By focusing attention on the ways that the media manifold fosters visual practices of presentational work for Generation Z, this article examines the active and relational nature of youth’s engagement with visual self-images during the transition between high school and university. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 35 youth between the ages of 15–22, the analysis examines how the relational contexts of family, school, and peers, alongside the socioeconomic and gendered dimensions of young people’s everyday lives work to shape the different ways that youth engage in visual processes of becoming; in terms of becoming who they are and who they want themselves to be. Findings reveal that although youth’s visual self-performances parallel contemporary theorizations of mediatization, self-identity, and visuality, I argue that more attention should be paid to the nuances of transitional moments among young people, and the precise ways in which they navigate practices of “looking,” which are tightly bound up with heightened expectations around visual performance and projection of the self.

Many First Nations homes lack adequate water and sanitation services. One way to address these conditions is to develop effective public engagement strategies. Thus, in this qualitative interview study, we explored how 22 non-Indigenous Canadians from one city interpreted this issue and their interest in it. We analyzed the transcribed data using thematic coding and constant comparison. Though most participants were aware of the issue and expressed sadness or anger, understandings were relatively shallow and rarely translated into active involvement. Barriers to engagement included racism and a lack of resources, capacity, and personal responsibility. Based on these findings and social psychological literature on social action, we provide recommendations for public advocacy strategies to engage non-Indigenous Canadians on the issue of First Nations water rights.

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According to dominant theorizations of contemporary society, many people’s daily practices now occur within, and reproduce, a social world where media are the fundamental reference and resource for the development of the self (Couldry and Hepp 2017:15). Although previous research has revealed the mutual shaping of technologies, interaction, and identity in the broader contexts of economic and social change related to ‘millennials’, we know little about the precise ways in which these practices occur and how the self is being differently constructed over time. Using a multi-method qualitative approach, this work in progress paper explores three key questions: 1) What happens when visuality becomes a part of youth’s everyday practices of interaction? 2) What roles are images playing in routine interaction among youth? 3) How and in what ways does the maintenance of a visually ‘mediated presence’ in social media shape youths’ views of the self? This paper elaborates on findings within three categories that illustrate youth’s visual practices and how they are differently understood over time: (1) images of the self in the moment; (2) images of the self over time; and (3) images of the self under surveillance. The preliminary findings of this research suggest that although youth’s technological practices may not all be new, there are significant aspects of visuality that alters some of the key factors shaping young people’s use and understandings of new media technologies.