Julie Book

Final Draft
Jessie Carty
The Influence of Social Media on a Teens Identity
Social media is a large part of todays technology driven world. People of all ages use
social networking sites to keep in touch with friends and family. Not everyone can see someone
on an everyday basis, nor call them every day. Being able to talk to people in your life all at one
time is a great idea. Meeting new people is an advantage also. Finding those who have the same
qualities and hobbies as you can make an instant friendship. With these positives, also comes the
negatives. Unsurprisingly, the heaviest consumers of social media are teenagers. Because
teenagers are in an intense state to define their identity and they have grown up in a world of
digital technology, the presence of social media has blurred the lines between online and offline
identity.
Online profiles provide an opportunity for anyone to display an altered reality of their
identity. Teens put up only the pictures that they want seen. It is possible for them to create a
totally fictional identity. Through social media, teens have time to strategically determine how
they want to represent themselves. 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. Social networking profiles act as identity substitutions. Adolescents substitute
their true interests with what they believe is socially acceptable and convey it on their online
profile The maintenance of an ideal identity may stunt the development of an adolescents actual

identity. At the very least, it will most likely complicate an already complicated stage of life. To
a certain extent, the conflict between ones 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.
Adolescents are not only made more available to friends online, but they are also
available to bullies. Sitting in front of a computer is much less personal than being face to face
and therefore its easier to do mean things. It's a "playground with no parental supervision," said
Dr. Dimitri A. Christakis, George Adkins Professor of Pediatrics at the University of
Washington, who found in a study released earlier this year that 54 percent of teens demonstrate
risky behavior online (Livingstone). Teens able to hide behind their Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and other forms of social media to tease, spread rumors and insult their peers. Bullies
can communicate to a much wider audience in a very short period of time. Oftentimes, those
responsible for misusing social media are not even aware they are doing wrong. A subtweet on
Twitter allows for users to make references to people without directly tagging them. Subtweeting
allows a user to be hurtful and seemingly blameless at the same time. Similar programs such as
Tumblr and Ask.fm allow users to send anonymous messages to anyone else with an account.
The animosity of these comments makes it very easy for users to be ridiculed, harassed and
shamed. Still, the attacks occur on a regular basis to multitudes of teens, and no confrontation
ever takes place between victim and bully. A more recent issue in the form of cyberbullying is
online impersonation (Gaston). Teens create fake social media accounts to bully and humiliate

their peers and even adults. These fake accounts and false identities on social media are
extremely hurtful. Cyber-bullying can cause a lasting impact on the identity development of the
victims.
An even more relevant issue than cyberbullying is the concept of catfishing. Catfish is
a term that is associated with people creating fake social media accounts who then try to create
relationships with actual real people online. While you would think most people would be
cautious of who they meet online, some adolescents go as far as building trustworthy
relationships with individuals they would not be able to approach in real life (Lyman). What
makes people want to create these fake social media accounts? Research has found that most
teens create these deceiving accounts because they are sensation-seeking, have low self-esteem
and psychological difficulties, and there is a lack of parental support (Lyman). Any teen using
social media is at risk of malicious users who engage teenagers, who are under age minors, into
inappropriate sexual relationships through the Internet. Through the use of private instant
messaging, where nobody can see, and a teenager feels free to open up to someone, online
predators may attempt to initiate and seduce minors into relationships, and the inexperienced,
unaware target sees the relationship as a legitimate attempt at romance, not a threat to their
security by any means (Gatson). If anything, they do not feel the need to report it. Instead, they
get very concerned about one of their parents, caregivers, or teachers finding out.
The internet is full of useful information and can answer almost any question that we
have. Society must be very conscious of how reliable the information we read really is,
especially societys gullible and curious teenagers. Teens are turning to the world of social
media for information that schools and parents should be providing for them. Research shows
that the content on the internet can be confusing to teens which leads to a false understanding of

appropriate sexual behavior (Wagner). This confusion encourages teens to behave in a different
way online than they would in person. Social media distorts relationships and sexual norms and
is turning society into a sex-saturated culture (Wagner). With smart phones and apps with no
boundaries, teens are able to discuss sex with someone at any time. While it isnt very surprising
that teens are interested in or having sex, its on social media that it usually begins. I can scroll
down my Instagram feed and there is always a provocative picture of a young girl. The concern
is in the topic of hypersexualaztion. While teens are aware of it, they still cant resist objectifying
themselves. Sadly in todays world of teens, to be popular, which is what high school is all
about, you have to get likes on your social-media pics (Livingstone).
The majority of adolescents are online currently and the number is most likely to keep
growing. This new accessibility of the internet has a lot of positives but it will inevitably affect
this generation of adolescents who are growing up online. People need to be aware of the ways in
which teens can be influenced by the internet in such an important time in their lives and be
specifically aware of the issues that come from social networkingcreating ideal identities, the
influence of false information, and cyber-bullying.

Works Cited
Doster, L. (2013), Millennial teens design and redesign themselves in online social networks.
Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 12: 267279. doi: 10.1002/cb.1407
Gatson, Sarah. "Self-naming Practices on the Internet: Identity, Authenticity, and Community."
Cultural Studies/critical Methodologies. 11.3 (2011): 224-235. Print.

Livingstone, S. and Smith, P. K. (2014), Annual Research Review: Harms experienced by child
users of online and mobile technologies: the nature, prevalence and management of
sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry, 55: 635654. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12197

Lyman, Will, Rachel D. Goodman, and John Maggio. Growing Up Online. Lawrenceville, NJ:
Films Media Group, 2008. Internet resource.
Wagner, Kurt. "Research Reveals How Kids Learn From 'Sex-Saturated' Online Culture."
Mashable.com 19 Aug. 2013, Youtube: NewsBank. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.