Using Kenneth Burke's Equipment for Living to Explain Teenage Girls' Engagement with Online Media in Trinidad and Tobago A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Melissa Alicia Cumberbatch May 2014 © 2014 Melissa Alicia Cumberbatch. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Using Kenneth Burke's Equipment for Living to Explain Teenage Girls' Engagement with Online Media in Trinidad and Tobago by MELISSA ALICIA CUMBERBATCH has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Norma Pecora Professor Emerita of Media Arts and Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract CUMBERBATCH, MELISSA ALICIA, Ph.D., May 2014, Mass Communication Teenage Girls' Engagement with Online Media as Equipment for Living Director of Dissertation: Norma Pecora All teenagers entering high school in Trinidad and Tobago receive a laptop that is capable of accessing the Internet. However, the distribution of laptops to teenagers was highly criticized as many adults were concerned that the teenagers will misuse the laptops, especially by accessing undesirable materials online. Their fears were escalated when a teenage girl posted a defamatory video on social media that went viral in Trinidad and Tobago. Because of this one incident many adults assumed knowledge on how teenage girls used online media. For this dissertation I decided to discover how teenage girls in Trinidad and Tobago used online media, and more specifically how, they used online media as equipment for living. Equipment for living is a theory put forth by Kenneth Burke that essentially explains that people use text as a means to deal with situations that occur in their everyday lives. By using Burke’s philosophy on symbols and symbolic action, I created a model called “Equipment for Living Model for Teenage Girls based on Burke’s Interpretation of a Symbolic Action” to explain how teenage girls in Trinidad and Tobago use online media as equipment for living. Previous research (Stern and Willis, 2007) discovered that teenagers’ online activity fell into three categories: communication, information seeking, and content creation. Through combined methods of surveys and focus groups, as well as asking the teenagers to blog about their online experiences, iii conducted in a same-sex high school, I was able to discover that teenage girls in Trinidad and Tobago also use online media for communication, information seeking, and content creation, as well as explain how through the symbolic use of online media, such as social networking sites, how the teen girls are able to use online media as equipment for living. Stern, S. R., & Willis, T. J. (2007). What are teenagers up to online? In S. R. Mazzarella (Ed.), 20 questions about youth and the media (pp. 211-224). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing. iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my parents, Keith and Rebecca Cumberbatch, who supported, encouraged, and believed in me from the very beginning. v Acknowledgments There are several people I would like to acknowledge for making my dissertation possible. I would first like to thank my advisor and mentor, Dr. Norma Pecora, for her patience, knowledge, advice, and for standing by me during this difficult journey. Gratitude goes out to my committee members for their invaluable advice and time. I especially want to thank the teen girls who enthusiastically participated in this study and the school faculty who, through their willingness and support, made this research process a pleasant, fun-filled, and overall positive experience. Finally, I want to thank my family, especially my parents, Keith and Rebecca, for their unconditional love, support, guidance, and prayers, my cousin Louis for doing everything possible to ensure my safety in Ohio, and my cousin Renee, for helping me stay sane. vi Table of Contents Page Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................v Acknowledgments ......................................................................................................... vi List of Tables................................................................................................................. xv List of Figures ..............................................................................................................xvi Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Why Study Teenage Girls in Trinidad and Tobago ..........................................................1 Rationale and Significance for Study ...............................................................................2 Research Questions .........................................................................................................5 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................6 The Chapters ...................................................................................................................8 Definition of Terms ....................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework ................................................................................. 13 Kenneth Burke............................................................................................................... 13 Burke’s Philosophy ....................................................................................................... 14 Symbols and Symbolic Action ................................................................................... 15 Dramatism and the Pentad ......................................................................................... 16 vii Kenneth Burke’s Equipment for Living ..................................................................... 19 Burke and Media ....................................................................................................... 21 Media and Equipment for Living ............................................................................... 23 Adolescents’ Cognitive Development ............................................................................ 26 Thinking about Possibilities ....................................................................................... 27 Thinking about Abstract Concepts ............................................................................. 27 Metacognition............................................................................................................ 28 Thinking in Multiple Dimensions .............................................................................. 29 Relativism ................................................................................................................. 29 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 33 Adults’ Concerns of Tweens’ and Teens’ Internet Use ................................................... 34 Girls’ Studies ................................................................................................................. 35 Defining Girls’ Studies .............................................................................................. 36 Gender Differences in Use of the Internet .................................................................. 38 Contribution to Girls’ Studies .................................................................................... 40 Online Activities of Teenagers ....................................................................................... 41 Communication ......................................................................................................... 41 Information Seeking .................................................................................................. 45 viii Content Creation ........................................................................................................ 47 Other Activities Teenagers Engaged with Online ....................................................... 48 Social Networking Sites and Teens ................................................................................ 52 Social Networking Sites as a Communicative Tool .................................................... 53 Social Networking Sites as an Informative Tool......................................................... 54 Social Networking Sites as a Production and Distributive Tool for Content Creation . 55 Benefit and Detriment of Social Networking Sites for Teens...................................... 56 Chapter 3: Conducting the Research .............................................................................. 61 The Research ................................................................................................................. 61 Survey ....................................................................................................................... 64 Focus Groups............................................................................................................. 64 Focus Group Guide .................................................................................................... 65 Blogging .................................................................................................................... 66 Description of the sample girls ................................................................................... 67 Participation Process .................................................................................................. 68 Chapter 4: Survey Findings............................................................................................ 75 Demographic Data ......................................................................................................... 75 Frequency of Participation in Online Activities .............................................................. 76 Online Media Use .......................................................................................................... 78 ix Communication ......................................................................................................... 80 Information Seeking .................................................................................................. 81 Content Creation ........................................................................................................ 81 Websites Frequented by the Teen Girls .......................................................................... 85 Unforeseen Results ........................................................................................................ 90 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 90 Online Media Use ...................................................................................................... 91 Websites Frequented by the Teen Girls ...................................................................... 91 Unforeseen Results .................................................................................................... 91 Chapter 5: Focus Group and Blog Findings ................................................................... 92 Communication ............................................................................................................. 93 Keeping in Touch ...................................................................................................... 94 Social Networking ..................................................................................................... 95 Conflict Management ................................................................................................ 98 Introspection .............................................................................................................. 98 Information Seeking ...................................................................................................... 99 School Assignments ................................................................................................ 100 Health ...................................................................................................................... 103 Special Interests ....................................................................................................... 104 x