TY  - CHAP
AB  - Purpose This study analyses how media choices can be used in the construction of social identity.Approach We approach the topic through the analytical lens of identity work. We present a case study of a community of IT students during their first year of studies, including participant observation, focus groups, and surveys. We focus on what community means to the individuals located within a specific social context. This allows us to examine ICT use and adoption holistically as a key aspect of community formation and identity maintenance.Findings We depict everyday interactions in which the choice of an older information communication technology, Internet Relay Chat, serves participants in their quest for social belongingness in their community and in distinguishing the community positively from other social groups. This chapter describes how identity work is accomplished by adopting and valuing shared, social views about users versus non-users, including: (1) emphasizing the skills and efforts needed for using Internet Relay Chat (IRC), (2) undermining the use of other technologies, and (3) deploying and referencing IRC jargon and “insider humor” within the broader community.Originality/value of paper By examining online and offline social interactions in a defined community over time, we expose the process of identity work in a holistic manner. Our analysis emphasizes the underlying process where media choices can be harnessed to fulfill the need to identify with groups and feel affirmed in one’s claims to both personal and social identity.
VL  - 8
SN  - 978-1-78350-629-3, 978-1-78350-582-1/2050-2060
DO  - 10.1108/S2050-206020140000008020
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020140000008020
AU  - Lampinen Airi
AU  - Lehtinen Vilma
AU  - Cheshire Coye
PY  - 2014
Y1  - 2014/01/01
TI  - Media Choice and Identity Work: A Case Study of Information Communication Technology Use in a Peer Community
T2  - Communication and Information Technologies Annual
T3  - Studies in Media and Communications
PB  - Emerald Group Publishing Limited
SP  - 103
EP  - 130
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -