Building a Better Social Media Platform: Can We Codesign With Equity in Mind?

Research Background and Issues

What problems or challenges did the authors identify?

• Adolescents frequently use social media, but its design often fails to adequately address their needs, particularly those of Black and Latinx youth, who are early adopters and frequent users of social media.
• There is limited research on Black and Latinx users, despite studies suggesting that social media may harm mental health. Most of this research focuses on White populations, leaving the impact of race and social class on online experiences insufficiently explored.
• Adolescents face issues such as online racial discrimination, which is particularly prevalent among youth of color who spend more time online.
• There is a need to address the lack of social equity and adolescent participation in design processes and to explore how Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) can enable meaningful social media design.

Why is this issue important?

• Social media has a broad impact on adolescents' mental health, social relationships, and personal development, especially for youth experiencing social inequality.
• Empowering adolescents to participate in the design of social media features can enhance their leadership and civic engagement skills, thereby improving their psychological and social well-being.
• Social media platforms significantly influence the lives of global users, making it an urgent priority to provide youth with safe and inclusive online environments.

Research Motivation and Related Work

• YPAR offers a framework that places communities at the center of research, enabling marginalized community members (e.g., Black and Latinx youth) to be active contributors rather than passive participants.
• The high levels of social media use and innovation among youth represent a critical advantage they can bring to the design process.
• The study aims to promote more equitable and inclusive design processes and explore how adolescent participation in design impacts their leadership and civic identity development.

Solutions

What methods or solutions did the authors propose?

• The authors proposed a model combining Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) with co-design, inviting Black and Latinx adolescents to directly participate in the design and improvement of the Instagram social platform.
• Through shared analytical methods, collaborative prototype design, and addressing platform challenges, adolescents and the design team jointly explored strategies, particularly in the areas of online safety and mental health.
• Reflective activities (e.g., journaling) were used to deepen the engagement process.

What is innovative about this solution?

• The integration of the YPAR framework with co-design principles empowers adolescents with design rights and a voice, positioning them not only as learners but also as experts in the platform design process.
• The approach emphasizes equitable and just design methods, particularly for adolescents facing racial inequality, class disparities, and identity differences.
• Quantitative and qualitative evaluations (e.g., measuring leadership efficacy and civic engagement capacity) provide robust evidence of the impact of co-design.

What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

1. Preparation and Recruitment: Fourteen adolescent volunteers (all Black or Latinx, aged 14–17) were recruited through social media and local organizations.
2. Project Initiation and Orientation:
   • A one-day introductory session was held, covering topics such as technology and design careers, expectations for co-design, and discussions on culturally relevant themes.
3. Co-Design Phase:
   • Three co-design workshops were conducted with the Instagram team, utilizing brainstorming, design thinking, group prototyping, and Figma tools for hands-on activities.
4. Reflection and Documentation: Journals and surveys were used to capture adolescents' experiences and changes during the project.
5. Final Report and Collaboration: The project was summarized, and further collaboration with Meta was initiated to promote the findings.

Research Outcomes

What specific outcomes were achieved?

• Adolescents demonstrated significant improvements in leadership efficacy and civic engagement capacity during the project.
• Participants gained skills in expressing ideas, accessing career information, and using technical tools through their involvement in co-design.
• Instagram subsequently introduced optimized "adolescent online safety and mental health" features directly inspired by the project’s design.

How does it compare to existing solutions?

• Unlike traditional top-down design approaches, this method positions adolescents as co-designers, fostering communication and trust between users and social media developers.
• The approach prioritizes equity, personalization, and alignment with adolescent needs rather than focusing solely on commercial interests.

What were the experimental or evaluation results?

• Quantitative Results:
  • Civic engagement scores increased from an average of 3.84 to 4.15, showing statistical significance (p < .05).
  • Leadership efficacy significantly improved (from 3.58 to 4.05, p < .01), reflecting the potential impact of the participation process on leadership development.
• Qualitative Feedback:
  • Adolescents found the project engaging and reported significant skill development, particularly valuing the opportunities for discussion and creative expression.
  • Some participants suggested increasing the time allocated for discussions and tool training.

Limitations and Future Directions

• Limitations:
  • The sample size was small (n=14), and scheduling constraints limited some participants’ attendance.
  • The research was influenced by Instagram’s topic selection, potentially leaving certain areas underexplored.
• Future Research Directions:
  • Expand the sample size to include greater racial and geographic diversity and explore intergenerational design methods.
  • Improve journal content analysis to further investigate the long-term impact of reflective practices on leadership efficacy.
  • Conduct deeper studies on other dimensions of outcomes (e.g., self-efficacy and other psychological effects).

This study demonstrates that exploring social media design through adolescent co-design activities not only drives tangible platform improvements but also significantly enhances adolescents' civic and leadership capacities, offering an innovative model that integrates social equity into educational and technological practices.