Relationshipgoals

Fantasies of the good life in young people’s digitally-networked peer cultures

Bibliographic Data

ID12600730
AuthorsKate Marston (0000-0002-9814-5464, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume27
Issue2
Pages303-321
Publication date2022-11-15
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Youth Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-6261 • E-ISSN: 1469-9680
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13676261.2022.2124106
OpenAlexW4309329691
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited56

Drawing on the creative group and individual interviews with young people aged 11–18 years old in England and Wales in 2018, this paper assembles data that addresses the changing nature of intimacies in young people’s digitally-networked lives. Informed by Lauren Berlant’s work (2008, viii), it maps how platforms such as Instagram and YouTube circulate certain ‘fantasies of the good life’ that orient young people towards heteronormative future imaginaries. It argues that publicising intimate relationships on social media works to both reify and unsettle fantasies of monogamy, marriage and domesticity by highlighting their inherent precarity. It also illustrates how smart technologies such as the virtual personal assistants Alexa and Siri reconfigure the good life fantasy. Moving beyond simplistic moral panics that seek to discipline young people’s digital intimacies, this paper aims to engage with the nuances of young people’s digital sexual cultures. Overall, this paper argues that attending to this complexity can enable practitioners to better attune to and support young people to navigate contemporary digital relationships and sexuality issues

Art · Digital media · Fantasy · Human sexuality · Precarity · Sociology · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Gender Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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