Social media, identity and privacy: Investigation of the lives of social media using the late exhibitors in the Elazığ sample

The aim of this study is to examine the identity and privacy usage practices of adolescents aged 15-19 years in social media within the framework of the concepts of identity, privacy and social media. In this study, the concept of identity is discussed with its theoretical dimensions and how the concept is defined in the historical flow, how it is interpreted today, and what are the important processes affecting individuals' identity construction are discussed within the framework of various theories. In the study, which consists of the sample of late adolescents aged 15-19 years, it is stated that the identification process of individuals is classified as infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age and the most important period in this classification is adolescence. When individuals successfully overcome their identity crises during adolescence, they will be able to step into adulthood more successfully. In this study, it is seen that the privacy attitudes of adolescents are mostly shaped through the concept of family. Within the scope of the research, the concept of new media and social media platforms are discussed and how these concepts affect the lives of individuals and how they affect the usage habits of individuals are also discussed. The identity building and privacy attitudes of the adolescents aged 15-19 began in the social media after adolescent youth acquired their first smart devices. When the age range is taken into consideration, it is seen that the late adolescent age group has all the usage practices of digital life and they use the social media platforms consciously. The study included 15-19 year old adolescents living in Elazig. A semi-structured form was applied according to the interview form approach to 30 individuals selected by purposeful sampling. While qualitative data were obtained, descriptive research design and analysis were adopted and in this context, interview findings were described within the theoretical framework. Based on the findings of the research, the privacy attitudes of adolescents in the social media were discussed with a scientific framework based on the digital life and representations of adolescents.