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.