Hello!

My name is Dev Chopra, and I am a rising senior majoring in psychology with a minor in LGBTQ+ and Critical Sexuality Studies. I am grateful to have the support of the David C. Frederick Honors College this summer to conduct my research. As a recipient of the Brackenridge Fellowship, I will be devoting my summer to researching the online social experiences of LGBTQ+ teens under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Silk and Zelal Kilic and with the rest of the team at the Families, Emotions, Neuroscience and Development Laboratory.

The role of the internet in everyday life is rapidly changing, so much so that internet safety guidelines that were shared while current undergraduate students were children are now dated and no longer reflect how the internet is used today. Internet use and social media are inseparable from daily routine, especially after social media became one of the sole methods of social contact during the COVID-19 lockdown.

LGBTQ+ groups have a documented history of unique engagement with the internet and social media, as members of the community might be geographically isolated. Those who were turned to chat rooms, discussion boards, and social media to connect with and gain support from other LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ teens are a vulnerable group, with higher rates of depression and suicidality than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Social support can help offset suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This age group is more reliant on their peers for social support, but LGBTQ+ teens might not be able to safely seek support for their identity in in-person settings in fear of discrimination.

Since the internet and social media are an entirely different plane of communication with unique dynamics at play, I chose to narrow my focus and look at the experience of having online-only friends, or friends that users have never met in-person. Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, and many other social media sites offer users a social space without face-to-face interactions and pressure to respond quickly, all features that make them more appealing to those with anxiety about in-person interactions. I will be looking at whether LGBTQ+ teens have different experiences and perceive different levels of support from their online-only friends than their non-LGBTQ+ peers in hopes of learning more about the patterns of social media use present in this group. 

My future goals include continuing similar work about LGBTQ+ teens and social media use and applying for the BPhil, also through the Honors College. Later on in my career, I hope to work with LGBTQ+  teens of color who have intersectional experiences and might feel incongruence between their identities. After graduating in the coming spring, I plan to work as a research assistant or lab manager to gain more experience with different subjects and participant pools before applying to clinical psychology PhD programs. I’m excited to be able to do more intensive research and get my hands on every step of the research process this summer to weed out and improve my weaknesses, and to explore where my interests take me. I can’t wait to report back at the end of the summer!