This research project investigated whether teenage girls use social media and the internet to explore their 'spark'.
A 'spark' is a self-driven interest that gives someone a feeling of energy and purpose. A spark can be a skill, talent or interest, for example writing poetry, painting, helping people, making music. Someone may have more than one spark.
Working with a group of teenage girls aged 14-15 years, I found that while all the girls had a spark (which included things such as cooking, tennis, makeup) and saw value in having one, none of them had considered using the internet as a way to specifically explore it. An online survey with teenage girls confirmed these findings.
Recommendations
The results suggest that a way for parents to encourage positive use of social media is to use a young person's spark as a way to engage in discussions and education about social media.
Further information
To read more about sparks and their value visit here.