Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Girls and Young Women

Role: Principal Investigator

Timeline: 2016-2018

​

This study examined how social media platforms have created new opportunities for girls to become active participants in the public sphere. The study both explored how social media has given girls access to platforms where they can engage in political debates and even influence such debates while also exploring what they invariably must trade or give up in exchange for this newfound access. 

​

Key Questions

​​​

• On what basis has the public sphere historically marginalized and even excluded individuals on the basis of age, gender, and race?

• Do social media platforms expand access to the public sphere?

• If so, to what extent have they expanded girls and young women's access to the public sphere?

• How did earlier forms of girl-led media-making (e.g., zines) lay the groundwork for contemporary forms of digital activism?

• What trade-offs (e.g., compromised privacy, data sharing, and exposure risks) have girls and young women made to gain greater access public platforms for debate?

 

Methodology and Rationale

 

This study relied on online observations (specifically on Instagram), critical and feminist theory, and a historical comparative analysis. A theoretical framework grounded in public-sphere scholarship and feminist epistemology enabled the study to interrogate both structural exclusions and the platform-specific dynamics of visibility. This mixed methods approach allowed for an analysis of shifts in girls’ and young women's media participation across analog and digital environments.

​​

Study Design

​

• Archival Research: Analyzed zines created by girls and young women in the 1990s and how they did/did not serve as a public platform.

• Platform Documentation: Surveyed and analyzed terms of service and privacy policies of social media sites. 

• Content and Artifact Collection: Collected examples of public-facing activism produced by girls on platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.

• Demographic Research: Analyzed youth social media adoption patterns.

• Historical and Theoretical Framing: Surveyed literature on public-sphere theory, digital labor, feminist activism, and communicative capitalism.

​​​​​​​

Sampling

​

The research compared two eras of girl-centered media production: 1. Pre-digital print-based textual communities (namely, late 1980s to 1990s zine cultures), and 2. Platform-based digital media communities (post-2004 social networks, with a specific focus on girls' and young women's digital media usage in the lead up to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election and the two years following this election cycle). ​​​For the purposes of this study, girls and young women were defined as anyone who self-identifies as a girl or woman and is under the age of 23. Because the study relied on media artifacts, platform policies, and theoretical discourse rather than interviews or surveys, the research was at risk of over-representing the most visible forms of digital girlhood, especially those produced within dominant, English-language social platforms. 

 ​

Key Insights

​​​​

• Girls are increasingly visible in the public sphere: With the spread of social media platforms, girls' visibility in the public sphere has increased dramatically, not because epistemic barriers have dissolved, but because platforms can now profit from the data generated by girls' and young women's communication and content production.

• Earlier girl-fronted media-making movements are notably different: Earlier girl-led media (zines) created intentional, semi-public counterpublics, whereas digital platforms demand expanded visibility in exchange for content ownership and privacy concessions.

• Girls' increased political influence comes with notable tradeoffs:  Girls’ digital dissent—especially hashtag activism—has both amplified political influence and become a form of unpaid labor.

• Girls have gained a voice because even dissent can now be monetized: Girls’ newfound presence in public debates has been largely structurally dependent on infrastructures designed for corporate extraction rather than democratic advancement.​​

​​​​

Impact

​

This study demonstrated how design choices, licensing structures, and data-extraction logics shape girls’ and young women's agency, safety, and political voice. The work has informed debates about digital consent, platform governance, and youth digital rights, highlighting the need for alternative models that protect vulnerable users while sustaining their ability to engage in public life. 

​​

​​

​​​

​​​