In a qualitative research about Social Networks and the construction of identity among young people, I presented the opinion of young people about using social networks. In the theoretical part, I presented key topics about my research. I have described the concept of identity through the views of different authors, as there is no consensus on a single concept yet. The identity of an individual is determined through various factors, such as the way of communication, the view of society or friends on the individual, the way of dressing, behaving, etc. In the theoretical part, I also spoke a few words about young people in connection with the creation of personality or identity. Finally, I defined the concept of virtual identity and, of course, social networks. Through the questions I asked the interviewees, I got their opinion on how social networks influence the above-mentioned factors that affect identity creation. I focused on young people who belong to the age group between 17 and 24 years. I chose this age group because I also wanted to get information about what social networks once meant, that is, when they started using them. In this way, it is clear what has led them to use social networks, and on the other hand, what still attracts them to social networks. I have found that the main thing that attracts them to social networks is socialization and freedom within the endless possibilities of self-presentation, fun, etc. However, many interviewees also use social networks for the purpose of studying. In the proposals, I focused mainly on the connection of my research with social work. The main proposal would be that the task of social workers is focus on social networks when researching the user's world. This means that their task is to make young people aware of their dangers and to direct them to content that would be useful for young people. So if there has been a lot of talk in recent years about young people spending too much time on social media, this has now become the new norm. The focus will therefore be on the safe and proper use of social networks, as in my opinion, it is too late to discourage young people from them. Especially if we take the fact that young people see a lot of positive qualities when using social networks.
|