Problem Space Attunement in Youth Social Media Design
For researchers and designers of youth social media, this work provides a framework to avoid imposing adult-centric assumptions, though it is primarily a methodological contribution without quantitative results.
This dissertation identifies three forms of problem-space misattunement in youth social media design and proposes methods to address them, resulting in youth-grounded criteria for relationally supportive platforms.
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.