Life experiences of young adults who vaguebook on social media: A phenomenological study

One of the emerging concepts associated with the rapid increase in social media use is vaguebooking— a practice of sharing emotions and thoughts in a vague and somewhat concealed manner. These ambiguous posts, often designed to draw attention, appear to be particularly common among young adults. However, no studies have directly addressed this phenomenon, and the motivations or life experiences that drive individuals to engage in vaguebooking remain poorly understood. This study aims to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of young adults who engage in vaguebooking on social media. The study was conducted using a phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research methods. The participants consisted of a total of 10 individuals, including 8 women and 2 men, aged between 19 and 22.Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a content analysis approach. The analysis revealed three main themes and ten subthemes. The main themes were identified as: (a) psychosocial motivations behind vaguebooking, (b) the intended audience, and (c) the perceived outcomes of vaguebooking. Overall, the findings suggest that vaguebooking is not merely a problematic online behavior; instead, it can serve as a context-sensitive coping and communication strategy, particularly for young adults navigating identity development and emotional turbulence. In this context, the findings were discussed in light of the relevant literature, and recommendations were provided for practitioners and future research. Keywords: Social Media, Vaguebooking, Young Adults