This
book presents a Facebook study on members of the Cusp Generation, or those
born before the "great digital divide" of 1995. This delineation allows for a
discussion on the possible socio-cultural implications of Facebook use for
people of all ages. Members of the Cusp Generation are in a unique position
as "part digital natives" to easily acquire and use new media technologies,
while being more critically aware of the personal, social, and cultural
effects that may arise from them thanks to having some memory of the
pre-digital era. Drawing on identity theories rooted in critical theory and
cultural studies, the author shows that there are potential constrictions on
people's agency in their Facebook use caused by consumer discourse,
Facebook's hyperreal nature and structure, psychological predispositions, and
the potential for avatar attachment. In raising concerns over the impacts of
technology-based communication, this book explores how the medium of Facebook
extends and exacerbates processes of offline social reproduction and
discusses how the positive social and political aspects of Facebook can be
enhanced. The findings contribute to academic discussions in the fields of
cultural studies and Education and can be applied to the development of
critical media literacy for curriculum and pedagogy.

List of Tables; List of Figure; Introduction: Why Technology Matters; Relationships with Technology; Living in Hyperreal Connections; Living in Hyperreal Connections; What Is Agency in Identity Performance?; Research Aims; My Facebook Study; Method and Theory; Research Implications; Book Overview; Why People Use Facebook: The Pros and Cons Associated with Its Use; Online Identity: Teens; Online Identity on Facebook: Young Adults; Teens and Young Adults: Similarities and Socio-cultural Implications; Literature on SNS/Facebook Use for All Ages; Reasons for Negative Consequences of SNS/Facebook Use; Conclusion; Linking Identity Theory, Avatar Attachment Theory, and Hyperreal Considerations to Overconsumption and Self-Fetishization on Facebook; Identity Theory; Age Category Conceptualizations: Links to Socio-Economic Conditions; Age Categories, Market Exploitation, and Consumer Discourse; Celebrity Culture and Gendered Beauty Discourse; Cyber Identity Performance; Hyperreality, Overconsumption, and Self-Fetishization; Debates on Personal Agency; Agency in Cyber Identity Performance; Ensuring Agency; Chapter Summary;Facebook Study; Study Rationale; Design; Data Collection; Data Analysis; Johnson's Four-Point Model for Inquiry of a Media Site; Applying Johnson's Four-Point Model to My Study Results; Chapter Summary; Facebook Study Results; Facebook Profile Analysis (FPA) and Survey Results; Facebook Study Findings: FPA and Survey; E-mail Responses to Likes; Eight Day Screen Shot Analysis of Home Page Advertising (Appendix C); Chapter Summary; A Critical Analysis of Facebook Study Findings; Production: Reflections of Consumer and Identity Discourse; Text: Structural Impacts on Production and Readings; Readings: How Does the Medium Affect the Reading?; A Critical Perspective on Agency in Facebook Use; Conclusion; Future Research Directions; Theoretical Implications; Educational Implications; Limitations Incurred in This Study; Appendix A: Survey; Appendix B: Sample Facebook Profile; Appendix C: Home Page Advertising Screen Shots for 8 Days; Bibliography; Index.