ABSTRACT
After joining a group on the Dutch social networking site Hyves, a hyperlinked icon appeared on the user’s personal profile page. By joining these groups, users articulate hypertextual narratives of selves. Figure 12 shows the interest groups Anas, a thirteen-year-old rap fanatic, included on his profile page. From the top left he linked to “I’m from Brabant where the fack you from?,” a group referring to the province where he lives in the south of the Netherlands. “Achmed the dead terrorist,” refers to the comical incompetent suicide bomber act performed by Jeff Dunham, an American ventriloquist. With “I Like the summer” he indicated to prefer warm weather. By having joined the group “Marrakesh,” he published symbolic diasporic affiliations. His parents were born in Marrakech, in Morocco, and by listing this group Anas shows he is proud of his migration background. He connects with global youth cultural forms with the groups “how do I survive without a mobile phone,” “Modern Warfare 3,” “Jersey Shore,” and “STREETLANGUAGE!.” The hyperlinked groups showcase his attachment to his mobile phone, to a first-person shooter video game, the MTV reality TV series and his preference for slang and urban youth culture. “Blackberry Babes” is a page where girls posted selfies taken with their mobile phones. The site was used for dating purposes, as it is dedicated to exchanging BlackBerry PingChat! messenger contact details. The group icon is exemplary for stereotypically gendered selfies that meet the dominant perspective of the heterosexual male gaze. Lastly he linked to “Hate the rain” as another reminder of his preference for summery weather. Hyves groups thirteen-year-old Anas linked to on his Hyves profile page (July 22, 2011) https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003693994/8a4a53f4-ac3f-485f-a888-21d8887f6684/content/fig12.jpg"/>
