By SunHa Ahn

This study, grounded in sociological principles, aims to provide a nuanced understanding of how young South African women and girls (YSAWGs) around HIV or sexual health or sexual activities, which are not easy to openly discuss in South African societies, use digital space in terms of their mental health or emotional management. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored YSAWG’s utilisation of Springster, a digital platform encompassing the digital commentary activities of socially marginalised voices, data collection spanned four months, yielding 135 stories. Through content analysis, the study quantified the frequency of repetitive words in these comments and identified main themes. These digital phenomena emerged as alternative substituting for the paucity of public school or (mental) health services, as well as the deficits of in-person intimate relational support, especially, among those who are struggling to seek non-judgemental peers or mutual relationships to navigate their emotional challenges in their life journey of HIV, sexual practices, and relevant health issues. This implies the need for educationally interactive processes in YSAWGs’ mental health, which have been epistemologically neglected since the apartheid period. Given the social and digital divided environments in South Africa, this demonstrates digital health practices’ potential for managing sexual health or practices for young women. However, there are mitigating risks to them, lessening the benefits, which means the urgent necessity of systematic interventions.

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