Peoples & Things Ashleigh Wade on How Black Girls Use Social Media
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Sep 29, 2025 Ashleigh Greene Wade, Assistant Professor of Digital Studies at the University of Virginia and author of Black Girl Autopoetics, dives into how Black girls use social media to express self-identity. She shares her ethnographic journey from teaching to researching, emphasizing the balance between empowerment and negative stereotypes. Wade discusses the importance of ethical practices in documenting girls' experiences and the evolution of their online identities. The conversation also touches on the impact of young influencers and the changing dynamics of childhood in the digital age.
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Black Girls Use Social Media To Self-Author
- Ashleigh Greene Wade frames the book as showing how Black girls use social media to tell stories and express self-understandings.
- She intends to add nuance and balance to dominant negative narratives about teens online.
Teacher Experience Sparked The Study
- Wade began this research after five years teaching high school and noticing Black girls seeking belonging online.
- Her classroom experience inspired questions about what social media provided that schools did not.
Mixed Ethnography Reveals Online Practices
- She combined in-person participant observation with online interviews and media analysis to study Instagram usage.
- Digital ethnography included direct messages and thematic analysis of public posts.
