The more social evolves, the more we communicate the same.  At least that’s the way it looks after reading today’s post by danah boyd.  She tells the story of a young girl, Carmen, who after breaking up with boyfriend wanted to find a way to express her despondency without freaking out her mom.  Carmen’s mother is her friend on Facebook and follows her posts.

Carmen used song lyrics which had one meaning for her mother yet another for her friends.  danah boyd describes this as social steganography.  As far as I can tell, this is the first formal description of a phenomenon that we all observe in teens and likely use ourselves.

boyd sums up Carmen’s tampering nicely:

“She’s hiding information in plain sight, creating a message that can be read in one way by those who aren’t in the know and read differently by those who are.  She’s communicating to different audiences simultaneously, relying on specific cultural awareness to provide the right interpretive lens.”

It’s interesting that social steganography isn’t a trick unique to teens.  I see varying forms of this on Twitter.  I also use this in my day-to-day work as a pediatrician.  Depending upon a child’s age and developmental level I’ll choose language that will appear innocuous to a child or tween but bear clear meaning to a mother.

I read danah boyd because she has a way of helping me understand what I see evolving around me.