These images show how the Facebook networks of 121 LGBTQ youth (Mage = 24.13 years) differ depending on how “out” these young people are about their identities. Using cluster analysis of survey data, we found LGBTQ youth managed outness in one of four ways: high overall outness (63.82%), low overall outness (13.57%), less out to family than others (11.56%), and more out to family than others (11.06%). The first image shows all 121 individual Facebook networks. Subgroups were detected using a clustering algorithm and visualized in different colors. The second image shows Facebook networks aggregated and contracted by the four outness types in order to better understand connections between network subgroups. These images show how Facebook connections between network subgroups vary for LGBTQ youth who manage outness in different ways.
Description
These images show the Facebook connectivity of different relational subgroups (e.g., family, work) for LGBTQ youth with different patterns of outness. By collapsing and simplifying these Facebook networks, we can see patterns in how LGBTQ youth manage their identities and relationships.
