Problem Space Attunement in Youth Social Media Design
TLDR
This paper identifies and addresses three misattunements in youth social media design using novel methods to create more supportive platforms.
Key contributions
- Uses Fictional Inquiry in a magic-school setting to overcome conceptual misattunement in design.
- Employs a Discord-based community for youth-led collective inquiry to define "better" social media.
- Introduces an ego-anchored LLM-agent simulation sandbox for evaluating designs.
- Develops youth-grounded criteria and design directions for relationally supportive social media.
Why it matters
This paper offers novel, youth-centered methods to rethink social media design, moving beyond current constraints. It provides a critical framework for understanding design failures and practical tools for creating more supportive online environments for young people.
Original Abstract
Social media is central to how young people maintain relationships, develop identity, and access communities, yet dominant platform designs often leave youth feeling constrained rather than supported. My dissertation argues that youth social media design is shaped by three forms of problem-space misattunement. \textit{Conceptual misattunement} occurs when the language of ``social media'' anchors participants to existing platform templates. I address this through Fictional Inquiry in a fictional magic-school setting that helps youth reason from felt relational needs. \textit{Definitional misattunement} occurs when researchers define what ``better'' means on youth's behalf. I address this through a Discord-based asynchronous community that supports youth-led collective inquiry. \textit{Evaluative misattunement} occurs when participants are asked to judge static or hypothetical designs. I address this through an ego-anchored, LLM-agent simulation sandbox. Together, these studies develop youth-grounded criteria and design directions for relationally supportive social media.
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