New publication: Washington, DC high school students’ engagement with activism on social media

A new article by lab head Miri Yemini, former postdoc Vanessa R. Sperduti and collaborators Laura Engel and Garth Stahl has been published in Children & Society: “Navigating the Activist Techno-Social Landscape: Washington, DC High School Students’ Engagement with Social Media Content.”

Drawing on thematic analysis of 20 group discussions with 72 high school students (ages 14–18) from diverse public schools across Washington, DC, the study explores how youth navigate activism across local experiences and global concerns. Moving beyond students already identified as traditional activists, the findings show how young people adapt global narratives to local contexts, distinguish between what they see as “good” and “bad” forms of activism, and voice critical concerns about the commercialization of social movements — offering a more nuanced picture of youth civic engagement than narratives of political disengagement suggest.