Mapping the Design Space for Youth Social Media: A Framework Centered on Friendship Building (opens in new tab)

This dissertation develops a design framework for friendship-supportive youth social media. I conducted a qualitative meta-analysis across my formative, case-study, and co-design work with teens and young adults, synthesizing recurring design themes into three pillars: social understanding (legible norms, intentions, trust, reciprocity, and accountability), placeness (spatial and embodied affordances that make online interaction feel inhabitable...