April 7: Marion Selfridge, MSW, PhD student

April 7: Marion Selfridge, MSW, PhD student. 

Presentation: Paper dissolves or dies, but Facebook is always there: Street-involved youth and digital technology.

Presentation at the Victoria Central Library, downtown Victoria.

Rapidly shifting technologies are challenging assumptions about access to the Internet as communities viewed as ‘marginalized’ find their way to social media and other forms of online connection. This presentation by Marion Selfridge, PhD (c) is based on surveys and interviews with street-involved youth across BC and shares how youth aged 15-24 strategically use Facebook and texting to communicate with friends and family, keep important photos and memories, search out vital information and support each other through difficult and confusing
times. Marion will also moderate a conversation about the opportunities and challenges youth experience in this new digital age where text messages and online social networking create incredible opportunities for connection and kindness as well as overwhelming negative comments - drama!

Marion Selfridge, MSW, is a fourth year PhD student in the Social Dimensions of Health program/Anthropology at the University of Victoria. Her dissertation research focuses on street-involved youth’s use of social media to deal with grief and loss. For five years, Marion was a medical social worker at the Victoria Youth Clinic. She has worked with many youth, including youth who, for a variety of reasons, live close to or on the streets. She also works as a research assistant on Lisa Mitchell’s collaborative research project called, More Than One Street, which foregrounds the experiential knowledge of youth who know the street in research and dissemination. She teaches dance to stay sane and get through grad school.

For more information, please contact CARBC: carbc@uvic.ca  or 250-472-5445