‘You Have to Understand That They Don't Understand’: Girls' Perceptions of Adult Support for Navigating Influencer Culture

Abstract

This article explores how girls aged 9–15 perceive and experience adult support in relation to influencer culture, drawing on qualitative research conducted in southeast England. Girls believed that adults often seek to mitigate digital risk through instrumentalised education or protective parenting, and articulated a desire for more emotionally attuned, developmentally responsive and dialogic support. They critiqued superficial or misattuned adult responses and highlighted the importance of trust, emotional safety and mutual understanding in navigating the relational complexities of influencer culture. The article bridges research on girls' digital self-presentation and adult-led digital safety interventions, arguing for an ecological, relational and socio-affective approach to supporting girls' wellbeing. Findings point to a need for pedagogies and parenting strategies that move beyond risk aversion and information delivery, toward practices of care, co-reflection and critical media literacy attuned to the affective and gendered dimensions of influencer culture.