ABSTRACT

This article explores identity development among adolescent Black girls in the context of digitized social media environments. In the age of Web 2.0 technology, Black girls are able to project their image and verbiage to articulate self. In this conceptual article, the phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST) framework is used to understand the identity development of intersecting racial and gender identities among Black adolescent girls. This process of identity development is deemed in relation to and through enactment of sociocultural narratives (stereotypes) of a pending Black womanhood. We consider the psychological implications for mental health and wellness for identity development among digitally native Black adolescent girls, as it occurs publicly and against the backdrop of the constant, dynamic, and interactive social and consumptive media. Implications for clinical work to guide psychological intervention with adolescent digitally native Black girls will be presented.