A Qualitative Exploration of Young Australians’ Lived Experiences of Social Media Use and Sexual Agency

The present investigation is part of the Social Networks and Agency Project (SNAP), an 18-month longitudinal mixed methods study following adolescents located in New South Wales, Australia. The SNAP study aims to understand how online and offline social networks impact the development of sexual agency over time. This paper presents an analysis of the second interview time point in the SNAP study. Fifty adolescents (aged 14–17) completed a semi-structured interview either face-to-face or via Skype about their romantic relationships, including where they get their sexual health information and how they flirt (both online and offline). Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The core theme was: Young people clearly demonstrate emerging sexual agency. The three characterizing themes were: (1) Young people have complex schemas about flirting, dating, and entering romantic and sexual relationships; (2) Young people have high literacy in social media, traditional media and pornography; and (3) Peers influence most aspects of developing sexual agency, including sex and relationship attitudes. We discuss possible methods to utilize adolescents’ social networks in facilitating the development of sexual agency.