Social media provides Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Plus (LGBTQ+) youth with daily access to a broader sociocultural dialogue that may shape narrative identity development. Through in-depth narrative interviews, this study sought to understand the lived experiences of 11 LGBTQ+ undergraduates (age range = 19-23) building narrative identities in the cultural context of social media and the role of social media within this process. Interviews were analyzed using an interpretative, individual analysis of personal stories. These experiences were then compared and contrasted through thematic analysis to identify four shared narrative themes. Narratives of merging safe spaces highlight how LGBTQ+ youth now have regular access to safe environments online/offline which facilitate more secure identity development. Narratives of external identity alignment describe social media as a tool for LGBTQ+ youth to seek out identities that match their preexisting sense of self. Narratives of multiple context-based identities encapsulate how adolescents’ identity markers are multiple and invoked in a context-dependent manner. Finally, narratives of individuality and autonomy characterize how LGBTQ+ youth perceive themselves as highly individualized members of a wider community. These findings highlight the complex role social media plays within LGBTQ+ youth identity development. The implications are discussed within.

中文翻译：

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“让我做我喜欢的事情。。。不要为自己决定我的身份”：LGBTQ +社交媒体在叙事身份发展中的青年经历

社交媒体为女同性恋同性恋双性恋同性恋者（LGBTQ +）青年提供了每天访问更广泛的社会文化对话的机会，这些对话可能会影响叙事性身份的发展。通过深入的叙事访谈，本研究试图了解11名LGBTQ +大学生（年龄范围= 19-23）在社交媒体的文化背景下建立叙事身份的真实经验以及社交媒体在此过程中的作用。访谈是通过对个人故事的解释性，个人分析来分析的。然后，通过专题分析对这些经历进行比较和对比，以确定四个共同的叙事主题。合并安全空间的叙述突出了LGBTQ +青年现在如何定期在线/离线访问安全环境，从而促进更安全的身份发展。外部身份一致性的叙述将社交媒体描述为LGBTQ +年轻人寻找与他们先前存在的自我意识相匹配的身份的工具。多个基于上下文的身份的叙事封装了青少年的身份标记是如何多个并以上下文相关的方式调用的。最后，关于个性和自治的叙述表征了LGBTQ +青年如何将自己视为更广泛社区中高度个性化的成员。这些发现突显了社交媒体在LGBTQ +青少年身份发展中所扮演的复杂角色。内在讨论。多个基于上下文的身份的叙事封装了青少年的身份标记是如何多个并以上下文相关的方式调用的。最后，关于个性和自治的叙述表征了LGBTQ +青年如何将自己视为更广泛社区中高度个性化的成员。这些发现突显了社交媒体在LGBTQ +青少年身份发展中所扮演的复杂角色。内在讨论。多个基于上下文的身份的叙事封装了青少年的身份标记是如何多个并以上下文相关的方式调用的。最后，关于个性和自治的叙述表征了LGBTQ +青年如何将自己视为更广泛社区中高度个性化的成员。这些发现突显了社交媒体在LGBTQ +青少年身份发展中所扮演的复杂角色。内在讨论。