An 'open source' networked identity: On young people's construction and co-construction of identity on social network sites

This paper examines the concept of identity in relation to youth practices on social network sites (SNS). The paper illustrates how writing “I love you” or other emotional statements on each other’s profiles on SNS is not only a common way for Danish teenagers to communicate and practice friendship, but also an important part of their self-presentation online. It is discussed why these emotional statements are almost always publically available – or even strategically, intentionally placed on the young people's profiles. In relation to this, it is argued that young people – through their emotional communicative actions – are not only performing their own identity, but are becoming co-constructors of each other's identities, which the author characterizes as an 'open source' networked identity.