Instagram and adolescence

Authors

  • Kristen Hinshaw University of Pittsburgh
  • Colleen Lloyd Eddy University of Pittsburgh

Keywords:

social media use, adolescent development, body image, risk-taking, identity development

Abstract

Adolescents have been notably increasing their use of social media in recent years and much speculation has gone into how these digital, social realms might impact their development. Meta’s Instagram, a social networking site used for sharing pictures and videos, has been an influential app among adolescents and contains features that may be particularly attractive to teens as it caters to the unique characteristics of their developmental stage. This paper examines the similarities between common characteristics of adolescence and characteristics of the app Instagram, and how the app’s features may influence adolescent development. Unlike other reviews that have focused solely on the negative aspects of social media apps like Instagram, this paper focuses on identifying both the potential negative impacts as well as the positive impacts of Instagram on adolescent development and provides recommendations to practitioners, parents, and policy makers on how to best navigate youth through an online social world.

References

Åström, M. (2021). The adolescent brain on social-media: A systematic review.

Be Real. (2017). Somebody Like Me: A report investigating the impact of body image anxiety on young people in the UK. https://www.berealcampaign.co.uk/research/somebody-like-me

Belotti, F., Donato, S., Bussoletti, A., & Comunello, F. (2022). Youth Activism for Climate on and Beyond Social Media: Insights from FridaysForFuture-Rome. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 27(3), 718-737. https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612211072776

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Byrne, E., Vessey, J. A., & Pfeifer, L. (2018). Cyberbullying and social media: Information and interventions for school nurses working with victims, students, and families. The Journal of School Nursing, 34(1), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840517740191

Cipolletta, S., Malighetti, C., Cenedese, C., & Spoto, A. (2020). How can adolescents benefit from the use of social networks? The iGeneration on Instagram. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196952

Duell, N., & Steinberg, L. (2021). Adolescents take positive risks, too. Developmental Review, 62, 100984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100984

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

Evans, Y. N., Gridley, S. J., Crouch, J., Wang, A., Moreno, M. A., Ahrens, K., & Breland, D. J. (2017). Understanding online resource use by transgender youth and caregivers: A qualitative study. Transgender Health, 2(1), 129-139. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2017.0011

Franchina, V., & Lo Coco, G. (2018). The Influence of Social Media Use on Body Concern. International Journal of Psychoanalysis and Education, 10(1). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331114176_The_Influence_of_Social_Media_Use_on_Body_Concern?enrichId=rgreq-6efc282b6afa18f81e023dc563884e60-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMzMTExNDE3NjtBUzo4NzExNDM1NjA5OTg5MTNAMTU4NDcwODIxODQxNQ%3D%3D&el=1_x_2&_esc=publicationCoverPdf

Giedd, J. N. (2020). Adolescent brain and the natural allure of digital media. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), 127–133. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.2/jgiedd

Herbozo, S., Thompson, J. K. (2006). Appearance-related commentary, body image, and self-esteem: Does the distress associated with the commentary matter? Body Image: An International Journal of Research, 3(3), 255-262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2006.04.001

Kildare, C. A., & Middlemiss, W. (2017). Impact of parents mobile device use on parent-child interaction: A literature review. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 579–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.003

Kilford, E. J., Garrett, E., & Blakemore, S.-J. (2016). The development of social cognition in adolescence: An integrated perspective. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 70, 106–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.08.016

Kimmons, R., Carpenter, J.P., Veletsianos, G., Krutka, D.G., (2019). Mining social media divides: An analysis of K-12 US school uses of Twitter. Learning, Media and Technology, 43(3), 307-325.

Kleemans, M., Daalmans, S., Carbaat I., & Anschütz D. (2018). Picture Perfect: The Direct Effect of Manipulated Instagram Photos on Body Image in Adolescent Girls. Media Psychology, 21(1), 93-110, DOI: 10.1080/15213269.2016.1257392

Martinez-Pecino, & Garcia-Gavilán, M. (2019). Likes and Problematic Instagram Use: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 22(6), 412–416. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2018.0701

Mayo Clinic. (2022, February 26). How to help your teen navigate social media. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437#:~:text=Social%20media%20is%20a%20big,%2C%20Facebook%2C%20Instagram%20or%20Snapchat.

Marengo, D., Longobardi, C., Fabris, M. A., & Settanni, M. (2018). Highly-visual social media and internalizing symptoms in adolescence: the mediating role of body image concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 82, 63-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.01.003

Michela, E., Rosenberg, J. M., Kimmons, R., Sultana, O., Burchfield, M. A., Thomas, T., (2022). “We Are Trying to Communicate the Best We Can”: Understanding districts’ communication on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic. AERA Open 8, 23328584221078542.

Moon, R. Y., Mathews, A., Oden, R., & Carlin, R. (2019). Mothers’ perceptions of the internet and social media as sources of parenting and health information: qualitative study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 21(7), e14289. doi: 10.2196/14289

Noon, E. J, Schuck, L. A., Guțu, S. M., Şahin, B., Vujović, B., & Aydın, Z. (2021). To compare, or not to compare? Age moderates the relationship between social comparisons on instagram and identity processes during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescence (London, England.), 93, 134–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2021.10.008

O'Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800–804. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0054

Pew Research Center (2022, August 10). Teens, social media and technology 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/08/10/teens-social-media-and-technology-2022/#fn-28469-2

Phillips, A. L. (2018). Youth perceptions of online harassment, cyberbullying, and “just drama”: Implications for empathetic design. Online Harassment, 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78583-7_10

Reed, J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (2017). Learning on hold: Cell phones sidetrack parent-child interactions. Developmental Psychology, 53(8), 1428–1436. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000292

Selkie, E., Adkins, V., Masters, E., Bajpai, A., & Shumer, D. (2020). Transgender adolescents' uses of social media for social support. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(3), 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.08.011

Singh, A. A. (2013). Transgender youth of color and resilience: Negotiating oppression and finding support. Sex Roles, 68(11), 690-702. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-0 12-0149-z

Downloads

Published

2023-12-31

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2023): Journal of Social Media in Society

Section

Essays

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).