Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community
This paper examines how membership in the Couchsurfing network allows for the movement of personal relationships offline thereby redefining social interaction during tourist experiences. It also reflects the active construction of self-identity in nonymous online environments, and the reflexivity in...
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| Format: | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| Language: | English |
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2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/55831 |
| _version_ | 1811690015955091456 |
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| author | Murphy, Hannah Rose |
| author2 | School of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Humanities and Social Sciences Murphy, Hannah Rose |
| author_sort | Murphy, Hannah Rose |
| collection | NTU |
| description | This paper examines how membership in the Couchsurfing network allows for the movement of personal relationships offline thereby redefining social interaction during tourist experiences. It also reflects the active construction of self-identity in nonymous online environments, and the reflexivity in self-identity as it is renegotiated offline during actual interaction. The study employs nineteen in-depth interviews conducted with active Couchsurfers and two instances of participant observation that took place online (on the website) and offline (during a Couchsurfing event). Findings suggest that Couchsurfers construct their online identities based on the normative expectations of the online community and their conceptions of self. During offline interaction, communal understanding and the liminality in experience aided Couchsurfers in overcoming perceived differences. They were then able to adapt their identities based on context and utilize the social capital present in the network thereby authenticating their tourist experiences. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:57:17Z |
| format | Final Year Project (FYP) |
| id | ntu-10356/55831 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T05:57:17Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/558312019-12-10T12:37:00Z Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community Murphy, Hannah Rose School of Humanities and Social Sciences J. Stephen Lansing DRNTU::Social sciences This paper examines how membership in the Couchsurfing network allows for the movement of personal relationships offline thereby redefining social interaction during tourist experiences. It also reflects the active construction of self-identity in nonymous online environments, and the reflexivity in self-identity as it is renegotiated offline during actual interaction. The study employs nineteen in-depth interviews conducted with active Couchsurfers and two instances of participant observation that took place online (on the website) and offline (during a Couchsurfing event). Findings suggest that Couchsurfers construct their online identities based on the normative expectations of the online community and their conceptions of self. During offline interaction, communal understanding and the liminality in experience aided Couchsurfers in overcoming perceived differences. They were then able to adapt their identities based on context and utilize the social capital present in the network thereby authenticating their tourist experiences. Bachelor of Arts 2014-04-01T02:36:10Z 2014-04-01T02:36:10Z 2014 2014 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/55831 en Nanyang Technological University 34 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Social sciences Murphy, Hannah Rose Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title | Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title_full | Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title_fullStr | Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title_short | Exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds : the couchsurfing community |
| title_sort | exploring identities and social networks across online and offline worlds the couchsurfing community |
| topic | DRNTU::Social sciences |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/10356/55831 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT murphyhannahrose exploringidentitiesandsocialnetworksacrossonlineandofflineworldsthecouchsurfingcommunity |