I found the social icon answers here: https://colorlibsupport.com/t/social-icons-in-sparkling-2-0/#post-33272
"In this version we switched to a better solution for social menus. Now you can use a regular WordPress menu via Appearance >> Menus. There create a menu with social links to Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and son on inside it. Menu will recognize what URL you are using and will use the right icon for it.Afterwards you can enable/disable icon in footer by using your mentioned function in customizer or by using the good old Sparkling social widget."
"Set menu location as “Social Links”. A single checkbox when creating menu."
"When you open WordPress menu editor via Appearance >> Menus you should go to Screen Options in the upper right corner. There you should select option called “Link Target”. Afterwards you will have a new options for menu items named “Open link in a new window/tab”. Select that for each menu item and you are good to go."