Social media's impact on teenagers

Abstract

McLuhan's "media is the message" has never been more relevant than in the age of the ubiquitous digital media. The social influences by the peer group and access to information of all kinds leaves the door open to influences that may or may not necessarily be positive. The access to communicate to large groups of people relatively easily and quickly has the impact of impacting social dynamics, by reducing social inhibitions, and redefining normative actions. More importantly there are potential short-term and long-term implications for these actions. This paper explores some of these influences and consequences as well as actions that adults can potentially take to sensitize and curb potentially damaging behaviors among teenagers. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.