Research On The Influence Of Social Media On The Identity Of Gay Men

Based on Web2.0,social media not only enhances social activities in heterosexual groups but also brings the interactions in male homosexuals community online from offline.As a sub-cultural group,male homosexuals are drifting in the“gray area" separated from the mainstream culture all the time.They have a lot of pressure in social identity because they are regarded as weirdoes who are going against the mainstream thinking.Homosexual dating software,represented by Blued,provide new social situations for the special group.According to the current development of the domestic mainstream male homosexuals social software,the thesis uses the most popular homosexual dating software,Blued,as a research sample of social media and interviewed 20 users profoundly using literature analysis and Virtual Ethnography.It mainly discusses what functions and features of social media bring social identity to homosexuals,how they realize the identity and in which aspects they manifest.The thesis finds that by building a private "backstage" with detailed verticals,social media realize the ideal framework of virtual social scene and provide a platform where homosexuals get their own social identity.Secondly,within frequent group interactions,social media make people go through three stages,such as identity encouragement,identity confirmation and identity unification.Finally,social media enhance the group identity within some people under closed circle culture.