Interaction with peers online: LGBTQIA+ individuals' information seeking and meaning‐making during the life transitions of identity construction
通过分析992篇论坛帖子，研究LGBTQIA+个体在身份建构的三个过渡阶段中，如何通过在线同伴互动进行信息寻求和意义建构，发现认知、情感和情境三种互动类型。
Abstract People search for information and experiences and seek meaning as a common reaction to new life challenges. There is little knowledge about the interactions through which experiential information is acquired, and how such interactions are meaningful to an information seeker. Through a qualitative content analysis of 992 posts in an online forum, this study investigated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual (LGBTQIA+) individuals' online information interactions and meaning‐making with peers during their life transitions of identity construction. Our analysis reveals LGBTQIA+ people's life challenges across three transition stages (being aware of, exploring, and living with a new identity). Three main types of online peer interactions were identified within: cognitive, affective, and situational peer interactions. We found that online peer interactions are not only a type of information source that LGBTQIA+ individuals use to acquire understanding about themselves but a unique space for transformation learning and meaning‐making where they share self‐examination and reflection, conduct assessments and assumptions, and obtain strength and skills to initiate and adapt life transitions. The findings have theoretical contributions to the development of information behavior models of transitions and practical implications on providing information services that support LGBTQIA+ individuals' meaning‐making during the life transition.