An Exploratory Study on Adolescents' Experiences of Using ICQ (I Seek You).

Little research exists into adolescents' rationales for using ICQ (I Seek You) and these adolescents' relationships with their peers, families, and strangers in ICQ communication. Our curiosity about these subjects led us to adopt a qualitative inquiry, a multiple case study of ten adolescents via purposive sampling. Three major results were discerned: (1) rationales for using ICQ as a major communication tool and for its entertainment functions, (2) contents of ICQ included the participants' school lives, peer relationships, family issues, and playing games, and (3) the participants' relationships with their peers, family, and strangers like female adolescents are more protective than males. Finally, adolescents' voices should be amplified in order to let adults respond to their contextual practices such as ICQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]