Adolescent Communication Course Description

     In this essay, I will discuss the effect that social networking has on adolescent identity development. I will first look at the stages and descriptions of adolescent identity development from both James Marcia and Erik Erikson. I will focus on Marcia’s Moratorium Phase and Erikson’s “Identity vs. Role Confusion” stage. Then I will discuss three main ways in which social networking can affect those stages of identity development: 1) the establishment and maintenance of an ideal identity in a addition to finding one’s own true identity 2) the impact of friends and social relationships; how they are important in adolescent development and how they are impacted by social networking and 3) cyber-bullying and its influence on self-esteem. I will argue that, in general, there are no major effects in the final result of identity development in adolescents; however, social networking has added complications to the process, which this generation of teens is the first to experience. 

Abstract

      In this essay I will discuss the effect that social networking has on adolescent identity development. I will first look at the stages and descriptions of adolescent identity development from both James Marcia and Erik Erikson. I will focus on Marcia’s Moratorium Phase and Erikson’s “Identity vs. Role Confusion” stage. Then I will discuss three main ways in which social networking can affect those stages of identity development: 1) the establishment and maintenance of an ideal identity in a addition to finding one’s own true identity 2) the impact of friends and social relationships; how they are important in adolescent development and how they are impacted by social networking and 3) cyber-bullying and its influence on self-esteem. I will argue that, in general, there are no major effects in the final result of identity development in adolescents; however, social networking has added complications to the process, which this generation of teens is the first to experience. The main point of this essay is to overview a few of the main issues that come from the availability if the internet to adolescents today and to challenge educators and parents to become aware of the effects of this new development on modern adolescents.

Introduction and Background in Adolescent Development Theory

      The prevalence of social networking in our culture today is undeniable. According to a Pew study, eighty seven percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 now say they are online. Facebook alone has over 500 million active users and according to a 2010 study, over 35% of the users are between the ages of 13 and 24 (Corbett). The amount of adolescents with online profiles is growing significantly. Since this is the first generation of adolescents to grow up with social networks, the impact on development remains mostly to be seen. However, psychologists are already able to see certain trends in technology that will most likely alter or at least complicate identity development in adolescents. I am personally invested in this issue because I will be teaching at the high school level in the next year or so and though I am learning now about the stages of adolescent identity development, the impact of social networking may change what we know about development within the next few years. C.J. Pascoe, a sociologist at the University of Berkeley, claims, “the internet affords an independence to teenagers that [we haven’t] seen since the invention of the car” (Poscoe 1). We are experiencing a shift in adolescence that, according to Poscoe, has not occurred for over half a century and it is vital that parents and educators become aware of the inevitable impact that this shift will have on modern teens.

         There are three main issues to look at when studying the influence of social networking on adolescent identity development. The first of these issues is the opportunity that online profiles allow one to create an ideal identity, which may confuse identity development by distracting adolescents from finding their actual identity.  The second issue is the increase in availability and influence of friends and social groups in adolescent’s lives. Lastly, cyber-bullying is a real issue and there is already evidence that shows the impact that this new form of bullying has on the self-esteem of adolescents during this crucial and highly vulnerable time.

         Erik Erikson was one of the first psychologists to study closely the stages of development that adolescents experience. “Adolescence is described by Erikson as the period during which the individual must establish a sense of personal identity and avoid the dangers of role diffusion and identity confusion” (Adolescence 3). “Until this fifth stage, development depends on what is done to a person.  At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does” (Erikson). Erikson claims that this crucial time in developing occurs during the ages of 12 to 18 or so; a demographic that occupies 35% of Facebook users, not to mention other social networking sites. James Marcia later revised Erikson’s ideas about identity development with his creation of four identity statuses. The main status that is most likely to occur during adolescence is what he calls the moratorium phase. During this stage, "Individuals…are in an acute state of crisis. They are exploring and actively searching for alternatives, and struggling to find their identity; but have not yet made any commitment or have only developed very temporary kinds of commitment" (Adolescence 5). Both Erikson and Marcia recognize adolescence as a crucial time for identity development, which is vulnerable to outside influences. 

Online Profiles and The Ideal Identity Issue

     The first of the aforementioned issues, the establishment of an ideal identity may be the most influential, but is the most difficult to estimate or document and the full effect will not be seen until this generation of teens moves from adolescence into adulthood. Online profiles provide an opportunity for anyone to display an altered reality of their identity. Users may put up only the pictures that they want seen, and pass any information about themselves as truth. They could create a totally fictional identity, although most probably project just an “improved” version of their own identity for the sake of acceptance and approval. On social networks there is time to strategically determine how one is going to represent one’s self.

         Managing an online profile can add confusion to [identity development]; adolescents are already seeking an acceptable identity, and through the use of online profiles, they have the ability to physically create and manipulate the          identity they want to convey to others…Furthermore, social networking profiles act as identity substitutions. Adolescents substitute their true interests with what they believe is socially acceptable and convey the latter information on their online profile (Cowie).

     The maintenance of an ideal identity may stunt the development of an adolescent’s actual identity. At the very least, it will most likely complicate an already complicated stage of life. To a certain extent, the conflict between one’s actual identity and the identity that one wants to be has existed for a long time, however, online profiles have created almost a full proof system that allows for the desired identity to exist safe from reality showing through. In addition, users are able to join groups and associate themselves with specific groups of people. The personal information that users display can be influenced by the groups they want to join and their desired friend associations. This brings me to the second way that social networking could have an impact of identity development in adolescents.

Social Networking and Friendships

     It is impossible to fully understand any aspect of adolescent identity development without considering the influence of friends. During adolescence, teens begin to emancipate themselves from their parents and associate more with their peers. This is most likely the stage of life where friends are the most influential. Adolescents often find their identity in the social group to which they belong. Studies have shown that friends can determine the success or demise of adolescents. The desire for friends can be explained by William Schutez’s concept of the 3 interpersonal needs: control, inclusion, and affection. Friends meet all three of these needs and so does social networking. Adolescents can control their perceived identity on social networks. Also, in order to be relevant to and included in youth culture, teens must engage in online activity. Lastly, adolescents receive affection and are confirmed or disconfirmed based on the reactions to their online perceived identity (i.e. comments on walls and pictures.) Erikson also acknowledged the influence of friends on development. He claimed that, “An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and “fitting in”, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong” (Erikson). The Digital Youth Project did a study on the impact of social networks on friendships in the lives of adolescents and found that:

         “Most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, religious organizations, sports, and other local activities. They can be “always on,” in constant contact with their friends through private communications like instant messaging or mobile phones, as well as in public ways through social network sites such as MySpace and Facebook” (Youth Safety). If adolescents are made more available to each other, then the already high influence that friends have on adolescent development will most likely increase. Consequently, the social pressure to fit in with a specific friend group will increase, possibly resulting in more motivation for falsifying an online identity. Unfortunately, adolescents are not only made more available to friends online, but they are also available to bullies, which leads into the last issue of adolescents’ social networking.

Cyber-Bullying

    Cyber-bullying is a very sad reality of adolescent online life. “According to a study conducted by Rochester Institute of Technology, cyber-bullying ‘can start as early as the 2^nd grade for some children,’” (Youth Safety). The Online Safety and Technology Working Group recently came out with an article that discussed the issue of cyber-bullying in the lives of today’s adolescents where they state:

         "Cyber-bullying is basically the same as real-world bullying, though it has elements that don’t exist in the physical world such as anonymity, the ability to impersonate the victim, follow the victim home, embarass the victim, in front of an unseen (and potentially vast) online audience and persist online over a long period of time” (Youth Safety).

     Cyber-bullying intensifies bullying by providing more resources and anonymity for the bullies. In addtion, people feel freer to say things online than they do in person, so a bully is more likely to be crueler online than they ever would be in real life. Bullies do not have to see the faces of the people they are hurting so any chance for compassion is lost. Creating this safe environment for bullies to pick on their peers will most likely intensify the amount of victims. Cyber-bullying can cause a lasting impact on the identity development of the victims.

Conclusion

      The majority of adolescents are online currently and the number is most likely to keep growing. This new accessiblity of the internet has a lot of positives but it will inevitably affect this generation of adolescents who are growing up online. As educators, parents, and adults, we need to be aware of the ways in which adolescents can be influenced by the internet in such a impressionable time in their lives and be specifically aware of the issues that come from social networking—creating ideal identities, the influence of friends, and cyber-bullying. This new technological development is not inherently bad and should not be reacted to thus. However, as the culture in which adolescents develop changes, we must also adjust accordingly.