Hurry up and ‘like’ me: immediate feedback on social networking sites and the impact on adolescent girls

ABSTRACT

At an age identified as the period with the most intense focus on appearance, and where young girls are establishing their identity, it appears that social networking site (SNS) interactions are playing a pivotal role in determining what is, and what is not, socially endorsed. This paper draws on data obtained during five separate focus group interviews with a total of 28 middle school aged girls from three South Australian schools. Results indicated that feedback from other SNS users was central in the construction of identity and had an impact on self-esteem. It was found that immediate feedback was highly desired in response to images and comments posted on SNSs. It was also found that the immediacy of the feedback directly influenced the emotional state of the study participants. Understanding the impact of SNS communication, specifically pertaining to feedback, can be directly linked to the Australian Curriculum Health and Physical Education key ideas. Furthermore it is relevant to educative practices where schools are sites for technological advancements and positive reinforcement of identity and appearance.

KEYWORDS:

• Social networking sites
• immediate feedback
• feedback
• health education
• critical inquiry

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Stephanie Jong is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Education at Flinders University in South Australia. Her research focuses on the influence of social networking sites on the health practices of young females, explicitly the subsets of fitness and exercise. Stephanie is also interested in the innovative use of methods for research.

Professor Murray Drummond is the director of the Sport, Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) research centre at Flinders University. His primary research interests revolve around masculinities, health and sport.