AMANDA HYNAN FINAL THESIS PDF

4.10.4. Narrative record of activities
Harriet mentioned the timeline feature of Facebook as useful for keeping a record of
old activities which was confirmed by Will and Erica
Amanda: I don’t know if I’ve created a timeline or not? (interview took place
as this feature was being launched on Facebook and people had been invited to
create a timeline themselves before Facebook started automatically creating
one)
Harriet: I l-o-v-e i-t
Amanda: You love it, So you’ve fully created. I must get into Timeline then
Harriet: Y-o-u c-a-n l-o-o-k r-e-a-l-l-y o-l-d
Amanda: you can look at really old stuff, oh I know what you mean without
having to plough through all the old posts and everything, so it’s much quicker
to scan down quickly and get to stuff
Harriet: ‘yes’ (nods head)
SLT: Oh gosh, I don’t use any of this stuff
Amanda: What about you Will have you got a timeline?
Will: ‘yes’ (raises brows)
Amanda: Yup, okay and do you love it too
Will: ‘yes’ (raises brows)
Amanda: some people have found the timeline on Facebook really useful cos
they’ve said it’s a space where they can record old stories
Erica: ‘yes’ (raises eyebrows)
4.10.5. Summary
Being able to represent themselves more fully was the main thrust of the selfrepresentation
category. Photographs were particularly important to show activities
that participants were proud of and helped to establish a desired self-image which
gave a sense of satisfaction and pleasure but also as seen in the Use of the internet
category (section 4.4.1.) to express internal emotions. The opportunity to express
opinions and follow up and repair conversations which may have been challenging
within face-to-face interactions was also valued. Participants showed how
conversational equality was perceived through feeling online communication helped
other people understand, feeling better understanding through writing and also
challenging other people’s perceptions by showcasing an underlying ability and
humour which may not be so evident from face-to-face conversations. Of particular
interest is the narrative record offered by the timeline feature of Facebook that will be
discussed in the next chapter. One area of difficulty for AAC assisted communication
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