Networking

         In addition, Boyd discusses how teens converse with one another on networking sites. Using a different style of speaking is very common for many teens in order to attract their targeted audiences. This targeted audience often consists of people who teens can relate to and pass information to. Resorting to a different style of speaking, however, can have a detrimental effect for many teens. Teens may post things that can be viewed as misleading, especially from teachers and parents. Certain posts can be taken out of context to mean something completely different. This goes to show that the imagined audience shapes the social context of posts whether it is on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration that audiences go beyond friends or followers on Facebook or Twitter. The author further illustrates this with an example of a teenage boy named Hunter who is very confidential when he uses social media sites such as Facebook. He creates a list of friends who he wants to be friends with and does not post anything that can be taken out of context and be viewed in a different way.

         The idea behind the popularity of a certain social media site begins with one’s peers and the environment that surrounds you. MySpace was a very popular site several years ago, however, today the site can be viewed as obsolete because teens have stopped using it as a third place. Nowadays, teens are socializing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These networking sites have become very popular amongst society and have become the norm in modern society to use these sites. Peer influence contributes to what sites to use when and how popular they become in the teen community. Although Facebook and Twitter have become favored by teens, both sites are used for different purposes. For example, if one wants to connect with a large audience and have a multitude of individuals view posts, then Twitter would be the best option. However, if one wants to connect with friends and post activities that are occurring in one’s daily life, Facebook is the best choice. This goes to show that both sites are used for different social contexts and the audiences that one wants to connect to and share information with.