Join Emmy-winning director Lauren Greenfield for a screening of her new documentary Social Studies which chronicles the lives of 12 young people who were the first generation to grow up on social media.  Following the screening of the first episode in her compelling five-part series, USC clinical professor of communication and journalism, and director of the School of Journalism, Gordon Stables will host a Q and A with Greenfield who will also take questions from the audience. 

Social Studies was filmed in Los Angeles over one academic school year, features a diverse group of teens who open up their lives and phones to offer an intimate glimpse into how social media has reshaped childhood. From battling bullying, grappling with beauty standards and more, their compelling and relatable experiences go on a raw, visceral, and urgent journey through the challenges of growing up in the digital era. Social Studies was created and directed by Greenfield and has earned Common Sense Media’s Seal of Approval.

Annenberg Foundation chairman, president, and CEO Wallis Annenberg served as an executive producer on the series. To complement the debut of Social Studies, the Annenberg Foundation and Annenberg Learner is introducing free, educator-curated content designed for teachers and parents to use with teens, exclusively on Learner.org. 

Emmy® Award–winning filmmaker/photographer Greenfield has produced groundbreaking work on youth culture, gender, and consumerism for the last 25 years. Her documentary films, THIN, The Queen of Versailles, Generation Wealth and The Kingmaker, and photographs from her books, Fast Forward, Girl Culture, Thin and Generation Wealth, have been screened, published and exhibited around the world, as well as collected by major cultural institutions.

Greenfield’s multi-platform retrospective, Generation Wealth, was also a record-setting exhibition that opened in Los Angeles at the Annenberg Space for Photography in 2017. In 2019, Greenfield and her producing (and life) partner, Frank Evers, founded the award-winning production company Institute. Greenfield and Evers are also currently co-producing a Broadway musical based on her documentary The Queen of Versailles.

Stables is the director of the School of Journalism. A clinical professor with appointments in both the School of Communication and School of Journalism, Stables has been a member of the USC Annenberg faculty since 2002 and served in a number of roles.

As the School of Journalism director, Stables is responsible for the supervision and management of USC Annenberg programs in journalism and public relations. He works closely with the school’s faculty and leadership to help guide the school’s research, teaching, and service initiatives. His current research interests focus on the future of public news.

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