A Place for Friends?

This paper presents part of a two-year research carried on the social networking site MySpace.com to examine the perception of MySpace as a “place for friends.” A qualitative methodology using observation and interviews was used to examine the perceptions of 29 Italian and American music-related MySpace users. What emerges from the findings is a widespread users’ perception of MySpace as a friendly environment, where information must and can be disclosed. A grounded study on this perception of friendliness is used to present an analysis of the elements that constitute this perception. The element of surveillance that has been widely accounted for in literature is present in this perception, though what emerges to be potentially dangerous for privacy is one’s own deliberate disclosure of information, which might be related to the perception of finding oneself in a harmless environment. Based on the findings of this exploratory study, the paper highlights directions for future research to understand the dangers and perception of privacy disclosure online, and, in particular, on social networking sites.