Representing youth as vulnerable social media users: a social semiotic analysis of the promotional materials from The Social Dilemma

Abstract: While participation in social media has become everyday practice among young people, there have been few studies examining how youth as social media users are represented in the media discourse. Focusing on the promotional materials of an award-winning and widely-viewed documentary film, The Social Dilemma, this paper examines the media depictions of youth that attract the public’s attention. Through a social semiotic analysis, we analyzed the representational, interactive, and compositional meanings in the poster and trailer to identify how young people have been represented in the media discourse. Our findings show that they are constructed as vulnerable social media users who are manipulated by social media companies. We argue that such depictions of youth not only negate their sense of agency but also ignore their active engagement in the participatory culture afforded by social media. The implications of such depictions propagate a protectionist perspective of youth. This can undermine efforts towards the development of an empowerment approach in digital literacy education.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Representing youth as vulnerable social media users: a social semiotic analysis of the promotional materials from The Social Dilemma ; volume:2024 ; number:256 ; year:2024 ; pages:153-174 ; extent:22 ; Semiotica ; 2024, Heft 256 (2024), 153-174 (gesamt 22)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Liang, Wei Jhen ; Lim, Fei Victor

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/sem-2023-0047
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2024021213025698254337
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:28 AM CEST