Risk and opportunity: How social media hinders and helps teen identity construction

During adolescence, which happens between the ages of 10 and 19, identity starts to become a primary concern.

In these early years of human development, adolescents experience rapid physical, cognitive and psychosocial growth, which is heavily influenced by peers, family, religious or cultural affiliation and, increasingly, social media.

In a webinar hosted by the South African College of Applied Psychology (Sacap), academic dean and counselling psychologist Dr Jaclyn Lotter explored the good and the bad of social media when it comes to adolescent identity creation.

Lotter argues that social media has had a "powerful influence on adolescent identity construction".

"What also happens in these new platforms for identity construction that our adolescents are participating in, is that they're not only exposed to the mainstream, they're exposed to a diversity of thought and a diversity of people. So there's this inclusion of a diversity of cultures, values, beliefs and appearance."

'Almost like playing dress-up'

In a world where social networking among the youth is the norm, social media acts as a new space for social interaction and self-presentation.

As adolescents continue to gain experiences and interact with their social environments, social media spaces allow adolescents to "experiment" with their identities, given that the adolescent identity is "not fixed".

Social media platforms act as a safer method of identity exploration, says Lotter

"Adolescents might feel more comfortable expressing themselves, exploring their identity and experimenting with their sexuality in a space where flexibility and anonymity are possible," says Dr Lotter. "[It's] almost like playing dress-up."

"Performing our identity online could be anything from trying out a different username in a chatroom to a fully virtual avatar in a virtual reality game."

"You're getting then, to experiment with an identity that you may not in a physical environment."

'It's not all bad'

Although social media has had a bad rap for its increased risks, Lotter emphasises that it can also be a comforting space for people seeking a "more opened world view."

"What I don't want to do is pretend that it's all positive, but I'm certainly not of the opinion that it's all negative and along with the risks that social media brings [for] adolescent identity development, come a number of opportunities."

Among the many positive influences of social media that Lotter listed was that social media creates a sense of belonging in conservative contexts where one can feel isolated, "particularly adolescents who find themselves in very conservative situations, who may not fit in, who may not identify with their community and who may feel completely isolated".

"And the ability to connect with someone like-minded online can decrease that sense of isolation," says Lotter.

For adolescents who may have struggled to transition from primary school to high school, Lotter says the ability to stay in contact with old friends helps them feel less lonely and adjust better.

Social media not only encourages adolescents to exercise their freedom of expression, but it creates a "safer space" for socially anxious adolescents to practise their social skills and creates a sense of emotional connection with others, allowing an opportunity to interact with individuals with diverse experiences and backgrounds.

'Two sides to the story'

On the other side of the coin, social media is constantly pinpointed as a breeding ground for online predators and potentially damaging media content.

"There's definitely two sides to the story," says Lotter. "The persistence of certain images that exist on social media are more problematic for some than others."

"It might be useful to consider social media and online social media sites as an online stage," she says. "There's a lot of research around this."

Adolescents can be careless about what they share online and can often "overshare" or share without thinking about future negative consequences or the permanence of online content.

As a result, some schools have begun to teach adolescents the dos and don'ts of the online world.

"If left unmediated, if adolescents are just left without any educational mediation of these social media tools, then the negatives will outweigh the positives," explains Lotter.

'A balanced view'

Dr Lotter advises parents to adopt a "balanced view" of social media, while still familiarising themselves with the available information in an effort to allow adolescents to be "informed and critical digital citizens".

"What we see here is that children and adolescents are participating in their own socialisation as they use social media. The question we have to ask is: Are they doing this in a critical or uncritical way?"

"Online is as dangerous as any other interaction. It's just in the physical world [that] we teach our children what to do or what not to do when we meet strangers...We need to teach our youth what to do when they meet strangers online."

"If we want to protect our youth from the risks that are inherent [on] social media, and to allow for social media to be used in ways that are beneficial...we need to be tackling this head-on."

Watch the full webinar here.

First published on Parent24.