Growing up with Buffy: How adolescent female fans use the program in their everyday lives

More than ever before, young people are surrounded by numerous media products that vie for their time and attention. This study examines the role these media play in the lives and development of adolescents. As a case study, it looks as these issues through 17 adolescent female fans of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Grounded in the Media Practice Model, the study integrates aspects of media effects research, cultural media studies, and social psychological approaches to adolescent identity development. The Media Practice Model takes a process approach to understanding the role of media in adolescents' identity development. Within the context of young people's daily lives, the Model describes four main components of the relationship between adolescents and media: Identity, Selection, Interaction, and Application. To explore the role of Buffy in the context of the girls' everyday lives, this study employs innovative methods, such as in-depth interviews in participants' bedrooms and identity collages. These methods provide rich data regarding how the girls' think about their "selves" and how the media and other socializing agents influence who they are. Examining the process delineated by the Media Practice Model, the study addresses the context of the girls' Buffy watching, their motivations for selecting Buffy, their uses and understandings of the program's adolescent content, and how each of these interactions are influenced by the girls' developmental needs and abilities. As a study of fans, this dissertation also examines the potential for a fan community to offer a site for identity play. This study presents findings from a small group of fans of a particular television program. These findings point to the value of further exploration into the role of media in the process of adolescent identity development. They point to the value of new approaches and methods to help uncover this process. Ultimately, this study seeks to highlight the importance of giving young people a voice and of understanding their experiences from their perspectives.