Virtual independence: Teen social media use during the summer of quarantine

ABSTRACT

During Summer 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic limited people's contact with others outside of their households. Teenagers experienced a great deal of disruption to their lives and found themselves reliant on their phones and social media to occupy their time and maintain peer connections. In this study, we examine the activities of 43 teens in the United States. Teens were interviewed twice and kept week-long video diaries documenting their daily online and offline activities. Findings show that social media activities were critical for maintaining friendships and provided a sense of virtual independence during quarantine. Teens also pursued independent informal learning activities via social media. However, themes of shame also arose, with teens internalizing negative messages from parents and media about social media use. © 14th International Conference on ICT, Society, and Human Beings, ICT 2021, 18th International Conference on Web Based Communities and Social Media, WBC 2021 and 13th International Conference on e-Health, EH 2021 - Held at the 15th Multi-Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems, MCCSIS 2021. All rights reserved.