Review article
Online Communication Among Adolescents: An Integrated Model of Its Attraction, Opportunities, and Risks

This review study has its origins in a presentation in the plenary session “E-teens: wired for life” organized at the annual conference of the Society of Adolescent Medicine on March 17, 2009.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.08.020Get rights and content

Abstract

Adolescents far outnumber adults in their use of e-communication technologies, such as instant messaging and social network sites. In this article, we present an integrative model that helps us to understand both the appeal of these technologies and their risks and opportunities for the psychosocial development of adolescents. We first outline how the three features (anonymity, asynchronicity, and accessibility) of online communication stimulate controllability of online self-presentation and self-disclosure among adolescents. We then review research on the risks and opportunities of online self-presentation and self-disclosure for the three components of adolescents' psychosocial development, including identity (self-unity, self-esteem), intimacy (relationship formation, friendship quality, cyberbullying), and sexuality (sexual self-exploration, unwanted sexual solicitation). Existing research suggests several opportunities of online communication, such as enhanced self-esteem, relationship formation, friendship quality, and sexual self-exploration. It also yields evidence of several risks, including cyberbullying and unwanted sexual solicitation. We discuss the shortcomings of existing research, the possibilities for future research, and the implications for educators and health care professionals.

Section snippets

Online Communication and Psychosocial Development

Developmental researchers agree that the overarching goal for adolescents is to achieve psychosocial autonomy [3]. Within this overarching goal, three developmental tasks are important for psychosocial development [3]. First, adolescents have to develop a firm sense of their self or identity, that is, they need to achieve a secure feeling about who they are and what they wish to become. Second, they have to develop a sense of intimacy, that is, they need to acquire the abilities that are

Identity, Intimacy, Sexuality, and Three Features of Online Communication

Traditionally, adolescents learn and rehearse self-presentation and self-disclosure in face-to-face communication, often with peers and close friends. However, several studies suggest that self-presentation and self-disclosure—in particular to peers and close friends—increasingly take place on the Internet [6], [7], [8]. About one in three adolescents prefer online communication over face-to-face communication to talk about intimate topics, such as love, sex, and things they are ashamed about

Opportunities and Risks of Online Communication: Empirical Evidence

Anonymity, asynchronicity, and accessibility enhance adolescents' control over self-presentation and self-disclosure. This enhanced controllability, in turn, explains why the Internet is so attractive to adolescents. At the same time, it explains why it may be beneficial or risky for their psychosocial development. In the following sections of this review, we discuss the published studies on the effects of online communication on the following three aspects of psychosocial development:

Identity Development

Internet researchers have focused on the following two aspects of identity development: self-concept-clarity and self-esteem. Self-concept clarity refers to the extent to which beliefs and opinions about one's self are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable [23]. Self-esteem is the evaluative aspect of the self, and it usually refers to how adolescents value their self-worth [13], [24].

Intimacy Development

Research has focused on the opportunities of online communication for the following two aspects of intimacy development: friendship formation and the quality of existing friendships. It has dealt with a potential downside of online communication for intimacy development, that is, cyberbullying.

Sexual Development

Research on the effects of the Internet on the sexual development adolescents has been burgeoning in the past years. We focus on the following two aspects of sexual development: sexual self-exploration and online sexual solicitation.

Conclusions, Shortcomings, and Future Research

Existing research suggests several opportunities of online communication, such as enhancement of self-esteem, increased opportunities for formation of friendships, enhanced quality of existing friendships, and enhanced opportunities for sexual self-exploration. It has also clearly revealed some risks including cyberbullying and sexual online solicitation. Research has also shown that the Internet is neither a place where adolescents are exclusively confronted with risks that they cannot handle,

Acknowledgments

The research on which this paper is based was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research NWO.

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