Friendship 2.0: Adolescentsʹ experiences of belonging and self-disclosure online

This study explores the role that digital media technologies play in adolescentsʹ experiences of friendship and identity. The author draws on findings from in-depth interviews with 32 adolescents (15 girls, 17 boys) ages 13–18 (M = 15.5 years) attending one of seven secondary schools in Bermuda. The adolescents were asked to describe the nature of their online exchanges with friends and the value they ascribe to these conversations. A thematic analysis of their responses revealed that online peer communications promote adolescentsʹ sense of belonging and self-disclosure, two important peer processes that support identity development during adolescence. At the same time, the unique features of computer-mediated communication shape adolescentsʹ experiences of these processes in distinct ways. Gender and age differences show that adolescentsʹ online peer communications are not uniform; the characteristics that distinguish adolescents offline also shape their online activities.