The proposed study explores the ways in which young people (14 to 17 years old) living in Athens (Greece) use social media in relation to their identities and future aspirations. In particular, this study investigates how young people develop their identities online and how their online interactions relate to the formation of their future educational and career aspirations. A particular focus is placed on a comparative investigation of these practices and aspirations among young people who come from different socio-economic backgrounds.

First, my research concentrates on contemporary discussions of the use of media in relation to youth and education with particular focus on digital communication, social media platforms and online activities of young people. Information and communication technologies have increasingly mediated all aspects of young people’s lives as they are being widely used at various spaces such as their homes, schools and communities (Livingstone & Helsper, 2007; Lauricella et al., 2014; Michikyan & Suárez-Orozco, 2016). However, it has been admitted that further research is needed about the use of social media platforms as we still have achieved a limited understanding of the online practices that people engage with on a daily basis, especially in populations such as the young people living in countries outside the U.S.

Second, this study is informed by discussions of identity in relation to the contemporary context that young people live in. Theories of identity have been revisited in contemporary literature as the environment that young people are growing up in has changed. Terms such as “digital youth” or the “app generation” have been used to denote this group (Subrahmanyam & Šmahel, 2011; Gardner & Davis, 2013). For the purpose of this study, a socio-cultural approach, according to which identity is conceived as a continuous process closely related to the social environment (Lawler, 2014), is used in order to explore this concept in relation to the online interactions that are embedded in young people’s lives.

In the European context, the “EU Kids Online project” (Livingstone et al., 2015) has provided rich data about children's Internet use, activities and skills as well as about online safety and parental awareness issues using a large sample of children and young people living in 25 European countries. My work will contribute to the field of research about young people’s lives in the contemporary European context as it will explore further the online activities that are embedded in their daily lives. It will provide an overview of their interactions and practices on social media platforms in particular and it will enhance our understanding of the ways that young people develop their identities and their aspirations in the digital context. Moreover, as research on youth and social media use has been growing, discussions around the issue of the “digital divide” have also been developed and the multiple dimensions that it has in the contemporary context are being explored (Hargittai, 2002; Hargittai & Kim, 2012; Park & Lee, 2015).

The Greek context is considered to be interesting as research in the area of online interactions is not yet developed sufficiently and the socio-economic changes that have occurred during the recent years seem to greatly affect young people’s lives and aspirations.

My research questions are the following:

1. Which are the main practices that youth (14-17 years old) engage with in social media platforms?
2. How do young people’s social media online practices relate to the development of their idenities?
3. How do young people’s social media online practices relate to the formation of their educational and career aspirations?
4. How do young people’s socio-economic backgrounds influence their online practices and engagement with social media platforms?

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