UCLA

This dissertation explores the role of social media use in the social development of “at-risk” youth in Los Angeles, CA and Lafayette, IN, with a major goal of identifying beneficial ways to address the social support needs of youth and adolescents to aid in their successful assimilation into adulthood. This study employs ethnographic methods of semi-structured interviews and participant observation, using 9-15 year old members of the Santa Monica and Lafayette Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) as a sample of designated “at-risk” or marginalized youth in the U.S. A central focus of this dissertation is the potential use of knowledge around Boys & Girls Clubs members’ social media use to supplement or inform Club activities and enhance social support. These outcomes are especially significant in after-school settings where gaps in education or family based social resources are identified. Findings reveal a distinct socio-technical system of social support exchange that is enabled through the intersection of youth development program participation and social media use, characterized through four identified major patterns of engagement: constructed combined social support, negotiated allowances, social media emotional management, and unique mentorships. This system and the important intersection of the BGC and social media enable positive, purposeful, and agency-driven social support exchange for this youth group and address key social support needs. These findings inform appropriate integration of digital and social media in youth development spaces, and strike an important balance in sources of social support for an increasingly younger population of social media users. The findings may be of particular interest to areas of computer-mediated communication, human-computer interaction, social psychology of interpersonal relationships, and developmental psychology, with additional potential implications for youth service development and policy and research at the intersection of technology and health or well-being. The notion of “at-risk” is critically examined as part of this research.