Tanya Lloyd Kyi - Better Connected: How Girls Are Using Social Media for Good

Text copyright Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Julia Kyi 2022

Illustrations copyright Vivian Rosas 2022

Published in Canada and the United States in 2022 by Orca Book Publishers.

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: Better connected : how girls are surviving and thriving online / Tanya Lloyd Kyi and Julia Kyi ; illustrated by Vivian Rosas.
Names: Kyi, Tanya Lloyd, 1973- author. | Kyi, Julia, author. | Rosas, Vivian, illustrator.
Series: Orca think ; 5.
Description: Series statement: Orca think ; 5 | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20210254904 | Canadiana (ebook) 20210254971 | ISBN 9781459828575 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781459828582 ( PDF ) | ISBN 9781459828599 ( EPUB )
Subjects: LCSH : Social mediaJuvenile literature. | LCSH : Online social networksJuvenile literature. | LCSH : GirlsSocial life and customsJuvenile literature. | LCSH : Internet and childrenJuvenile literature. | LCSH : Internet and womenJuvenile literature.
Classification: LCC HQ 784. I 58 K 95 2022 | DDC j302.23/1083dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941163

Summary: Part of the nonfiction Orca Think series for middle-grade readers, this illustrated book is an inspiring look at the positive and creative ways girls are using social media.

Orca Book Publishers is committed to reducing the consumption of nonrenewable resources in the production of our books. We make every effort to use materials that support a sustainable future.

Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Book Publishing Tax Credit.

The authors and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at the time of publication. The authors and publisher do not assume any liability for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyrighted material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

Cover and interior artwork by Vivian Rosas
Design by Rachel Page
Layout by Dahlia Yuen
Edited by Kirstie Hudson

Printed and bound in Canada.

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To the girls who are redefining feminism, insisting on equity and forging new paths in the digital world. T.K.

And for Adelaide and Aishwarya, the best co-leaders and friends. J.K.

They might be texting their friendsor they might be planning world domination.

Daniel M Ernst/Shutterstock.com

Girls get a lot of grief about their online activities.

Shes posting selfies? Thats so vain.

Signing petitions? Slacktivism.

Texting friends? She probably lacks real-life social skills.

And you may have seen media stories about the ways girls interact on sites such as Instagram and TikTok. Often the headlines read like this:

Depression in Girls Linked to Higher Use of Social Media

Social Media Is Destroying the Lives of Teenage Girls

Half of Girls Are Bullied Online

So, okay, the issues with social media are real. A recent study in Britain found that almost 40 percent of 14-year-old girls who spent five hours a day online showed symptoms of depression. Then there are the cases of girls being cyberbullied or shamed. Obviously the online world has dangers.

#NoFilter

Julia : I wasnt even allowed to have Instagram until the ninth grade. And you only said yesfinallybecause I was on student council, and the meetings were posted there.

Tanya : What kind of student council organizes on Instagram? Did you make that up?

Julia : No!

Tanya : Your dads best friend is a high-school counselor, and he knew someone who got in trouble posting inappropriate photos of herself.

Julia : Youre a professional researcher, and this is how you make your decisions? Because of Dads best friends students cousin?

Tanya : Umbasically?

Julia :

But the headlines dont tell the whole story.

Girls are also using social media in creative, powerful ways. Theyre building diverse and supportive communities. Theyre claiming and reshaping spaces such as comic art and fandom. Theyre successfully changing the public conversation about subjects from gun control to body image.

Were a mom (Tanya) and daughter (Julia) from Vancouver, British Columbia. Weve had to figure out our family rules for the online world, making a few detours along the way.

This is what we look like in real life, in the backyard, without the professional help of our illustrator or a filter!

As we surfed our social media feeds, from Twitter (Tanya) to Instagram (Julia), we noticed something. Despite the trolls and the self-esteem tolls, girls are using their platforms to change the world for the better. So while this book acknowledges the challenges, were focusing on the less recognizedand more positiveparts of girls online experiences.

Some people have used terms such as hashtag feminism or fourth-wave feminism to describe the ways young women are organizing and acting online. (More about this in chapter 1.) And in areas from environmental activism to LGBT2Q+ rights, immigration policy to education access, girls are leading the way. Theyre showing up, teaming up and speaking up.

A few campaigners have earned international attention. In 2018 Greta Thunberg used Instagram to spearhead a global youth movement IRL (in real life). From the Amazon rainforest, Indigenous teen Helena Gualinga took to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to reach like-minded climate protectors. And Bana Alabed was only eight years old when she used Twitter to show the world what it felt like to live through the siege of Aleppo. Youll read about all of these girls in the pages to come.