The Kids Are Online : Confronting the Myths and Realities of Young Digital Life / Ysabel Gerrard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gerrard, Ysabel, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social media and teenagers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xviii, 289 pages)

Other Title:

Confronting the Myths and Realities of Young Digital Life

Place of Publication:

Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2025]

Summary:

A nuanced, intimate picture of how young people live with and on social media. Today's young people find themselves at the center of widespread debates about their online safety, and they are often told that social media platforms affect their mental health and body image by exposing them to cyberbullying and distressing images. Foregrounding their voices and experiences, The Kids Are Online explores how they navigate their identities across platforms and how they really feel about their young digital lives. Ysabel Gerrard talked to more than a hundred teens to unpack the myths and realities of their social media use. Instead of framing today's big platforms as either good or bad, she identifies moments when young people encounter social apps in paradoxical ways--both good and bad at the same time. Using the concepts of stigma, secrecy, safety, and social comparison, she helps readers understand young people's experiences. The Kids Are Online proposes a series of recommendations for parents, families, schools, technology companies, and policymakers to imagine how we might build safer social media systems.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Social Media in Young Lives

1. From Moral and Media Panics to Platform Paradoxes

2. Moderating the Mental Health Crisis

3. Amuse Me or Abuse Me on Anonymous Apps

4. Personal and Social Safety in Anonymous Communication

5. At-Home Photoshopping and the New War on Body Image

6. Platform Paradoxes: Recommendations and Reflections

Appendix A. Interview Participant Demographic Information (British Academy Small Grant Research)

Appendix B. Workshop and Interview Participant Information (Strategic Research Support Fund Pilot Study)

Appendix C. Research Methods and Ethical Considerations Underpinning Chapters 3 and 4

Appendix D. Research Methods and Ethical Considerations Underpinning Chapter 5

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780520388086

0520388089

OCLC:

1481799407