We conducted co-design workshops with 23 participants (ages 15--24) to explore how youth envision ideal remote social connection. Using Fictional Inquiry (FI) within a Harry Potter-inspired narrative, we found that youth perceive a disconnect between platforms labeled ``social media'' (like Instagram) and those where they actually experience meaningful connections (like Minecraft or Discord). Participants envisioned an immersive platform prioritizing meaningful social connection through presence and immersion, natural self-expression, intuitive spatial navigation leveraging physical-world norms, and playful, low-stakes opportunities for friendship development. We synthesize these visions into six themes articulating relational needs that current platforms systematically marginalize. The FI method proved effective in generating innovative ideas while empowering youth by fostering hope and agency over social media's future. Our findings challenge ``doom'' narratives by reframing social media's harms as outcomes of specific design choices, demonstrating how design research can reopen space for imagining more supportive forms of mediated connection.

翻译：我们与23名参与者（年龄15-24岁）开展了协同设计工作坊，以探究青少年如何构想理想的远程社交连接。通过采用《哈利·波特》启发的叙事框架下的虚构探究方法，我们发现青少年认为被标记为“社交媒体”的平台（如Instagram）与他们实际体验有意义连接的平台（如《我的世界》或Discord）之间存在脱节。参与者设想了一种沉浸式平台，其通过临场感与沉浸体验、自然的自我表达、利用物理世界规范的直观空间导航，以及轻松低风险的友谊发展机会，优先实现有意义的社交连接。我们将这些构想综合为六个主题，阐明了当前平台系统性边缘化的关系需求。虚构探究方法被证明能有效激发创新理念，同时通过培养希望与对社交媒体未来的能动性赋能青少年。我们的研究发现通过将社交媒体的危害重新定义为特定设计选择的结果，挑战了“末日”叙事，展示了设计研究如何为构想更具支持性的媒介化连接形式重新开辟想象空间。