Abstract



Background: The formation of academic identity during adolescence is one of the most important developmental tasks. With the increasing influence of social media, these spaces have become a new arena for redefining academic self-concept. Previous research has been largely quantitative and has paid less attention to adolescents' lived experiences. This limitation has left our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon insufficient. Conducting an in-depth qualitative study is necessary for a more comprehensive understanding.



Objective: The present study aimed to explore adolescents' lived experiences of the process of academic identity formation in the context of social media.



Method: This qualitative study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Participants were 25 adolescents aged 15 to 18 years in Mashhad who used social media on a daily basis. Purposeful sampling with a maximum variation strategy was employed. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step method.



Findings: Five main themes were extracted: Academic Identity Exploration in Cyberspace (role experimentation, safety in exploration, seeing new paths); Social Feedback and Academic Self-Concept (encouragement from feedback, dependence on others' opinions, psychological pressure); Social Comparison and Identity Duality (fear of missing out, gap between reality and ideal); Redefinition of Academic Success (rejection of school-based criteria, acceptance of alternative paths, studying for myself); Institutional Conflict and Self-Direction (confrontation with institutions, detachment from school, taking control). The findings reveal a complex interplay of exploration opportunities, comparative pressures, and institutional conflicts in adolescents' academic identity formation.



Conclusion: Social media have created a dualistic context for the development of adolescents' academic identity. Paying attention to these findings in designing educational programs and psychological interventions can play an effective role in reducing identity-related anxieties and promoting adolescents' academic self-direction.



Keywords: Academic identity, social media, adolescents, lived experience, phenomenology

Introduction



Adolescence, as a critical transitional stage and one of the most sensitive and dynamic periods of human development, plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of societies (Sawyer et al., 2023).