Feeds, Screens, and Streams: An Exploration of Social Media’s Influence on the Socialization of Black Boys and Implications for School Counseling Practice

Abstract Digitized social media environments in the era of Web 2.0 technology have a significant impact on young people, including Black boys, and engagement in these spaces greatly influence all facets of their development and socialization. The messages Black boys encounter in these digital environments expose Black misandry, anti-Blackness, and overall discourses that threaten Black physiological and psychological life. The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, the authors explore the influences of digitized social media on Black boys’ identity development, socialization, and mental health. Next, the authors discuss how school counselors can utilize digitized social media environments as landscapes whereby Black boys can critically examine the sociopolitical messages they consume and build lifelong skills that help them discern harmful stereotypes from digital media content that support positive identity development. Finally, the authors present innovative resources informed by culturally responsive scholarship that school counselors can integrate into individual and group counseling efforts across middle and secondary school settings.