"I Was Always Trying to Figure It Out… on My Own Terms": Structural Barriers, the Internet, and Sexual Identity Development among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer People of Different Generations.

Recognizing the historical grounding of sexual identity development, we examined the spontaneous narration of the internet's significance among a diverse sample of three distinct birth cohorts of sexual minority adults ( = 36, ages 18-59) in the United States. Thematic analysis revealed two structural barriers and four roles of the internet in sexual identity development. Structural barriers were (exclusive to members of the older cohort), and (2) (which cut across cohorts). Roles of the internet included: (which appeared only in narratives of the younger cohort); ; and (which appeared mostly in narratives of the younger cohort). Most participants who described the internet as playing a role in sexual identity development were members of the younger (ages 18-25) and middle (ages 34-41) cohorts. We discuss how the internet has assumed a unique role in history in the development of sexual minority people. Further, our findings highlight that sexual identity development occurs across the lifespan, and how that process and the roles of the internet vary by generation and structural realities.