Malin Sveningsson Elm

Young people's presentations of relationships in a Swedish Internet community

One of the most popular Swedish online meeting places is Lunarstorm, which is visited weekly by 85 per cent of all Swedes aged 15–20. This study aims at looking at young mens and womens presentations of self at Lunarstorm, focusing specifically on how personal relationships are represented. This is done by quantitative content analyses of 500 users’ personal pages. Results show that in many respects, the presentations follow a gender stereotypical pattern. More women than men emphasize their relationships and express stronger feelings about them. However, one exception was the way romantic relationships are addressed, where both men and women express strong feelings towards their relationships and partners.

Young People’s Gender and Identity Work in a Swedish Internet Community

One of the most popular Swedish online meeting places is the community portal Lunarstorm, which is visited above all by young people. During the last years, media has described how teenage girls have been contacted at Lunarstorm and lured into sexual activities. This in turn has led to further discussions on the way teenagers present themselves online. The adolescence is a time to explore identity and to find out who one really is. The way to an independent identity goes through experimenting, and it is important to find places where this can be done away from the surveillance of the adult generation. Here, online meeting places may have an important part to fill. This paper is a presentation of a research project (2005–2007) that sets out to study what role Lunarstorm plays in the identity work of young Swedes. It presents the methodological and theoretical points of departure, and summarizes the main findings of the project.

Teenager get undressed on the Internet. Young People's exposure of bodies in a Swedish Internet Community

Abstract During recent years, Swedish media have paid attention to young people’s presentations of self in Internet communities, claiming that these presentations are often sexually provocative. The present study aims at investigating young men’s and women’s presentations of self in Sweden’s largest Internet community, focusing specifically on how bodies are displayed. This is done through quantitative and qualitative content analyses of the photos of 88 users. Results show differences in what parts of their bodies the young men and women show: women tend to focus on faces, while men focus on torsos. Results also contradict the image depicted by the media, as very few photos in the sample can be described as provocative. One explanation offered here concerns the specific Internet community’s lack of anonymity, meaning that the interaction is steered by the same mechanisms and social pressures at work in offline environments.

Language Deterioration Revisited: The Extent and Function of English Content in a Swedish Chat Room

Ever since the internet first became familiar to ordinary people and to popular media, it has been surrounded by conflicts and moral panics. Even if the technology has been praised for the advantages it may bring to its users, it has also been accused of influencing its users in a variety of negative ways. For example, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the internet was accused of influencing people’s language style, and teachers especially were concerned by the way it might affect children’s language use as well as their knowledge of the vernacular language.