“He has a way gayer Facebook than I do”: Investigating sexual identity disclosure and context collapse on a social networking site

Abstract

This study extends previous research into social networking sites (SNSs) as environments that often reduce spatial, temporal, and social boundaries, which can result in collapsed contexts for social situations. Context collapse was investigated through interviews and Facebook walkthroughs with 27 LGBTQ young people in the United Kingdom. Since diverse sexualities are often stigmatized, participants' sexual identity disclosure decisions were shaped by both the social conditions of their online networks and the technological architecture of SNSs. Context collapse was experienced as an event through which individuals intentionally redefined their sexual identity across audiences or managed unintentional disclosure. To prevent unintentional context collapse, participants frequently reinstated contexts through tailored performances and audience separation. These findings provide insight into stigmatized identity performances in networked publics while situating context collapse within a broader understanding of impression management, which paves the way for future research exploring the identity implications of everyday SNS use.

Identity, victimization, and support: Facebook experiences and mental health among LGBTQ youth

“…This interconnection leads to a reduction in social boundaries, often referred to as context collapse, which in turn results in information sharing across diverse network subgroups (boyd, 2010; Duguay, 2016; Fox & Ralston, 2016; Hogan, 2010; Vitak & Ellison, 2012). To manage outness in this context, LGBTQ youth reported using identity management strategies such as privacy controls, selectively adding friends, creating multiple accounts, restricting self-expression, deleting or untagging posts, selectively displaying information, and restricting LGBTQ-related content to more anonymous online forums (Cooper & Dzara, 2010; Duguay, 2016). Youth also reported frustration with the difficulty and effort these strategies required, as well as some lack of control over information sharing and pressure to connect with professional and family network members on Facebook (Cooper & Dzara, 2010; Duguay, 2016; Fox & Moreland, 2015; Roundtree, 2016).…”

“…To manage outness in this context, LGBTQ youth reported using identity management strategies such as privacy controls, selectively adding friends, creating multiple accounts, restricting self-expression, deleting or untagging posts, selectively displaying information, and restricting LGBTQ-related content to more anonymous online forums (Cooper & Dzara, 2010; Duguay, 2016). Youth also reported frustration with the difficulty and effort these strategies required, as well as some lack of control over information sharing and pressure to connect with professional and family network members on Facebook (Cooper & Dzara, 2010; Duguay, 2016; Fox & Moreland, 2015; Roundtree, 2016). Alternatively, some viewed context collapse positively because it allowed them to easily and efficiently come out to their entire network (Duguay, 2016; Hillier et al, 2012; Taylor et al, 2014).…”

“…Youth also reported frustration with the difficulty and effort these strategies required, as well as some lack of control over information sharing and pressure to connect with professional and family network members on Facebook (Cooper & Dzara, 2010; Duguay, 2016; Fox & Moreland, 2015; Roundtree, 2016). Alternatively, some viewed context collapse positively because it allowed them to easily and efficiently come out to their entire network (Duguay, 2016; Hillier et al, 2012; Taylor et al, 2014). …”

Identity modulation in networked publics: Queer women's participation and representation on Tinder, Instagram, and Vine

“…While Facebook is the most dominant platform in many countries (Duggan, 2015;Sensis, 2016), several studies have already explored its implications for identity presentation (Lingel & Golub, 2015;Rains & Brunner, 2015;Zhao et al, 2013). Findings from my previous research (Duguay, 2016a) align with Bernie Hogan's (2010) analysis that Facebook's features for connecting multiple audiences can lead users to self-censor aspects of their identity. Conducting a pilot study with Twitter, I tracked activity relating to an LGBTQ festival but found that users tended to retweet celebrities and politicians without sharing much about their own sexual identity (Duguay, 2016b).…”

“…LGBTQ university students negotiated collapsed contexts on Facebook, identifying how some students intentionally collapsed audiences together for coming out posts while others rebuilt contexts through coded messages and applying privacy settings (Duguay, 2016a telephone-based precursor to the internet) constructed elaborate pseudonyms, which concealed their legal names but also divulged information about their physique and sexual preferences to simultaneously create a "sense of secrecy, privacy and dangerous pleasure" (p. 204). In contrast, a lesbian Minitel community required users to purchase an annual subscription, which was viewed as providing the security necessary for users to be 'out' to one another, posting under their first names (Chaplin, 2014).…”