The Construction of Identity by the Libyan Youth Movement on Facebook

Abstract:

This study demonstrates how an identity was constructed on the Libyan Youth Movement’s Facebook page by the page’s authors. The study uses a data set collected during the opening weeks of the Libyan revolution, using data almost entirely from the month of February, 2011. The authors assume that new media allows for the increased expression of identity and that discourse analysis can be used to uncover the identity/identities of the LYM. Following in the footsteps of the Constructivist authors we endeavor to uncover the identity of the LYM which will allow for the prediction of the LYM’s goals.