Keywords

social media, social listening, Troubled Teen Industry

Abstract

This study focused on a three-year span of Twitter/X public tweets and discussions shared on the topic, The Troubled Teen Industry (TTI). Using the social listening tool Sprinklr, 7,743 public tweets were gathered on the matter and dissected to understand the influence the online conversation had on real-world changes in the industry. Narrowing down the initial 7,743 tweets to 2,447 applicable messages, this research analyzed the conversation surrounding the Troubled Teen Industry from the point of view of industry survivors and the role Paris Hilton and other influencers had on bringing the conversation to the digital space. The tweets meeting TTI survivor criteria were analyzed using the computational research methods of topic modeling and sentiment analysis, and overall research practice of social listening. The themes and findings were then analyzed from the perspective of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Pearce & Cronen, 1980). CMM allowed the researcher to understand where conversations may need to be encouraged and what future conversations need to address. The results revealed the rise of conversation surrounding the Troubled Teen Industry, the impact Paris Hilton and other notable survivors had on changing the conversation, and the problems still being faced by those affected by the industry. Overall, this study recognizes the need for change in the Troubled Teen Industry and the role online conversations and communities can play from the perspective of social activism.

Completion Date

2025

Semester

Spring

Committee Chair

Brown, Tim

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Department of Communications

Identifier

DP0029321

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Campus Location

UCF Downtown

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