social networking sites like Facebook provide new venues for young adults to express themselves and to interact
with one another. Although one might expect considerable interactive experiences, we found considerable lurking, with students
being content to look at friends' profiles and to have their own profiles examined as well. Posting to walls and posting pictures for
others to observe highlight a public communication style. Social networking sites allow emerging adults to construct profiles and
engage in activities that reflect identity markers. While friendships, romantic relationships, and ideology remain key facets of
adolescent development, it is fitting that in the digital age individual media preferences have also emerged as playing an important
role in students' expressions of who they are. Researchers that examine theories of adolescence and emerging adulthood, such as
those proposed by Arnett (2000) and Erikson (1963), now have an online space in which to study the evolution of identity
development and friendship exchanges