Exploring the Virtual Terrain 

The Girl Scout’s Research Institute recently released Who’s that Girl?, a new study about girls and social media. I am thrilled that more research is focused on the experiences of young girls online, especially since this population is often overlooked within technology studies. Here are some highlights from the study. The sample consisted of over 1000 girls aged 14-17:

-Within online venues, girls often describe themselves as funny, fun, and social. However, there is disconnect between their online and offline personalities. Girls often downplay their intelligence, confidence and kindness online.

-Girls with low self-esteem are more likely than girls with high self-esteem to construct a “sexy” and “crazy” persona within online settings such as social networking sites.

-68% of girls have encountered a negative experience within social networking sites. Bullying, name-calling, and gossip were common negative experiences.

For young girls, confronting cultural stereotypes profoundly affects identity development. As early as 1982, Carol Gilligan observed that there is often “an active process of dissociation, of knowing and then not knowing” (p. xxii) as adolescent girls navigate emerging preferences, emotions, and relational bonds. While girls’ strive to be both seen and heard, many young women are often silenced by inherent cultural messages of racism, sexism, and heterosexism (Brown &Gilligan 1992; Green 1994). Accordingly, locating interactive outlets for young women to explore emerging identities is integral in crafting a positive outlook.

The Internet has provided a powerful platform for such young girls to explore identities and form communities. However, these spaces are not free from the pressures of cultural stereotypes and the threats that are produced through such beliefs. It is important to remember, however, that the Internet represents an essential feature of these girls social lives- one where they are free to speak without fear of endangering themselves, their relationships, or their ‘realities.” This expanding terrain of social interaction thereby signifies much more than a widespread network of globalized connections. Multilayered spaces of self-representation, support, and dialogue may aide in identity development through the formation of distinct social realities within online peer groups (McKenna and Bargh, 2000; Spears et al. 2001). Exploring how the boundaries of virtual communities both construct togetherness and create distance becomes especially vital when considering the importance of online participation for young girls. In cultural venues that often embrace normative sex/gender/racial embodiments, virtual spaces may allow the traditionally invisible to explore and create distinct identities that may otherwise be silenced within the offline environment.

However, these recent statistics released by the Girl Scouts remind us that certain cyberspaces are not free from the pressures of the offline environment. Low self-esteem, pressures to exploit one’s sexuality, and bullying can haunt these girls. It is important to provide safe spaces for girls to explore their identities as well as talk about their experiences within the ever-changing online environment.