Being watched and feeling judged on social media

This short paper reports on research I conducted in 2020/21 with a diverse group of young people living in the UK. The research is interested in multiple aspects of “life on my phone” and is centred on listening to young people’s accounts of their lives on and off social media. Here, I draw out several key experiences that young women in particular told me about again and again. First, the impossibility of being perfect but also real. Second, the experience of feeling watched and surveilled. Thirdly, the sense of feeling and being judged all the time. Fourthly, the palpable fear—particularly when posting—of “getting it wrong” in one or more ways. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the current conjuncture and field of study as Feminist Media Studies celebrates its 20th anniversary.