Support, Stress, and Surveillance: The Intersections of Social Media Use and Social Capital Among Low-Income Youth of Color

• In Event: Children, Adolescents, and Media: Research Escalator 1

Abstract

This research explores the relationships between social media use and social capital among low-income youth of color, including examinations of the intersections of social class, race, and English-language acquisition and the developing matrices of youth social capital. Drawing from the results of a mixed-methods study (surveys, in-depth interviews) involving twelve 10-14 year old students in an urban after-school program, we describe how social media may enable underprivileged youth to engage more fully with peers and community support organizations, while simultaneously generating tension with adults and enabling surveillance of spaces and social interactions that were once privy only to other children. We conclude by suggesting possible future directions for both research and school- and after-school- based youth programming related to social media and social capital.

Authors

• Brooke Foucault Welles, Northeastern U

• Jesica Speed Wiley, Northeastern U