Seriously Social: Making Connections in the Information Age

This thesis is about digital social networks and associated media in the lives of young primarily middle class, people, it based on a qualitative study - using interviews, focus groups and participant observation - of university undergraduates in the United Kingdom and Australia. The study traces how, between 2005 and 2008, these students utilise what I term, 'social media' to manage ?e their social lives. My analysis of the data draws attention to the participatory nature of the technology, and characterises how such resources have become 'everyday' and are seen as essential hubs of information.