The role of parents, other adults, peers and informal learning communities in shaping positive social media use in adolesent girls
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0034 |
| Published date | 29 July 2022 |
| Date | 29 July 2022 |
| Pages | 399-420 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Linda Charmaraman,Catherine Grevet Delcourt,Sidrah Durrani,Jyontika Kapoor,Amanda M. Richer,Le Fan Xiao |
The role of parents, other adults,
peers and informal learning
communities in shaping positive
social media use in adolesent girls
Linda Charmaraman
Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Catherine Grevet Delcourt
Department of Computer Science, Wellesley College,
Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Sidrah Durrani
Department of Developmental Psychology,
Teachers College of Columbia University, New York, New York, USA, and
Jyontika Kapoor,Amanda M. Richer and Le Fan Xiao
Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College,
Wellesley, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to introduce the concept of communities of social media practice where more
experienced users provide guidance to female novice users, enacting a form of legitimate peripheral
participationto “onboard”newcomers.
Design/methodology/approach –Through surveys with 968 early adolescents (averageage was 13),
the authors quantitativelyexplored sources and types of guidancefor young social media users, popularity of
conversation themesrelated to this guidance and how these conversations are associatedwith positive social
media engagement. The authors qualitatively documented a case study of how a summer workshop of 17
studentspromotes positive social media use througha community of practice.
Findings –Although earlyadolescent girls reported that they more frequentlytalked to their parents about
a wider range of social media topics, same-age peers and younger family members (e.g., siblings, cousins)
were also frequentsources. Surprisingly, the authors also found that the source most stronglyassociated with
positive social media use was the peer group. This case study of an intentional community of practice
demonstrated how peers go from “peripheral”to“centered”in socializing each other for more positive social
media use.
Originality/value –Unlike most prior scholarshipon mediating social technology use, this study focuses
on a critical developmentalperiod (e.g. early adolescents), sourcesof guidance other than exclusively parents,
explore the specificconversation topics that offer guidance and documentan informal community of practice
Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award
number 1R15HD094281-01. Additional support provided by the Wellesley College Early Sophomore
Research Program to the fourth author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and
does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors wish
to thank middle school and community-based partners and Alyssa Gramajo for project coordination
and manuscript editing.
Social media
use in
adolescent
girls
399
Received10 March 2022
Revised16 June 2022
25June 2022
Accepted26 June 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 7/8, 2022
pp. 399-420
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0034
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-5348.htm
for girls that provides the training ground for peers and adult facilitators to codesign more positive social
media spaces.
Keywords Social media, Adolescence, Informal learning, Digital media, Girls’media use,
Parental guidance
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Given that 90% of teenagers aged 13–17use social media platforms and 71% use more than
one, understanding how to guide tween and teen use of social media is paramount. The
frequency of technology use is one factor that can vary by gender (Anderson and Jiang,
2018). For example, 50% of teenage girls are described as constantinternet users, compared
to 39% of boys. Girls are more likely than boys to report Snapchat as their most frequent
media site (42% versus 29%), whereas boys are more likely to report YouTube as their
favorite platform (39% versus25%) (Anderson and Jiang, 2018). Although past studies have
more frequently examined the contexts and consequences of problematic technology use,
the contexts surrounding what leads to positive social media use is underexplored. The
majority of teens report that social media makes them feel more connected (81%) to their
friends and two-thirds report that social media provides a sense of community for support
through difficult times (Anderson and Jiang, 2018). In the same survey, however, teens
reported that they feltoverwhelmed by the drama (45%), pressured to only post contentthat
makes them look good (43%) and to post content that receives more likes and comments
(37%). This paradoxical double-edgedsword of social media use can also lead to advice and
guidance from both sides of thespectrum through multiple key players in adolescents’lives.
Although there is no consensus in the literature on a definition of problematicsocial media
use (Henzel and Håkansson, 2021), it is generally agreed upon that it becomes problematic
when there is a detrimental effect on the personal and/or social lives of the user (B
anyai
et al.,2017).Such effects include cyberbullying,rejection, fear of isolation or missing out, low
self-esteem, body imagedissatisfaction, mental health problems and insomnia (Beyenset al.,
2016;Vernon et al.,2016;Keles et al., 2019;Charmaraman et al., 2021a,2021b).Some of these
effects may vary by gender; for example, B
anyai et al. (2017) found that adolescents that
were at-risk of social media use were mainly girls, who reported the greatest amount of
internet and social media use. Similarly,Neira and Barber (2014; as cited in Keles et al.,2019)
found that social media could have negative impacts on girls while beinga positive leisure
activity for boys. Indeed, girls tend to report higher levels of needing to belong and fear of
missing out (Beyens et al.,2016). Frequent and intense problematic use of social media
platforms is also associated with an increased risk of validating and engaging in online
aggressive behaviors(Craig et al., 2020).
Because of the shortage of literature relating to positive social media use, there is not a
widely agreed upon definition.Research indicates that positive social media use may include
building online social support through connecting with others and strengthening
friendships (Pouwels et al.,2021), prosocially sharing resources with peers, and promoting
harmonious relations with others online (Erreygers et al., 2018a,2018b). Another popular
example of positive social media use is digital citizenship, which is a combination of
respectful, tolerant and civically engaged online behavior, such as finding information to
help the community (Jones and Mitchell, 2016). Prior research shows that positive social
contexts from school and home translate into more prosocial online behavior (Erreygers
et al., 2018a,2018b). Social media can serve as a positive force by promoting feelings of
belonging, social connectedness, agency and a sense of control (Charmaraman et al.,2018).
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