Gender, Identity, and Language Use in Teenage Blogs

Authors

  • David A. Huffaker,

    Corresponding author
    1. Ph.D. student in Media, Technology and Society at Northwestern University. David received his M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. His research examines online communities, computer-mediated communication, and educational technology. More information can be found at http://www.soc.northwestern.edu/gradstudents/huffaker.1
      Address: Northwestern University, Frances Searle Building Room 2-147, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 USA
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  • Sandra L. Calvert

    Corresponding author
    1. Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University and the Director of the Children's Digital Media Center, a consortium of five universities funded by the National Science Foundation. She is author of Children's Typographic Symbols: Journeys through the Information Age (McGraw Hill, 1999) and co-editor of Children in the Digital Age: Influences of Electronic Media on Development (Praeger, 2002). Professor Calvert's current research examines the role that interactivity and identity play in children's learning from entertainment media.
      Address: Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 309-C White Gravenor Building, 37th & O Streets, Washington, DC 20057 USA
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Address: Northwestern University, Frances Searle Building Room 2-147, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208 USA

Address: Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 309-C White Gravenor Building, 37th & O Streets, Washington, DC 20057 USA

Abstract

This study examines issues of online identity and language use among male and female teenagers who created and maintained weblogs, personal journals made publicly accessible on the World Wide Web. Online identity and language use were examined in terms of the disclosure of personal information, sexual identity, emotive features, and semantic themes. Male and female teenagers presented themselves similarly in their blogs, often revealing personal information such as their real names, ages, and locations. Males more so than females used emoticons, employed an active and resolute style of language, and were more likely to present themselves as gay. The results suggest that teenagers stay closer to reality in their online expressions of self than has previously been suggested, and that these explorations involve issues, such as learning about their sexuality, that commonly occur during the adolescent years.

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