Instant Identity (Mediated Youth) [Paperback]

Shayla Thiel Stern (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0820463256 | ISBN-13: 978-0820463254 | Edition: 1st

Instant Identity: Adolescent Girls and the World of Instant Messaging explains how girls use instant messaging a primary mode of new media communication for their generation in order to flirt, bond, fight, and generally relate to peers in ways that both transcend and play into their culture s dominant gender norms. Examining IM conversations and interviews with the girls, Shayla Thiel Stern demonstrates exactly how girls use IM to construct identity and negotiate sexuality, as they constantly move between childhood and adulthood in their language and actions online. This book is among the first of its kind to truly explore the millennial generation s prevalent use of instant messaging and its implications for the future.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This accessibly written book gives readers direct insights into how instant messaging has become a vital part of American adolescent girls everyday lives. Shayla Thiel Stern s method of inviting teenage girls to give her copies of their IM conversations breaks new ground for the study of digital media among teens. Her analysis of these conversations in light of feminist theory and cultural studies gives us a unique and sympathetic vantage point from which to consider [how] profanity, gossip, sexuality, friendship, parental relationships, and the negotiation of marketing messages continue to play important roles in the construction of teenage lives today. --Lynn Schofield Clark, Assistant Professor, School of Communication, University of Denver

From the Back Cover

"This accessibly written book gives readers direct insights into how instant messaging has become a vital part of American adolescent girls’ everyday lives. Shayla Thiel Stern’s method of inviting teenage girls to give her copies of their IM conversations breaks new ground for the study of digital media among teens. Her analysis of these conversations in light of feminist theory and cultural studies gives us a unique and sympathetic vantage point from which to consider [how] profanity, gossip, sexuality, friendship, parental relationships, and the negotiation of marketing messages continue to play important roles in the construction of teenage lives today."

—Lynn Schofield Clark, Assistant Professor, School of Communication, University of Denver; Author, From Angels to Aliens: Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing; 1st edition (March 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0820463256
• ISBN-13: 978-0820463254
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,077,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful take on girls' IM use, June 12, 2007

By 

Rebecca (Salem, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Instant Identity (Mediated Youth) (Paperback)

This book offers readers a stronger understanding of how and why girls use instant messaging software (like AOL IM). In designing her study, Shayla Thiel Stern smartly found a group of adolescent girls who were willing to send her copies of their IM conversations. Stern's analysis of these conversations is solidly grounded with sound developmental and gender theory, and it is positioned in relation to useful background research on narratives and identity construction.

Stern's findings are clearly and compellingly written. Interestingly, some of her findings contradict current received wisdom about girls' relationships. For example, recent books like Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls and Slut! Growing Up Female with a Bad Reputation have argued that girls' disagreements lead to subtle, non-overt, but insidious and cruelly hurtful "mean girl" behavior. Stern finds that on IM, however, girls are more open, directly confronting others about their grievances, breaking the "mean girl" stereotype. This is perhaps because IM users realize that their conversations can easily be copied and shared with others. Without guarantees that their words will be kept confidential, they come out and say what they really mean.

At the same time, Stern found that her informants enjoyed the privacy that IM conversations afforded them from non-IM users--a kind of privacy that everyday conversations lack. Prying parents and peers couldn't overhear their words, nor could they observe a conversation between two parties from across the room and leap to conclusions. Thus, although IM conversations may be copied and shared with others, because they are not publicly observable, they offer a respite for many girls as they build relationships with others.

The book also offers insights into how girls construct their sexuality through IM; the way companies are invading IM to market commodities to teenagers; and how IM is both a part of teens' social life and a new type of diary.

Anyone with an interest in girls, identity, and new media technology should consider reading Instant Identity: Adolescent Girls and the World of Instant Messaging (Mediated Youth). It would be an excellent inclusion in college-level courses on communications, youth media culture, or women's studies.