Forming and perceiving youth identity across the online and offline social space

The Bachelor Thesis "Forming and perceiving youth identity across the online and offline social space" describes the approach of youth to social networking sites, the forming of youth identity and the way knowledge gained from online social space is reflected in offline social space. The aim of the thesis is to answer the following questions: How do youth form their own identity on social networking sites? How do they perceive others' identity, and do they think that the online and offline social spaces are connected? The theoretical part aims to describe the main concepts that are linked with youth, social networking sites and identity. Furthermore, existing knowledge connected to this issue is introduced. This includes e.g. information linked with internet use, youth's online activities, possible risks connected to the use of internet, ways to form and perceive identity and current knowledge about the interconnection or disconnection of online and offline social spaces. In the practical part I strive to answer the previous questions through qualitative research. The chosen method is a semi- structured interview which is then analyzed by using thematic analysis and a priori coding. The result of this thesis is a more comprehensive view of the issue of youth's use of social networking sites