The present article analyses the "Self"-disclosure of the
Romanian members of social network sites, namely Facebook and HI5.
The initial assumption was that the users of social network sites
perform certain daily activities (such as making friends) at the
intersection of the online and offline lives. This is a result of
the fact that through these socializing networks (Facebook si HI5)
users can both create and erase the differences between the two
interfaces (off- vs. on-) with the purpose of rendering a unitary
image of the "Self" as members of a social network site. The
purpose of the present study is to show the meanings that the users
attribute to the experiences of their online activity on the social
network sites, preferring a qualitative approach of the studied
issue. On the basis of the information provided by a specific age
group - teenagers and young people - we can say that our results
points to the fact that for the young Romanian users of social
network sites (e.g. Facebook si HI5) the answer to the question:
"Why should I register on a social network?" could be summed up the
following way: "I register on a social network site because all my
friends already have an account there". In other words, like in the
case of young people and teenagers from other countries, and as the
specialty literature shows the idea of belonging as a member to a
social network site is associated to the desire of integrating and
being accepted in a group as equal (in age and preoccupations), to
the desire of not losing contact with friends, to the appropriate
medium for setting up a new friendship and at the same time,
relaxing, and having a great free time.
KEY WORDS: social network, image of the "Self" as members of a
social network site;