Vegas, NV. Campbell, T. (2012, March) Content Literacy Presentation to Dr. Michelle Ruble‟s Content Literacy Class, Mercer University, Douglasville, GA. Campbell, T. and Sowerbrower, K. (2012, January) Prequals-3g, Webinar presented for Georgia State University at www.globalconversationsindoctoralpreparations.com Flint, A., Anderson, N., Allen, E., Campbell, T., Fraser, A., Hilaski, D., James, L., Rodriguez, S., &Thornton, N. (2011, November) When Policies Collide with Conviction Paper presentation at Annual Convention of the National Council of Teachers of English, Chicago, IL. Campbell, T. (2008, June) The 5 C’s of Gifted Instruction at Gifted Endorsement Series, Douglasville, GA. Campbell, T. & Leatherman, J. (2007, June) Differentiation at Gifted Endorsement Series, Douglasville, GA. Professional Service Member: NCTE, IRA, ALAN, AUA 2013, Young Adult Literature Reviewer, ALAN Online 2013, Peer Reviewer, Language Arts Journal of Michigan 2013, Moderator, Global Conversations in Literacy Research webinar featuring Dr. Julia Davies 2010, Volunteer, National conference for National Association for Gifted Children National Conference 2008-2009, Content Review Panel for Teacher Preparation Programs in GA Filtered Identities: A Digitally Active Mid-Adolescent‟s Identity Construction in Social Networking Spaces By TARA CAMPBELL Under the Direction of Ewa McGrail, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Teens, including young teens, are using digital tools, including social networking sites at a rapidly growing pace (Madden, Lenhart, & Duggan, 2013). However, few studies have addressed the social networking practices of young teens. In this study, I attempted to address a gap in the current literature by investigating the online identity construction of a 14 year-old female who avidly participated on social networking sites. The purpose of this study was to examine a mid-adolescent‟s use of social networking and what this use might reveal about her identity construction. The following questions guided the research: • What are a mid-adolescent‟s thoughts as she decides what to post on social networking sites to represent herself? • What do the tools and social practices she uses reveal about her online identity construction? • What kinds of identities does she present on social networking sites? This study was grounded in a sociocultural understanding of language, particularly that language and thought are culturally derived (Vygotsky, 1986) constructs that shape and are shaped by human activity (Cole, 2003; Wertsch, 1991). Through a sociocultural view of identity, I recognized that identity is a social construct in which mid-adolescents often experience conflict (Harter, 2012) as they try to integrate a fragmented, or “kaleidoscopic” (p. 94) sense of self into a cohesive sense of self. I used a qualitative single case study design (Merriam, 2009) to investigate the social networking practices of the participant. Data collection included semi-structured interviews; think-aloud verbal protocols while using social networking sites; informal phone or instant messaging interactions between the participant and researcher; participant and researcher journals; and participant‟s posts to social networking sites. Using a systematic recursive qualitative method (LeCompte, 2000) informed by Saldaña‟s (2009) coding recommendations, I found that the participant adhered to perceived online social conventions and used a variety of digital literacy tools to present socially acceptable filtered identities across three Social Networking Sites (SNS). Findings suggest that a mid-adolescent would benefit from opportunities to use digital communication skills in school to present an academic identity in school-related online spaces. Keywords: Online Social Networking, Identity, Digital Communication, New Literacies, Facebook, Instagram, Ask.fm, Sociocultural Research, Qualitative Research, Social Networking Sites, Identity Construction, Mid-adolescence, Adolescence FILTERED IDENTITIES: A DIGITALLY ACTIVE MID-ADOLESCENT‟S IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN SOCIAL NETWORKING SPACES by TARA CAMPBELL A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Teaching and Learning in The Department of Middle and Secondary Education in the College of Education Georgia State University Atlanta, GA 2015 Copyright by Tara M. Campbell 2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is difficult to narrow the field of those who have made this project possible to one that can be addressed in a few words. This difficulty