"Cute Little Lines": Teens as Authors on Social Media

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Contours of Adolescents' Online Authoring and Audiences

Abstract

Social media are ubiquitous in the lives of many teens, and understanding youths’ literacy practices in these spaces is paramount for researchers and educators. This study contributes by exploring teen authorship on social media. Applying writer identity frameworks, this multiple case study incorporates data from interviews and sample social media artifacts. The themes identified include the significance of audience and social factors in teens’ composition processes. This study helps connect students’ informal literacies online with writing expectations in classrooms. Implications for expanding current writer identity theory, directing new research in this area, and integrating social media in writing instruction as a tool for studying tone, style, and audience are described.

Author

• Sarah Galvin, Michigan State University