Any adolescent would be able to tell you that a hashtag is used on social media to group information together by topic, theme, or content. Search #Prom2018 and you will certainly find a plethora of prom photos posted on Instagram. Sometimes it also provides an opportunity for teens to cleverly caption a photo and obtain more likes or followers, #squadgoals. Nevertheless, the purpose here is simple. Just as we strive to be culturally competent across racial and ethnic groups, we should also strive to learn just as much about adolescent online culture, especially if adolescents are the primary population of clients we are working with. As you’ll see in the next section, the more you know, the better questions you can ask!
Any adolescent would be able to tell you that a hashtag is used on social media to group information together by topic, theme, or content. Search #Prom2018 and you will certainly find a plethora of prom photos posted on Instagram. Sometimes it also provides an opportunity for teens to cleverly caption a photo and obtain more likes or followers, #squadgoals. Nevertheless, the purpose here is simple. Just as we strive to be culturally competent across racial and ethnic groups, we should also strive to learn just as much about adolescent online culture, especially if adolescents are the primary population of clients we are working with. As you’ll see in the next section, the more you know, the better questions you can ask!
Assesing for an addiction to Social Media
Assesing for an addiction to Social Media
"What do you enjoy doing on the computer?"
"What do you enjoy doing on the computer?"
"What do you enjoy doing on the computer?"
Who Are You Online?
Adolescents today are spending far more hours interacting online than offline. They must learn to navigate, integrate, and separate two distinct standards of living, online and offline, to form a healthy identity. Clinicians assisting adolescents in healthy identity development can help them understand their dual daily personas.
Beginning Activity: Reflection
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The shift from adolescence to adulthood is thought to be the most critical time period as there is an increased focus on the ‘self’ (Waterman, 1982; Valkenburg, Peter, & Schouten, 2006).
Describe yourself offline.
Describe yourself online.
Ask:
What are there similarities between these two selves?
What are the differences between these two selves?
Is there a "better" self?
Activity #2: Intentionality
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Lee, Im, & Taylor (2008) refer to self-presentation as, “the use of behaviors to intentionally regulate the impressions that observers have of themselves” and suggest that self-presentation online often revolves around creating a more congruent, desired, ideal self (p. 697).
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Ask: How do you decide...?
What factors do you consider before making something your profile photo? Why do you consider these factors important?
How do you decide what photos/memes/text posts/information you share online?
What motivates you to like or comment on a post and not like or not comment on others' posts?
Activity #3: Considering Reputation
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As adolescents try out different versions of themselves online, they have the ability to gauge responses from their social network and can then make changes to their self accordingly (Manago, 2014).
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Ask: If someone saw your Instagram/Twitter/SnapChat/Social Media Accounts...?
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And then Ask: If someone met you offline, how might the answers to these questions differ?
What would be their intial impression of you?
Would they want to be your friend?
Would they hire you for a job?
Would they consider you a potential partner in a relationship?
And lastly ask:
Are you who you want to be both online AND offline?
How can you intentionally blend, mold, or alter offline and online identities to create the more desired version of your self?
References
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Camacho, M., Minelli, J., & Grosseck, G. (2012). Self and identity: raising undergraduate
students’ awareness on their digital footprints. Social and Behavioral Sciences 46, 3176-3181.
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Ong, E.Y.L., Ang, R.P., Ho, J.C.M., Lim, J.C.Y., Goh, D.H., Lee. C.S., & Chua, A.Y.K. (2011).
Narcissism, extraversion and adolescents’ self-presentation on Facebook. Personality and
Individual Differences, 50, 180-185.
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Lee, D.H., Im, S., & Taylor, C.R. (2008). Voluntary self-disclosure of information on the internet: A multimethod study of the motivations and consequences of disclosing information on blogs. Psychology & Marketing, 25(7), 692-710. doi: 10.1002/mar.20232
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Manago, A. M. (2014). Identity development in the digital age: The case of social networking sites. The Oxford handbook of identity development, 508-524.
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Valkenburg, P.M. Peter, J., & Schouten, A.P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being and social self-esteem. Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 9, 584-590.
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Waterman, A.S. (1982). Identity development from adolescence to adulthood: An extension of
theory and a review of research. Developmental Psychology, 18(3), 341-358.
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