Growing up on Facebook

"How would it feel to be faced with your Facebook Timeline? By asking young people to reflect on their past and present selves, whether shown on or, significantly, often hidden from the platform, Brady Robards and Sin Lincoln insightfully peel back the contextual subtleties of identity work in the digital age." Sonia Livingstone, Professor of Social Psychology, Department of Media and Communications, London School of Economics and Political Science "Unlike generations which grew up with TV, radio, and movies, to grow up on Facebook means that ones life is sustained and somewhat enabled by a medium. This engaging book reveals what happens to human development as it is enveloped in the architecture of platforms. Brady Robards and Sin Lincoln offer remarkable insights on life, love and maintaining a sense of self while growing up, on Facebook and off." Zizi Papacharissi, Professor and Head of Communication, University of Illinois at Chicago "A deeply nuanced look at the impacts of popular social media technologies. In a media environment dominated by breaking news and hot takes, Growing up on Facebook takes a serious examination of the longer-term effects of social media, looking at how young peoples identities and relationships are constructed through and with the platform. Drawing from cutting-edge media theory and rich empirical data, the stories told by Sin Lincoln and Brady Robards reveal how we grapple with a platform that archives our most personal digital interactions." Alice E. Marwick, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication & Principal Researcher, Center for Information, Technology and Public Life, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill "Growing up on Facebook is an insightful analysis of how the pioneers of social media live, curate and contest Facebook. This book exposes their engagement with networked publics, involving curated acts of presence and absence, connection and disconnection to archive the changing shape of young adulthood. With young peoples reflections at the centre of their analysis, Brady Robards and Sin Lincolns book sets new agendas for the study of social media and new questions for those interested in young peoples lives." Johanna Wyn, Redmond Barry Distinguished Emeritus Professor, Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne

Brady Robards has a PhD in sociology from Griffith University, Australia. He is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Monash University. Bradys work is published in journals such as New Media & Society, Qualitative Research, Sociology, and the Journal of Youth Studies. Recent books include Digital Intimate Publics & Social Media and Youth & Society. Sin Lincoln has a PhD in sociology from Manchester Metropolitan University, United Kingdom. She is an independent scholar. Her monograph Youth Culture and Private Space was published in 2012. She has also published widely in a range of journals and anthologies. She is co-editor of two book series: Cinema & Youth Cultures and Palgrave Studies in the History of Subcultures and Popular Music.

Acknowledgements Introduction Is Facebook Still Cool? Was It Ever? Sites and Spaces of Growing Up: Blurring the Digital and Physical Scrolling Back through Facebook Timelines: Making Sense of Digital Traces Shaping and Performing Professional Identities: From Education to Employment Love, and Making It Facebook Official Mediating Family Life Documenting Leisure: Partying, Travel, Music, and Hanging Out Disconnections, Absences, Conclusions About the Authors Index.