Social Media, Burns

Social media is defined as any web site that allows social interaction, such as Facebook,

Instagram, and Twitter (OKeefe, Schurgin, and Clarke-Pearson, 2011). 87% of American kids

ages 12-17 use the Internet, with 95% of all teenagers 13-19 using it (Marwick and Boyd, 2014).

51% of these kids use it daily (Richards, 2015). 60% of teenagers ages 13-17 have at least one

social networking profile (Richards, 2015). 87% use social media at least once every week either

via cell phone or computer; 98% of teenagers 16-18 have a cell phone, and 93% have a computer

(Agosto and Abbas, 2016). More specifically, 50% of adolescents log onto social media sites at

least once a day, with 22% logging on more than ten times a day (OKeefe, et al., 2011). Social

media usage among teenagers has risen significantly over the last several years, and with such an

increase comes concern and questions about how teenagers are using these sites. Just between

2007 and 2008, the number of social media users jumped from 56% to 75% (Kaplan and

Haenlein, 2010). Currently, teenagers are turning more attention towards Instagram, Twitter, and

Snapchat, while Facebook is beginning to lose its popularity (Madden, et al., 2013). As Social

Presence Theory argues, these social media platforms differ in the degree of social presence -

defined as the acoustic, visual, and physical contact that can be achieved they allow to emerge

between two communication partners, (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). With the shift in popular

social media platforms, there has been a corresponding increase in risky behaviors and mental

health issues, which have been found to impact teenage girls more than boys; these behaviors

include sharing personal information, connecting with strangers, sexting, posting sexually

explicit behavior, cyberbullying, and the health issues include depression, anxiety, and negative

self-esteem and body image. This paper aims to examine the influence of social media on the

perceptions, behaviors, and self-esteem of teenage girls ages 14-17.

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An observational study titled How Safe do Teenagers Behave on Facebook examined

1,050 Facebook profiles of teenagers 13-18 (Vanderhoven, Schellens, Valcke, and Raes, 2014).

This study examined the various privacy settings available on Facebook: public, friends-of-

friends, or friends only; this indicates the specific users who can view the information posted on

ones profile. It was found that this age group mostly posts pictures, interests and basic personal

information on their profile, but those who provide more personal information were not more

likely to increase the privacy settings on their page. In this study, one of the research questions

posed was Do teenagers manage privacy settings to secure information? The results were that a

large amount of teenagers do restrict their profiles to be viewed by friends only, but there are

also a large number who keep their information available to friends-of-friends; 86% of profiles

containing photos were accessible to friends-of-friends, as were 48% of wall posts on ones

Facebook page. Furthermore, 46% of those studied have accepted friend requests from people

they dont know, implying that even with ones privacy settings restricted to friends only,

strangers can still access ones personal information (Vanderhoven, et al., 2014). Similarly, the

issue with the friends-of-friends privacy settings is that it could open ones profile to a lot of

strangers if two people do not share many mutual friends.

While Facebook provides a friends-of-friends privacy settings as an intermediate privacy

setting between private and public, other social media sites do not do this. A 2008 study found

that teenagers ages 13-16 do have an interest and awareness of privacy, but also pointed out that

profiles have to be either public or private, that there are no subdivisions (Livingstone, 2008).

The importance of an intermediate, or additional setting, is so users can have the ability to block

certain bits of personal information even from those on their friends list, or, conversely, allow

access to their information to a select population of people not on their friends list; the public

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setting opens ones profile to the general world, and the privacy setting closes ones profile to

everybody not on ones direct friends list or following list.

The likelihood of providing personal information increases with age, and it was found

that boys ages 13-16 share more personal information than girls. More specifically, boys share

more posts aimed at self-promotion, while girls share more posts aimed at being cute or romantic

(Vanderhoven et al., 2014). Revealing personal information on social media has an array of

consequences, including damaged reputation, gossip, stalking, identity theft, and use of

information by third parties (Vanderhoven, et al., 2014).

It is critical that todays youth understand the concept of the digital footprint, which is a

collective, ongoing record of ones web activity (OKeefe). The Pew Research Center published

a report in 2013 that was based on a survey of 802 teenagers and their privacy management on

social media sites. The main finding of this study was that teenagers are sharing more

information about themselves on social media than they ever have before. When comparing the

types of personal information teenagers shared on their profiles in 2012 to what they shared in

2006, the five main types of personal information all increased in prevalence on profiles in 2012;

the five types of personal information analyzed were photos of oneself, school name, city or

town they live, email address, and cell phone number. Of these five, the most staggering

increases were observed in posting photos of oneself, email addresses, and cell phone numbers;

as of 2012, 91% post photos of themselves, 53% post their email address, and 20% post their cell

phone numbers, compared to 79%, 29%, and 2% in 2006, respectively. In addition, 92% post

their full real name, and 82% post their real birthday. These surveys involved kids ages 12-17,

but it was found that teenagers 14-17 shared all of this personal information more often than

younger teenagers; therefore, if the study had only surveyed boys and girls 14-17, these

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percentages would have been moderately higher (Madden, Lenhart, Cortesi, Gasser, Duggan,

Smith, and Beaton, 2013).

This study by the Pew Research Center also reported that 60% of teenage Facebook users

keep their profiles set to private, and that most feel confident in their ability to manage their

privacy settings. More specifically, teenage girls are more likely to keep their profiles private,

but both male and female teenagers ages 14-17 have larger social networks than younger social

media users. While a high percentage of users reported that they keep their profile private, 33%

reported that they have Facebook friends that they have never actually met, indicating that, while

these profiles are set to private, strangers that are on ones friends list can still view this

information and, therefore, it is not being kept private (Madden, et al., 2013). Consistent with

Maddens research, a study published by the International Communication Association found

that teenage Facebook users claim to understand privacy issues, but they continue to upload a

large amount of personal information. One reason for this stems from the Third Person Effect

Theory, which argues that one believes the negative effects of a given situation are ascribed to

others; in this case, teens believe that the risk of privacy invasion is greater to everybody else

(Debatin, Horn, and Hughes, 2009).

A before and after study by Govani and Pashley, which was conducted in 2005, found

that 80% of Facebook users understand the privacy setting options, but only 40% of them

actually use them. Furthermore, most users did not change their privacy settings after being

educated about them, but 60% of their profiles contained personal information. Similarly,

another 2005 study by Jones and Soltren found that 74% of Facebook users were aware of the

privacy settings, and 62% actually used them. In addition, they found that 89% of the users

studied have never read Facebooks privacy policy, and 91% have never read the Terms of

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Service (Debatin, et al., 2009). These studies show that, in general, there is an awareness of the

privacy options available to social media users, but a large amount of users choose not to utilize

these settings or read the official privacy policy to learn about where their information may be

going.

Specific online risks associated with social networking sites include inadvertent

disclosure of personal information, damaged reputation due to rumors and gossip, unwanted

contact and harassment or stalking, surveillance-like structures due to backtracking functions,

use of personal data by third-parties, and hacking and identity theft (Debatin, et al., 2009). The

Patriot Act gives state agencies the power to bypass a users privacy settings on Facebook to

look up potential employees, and third parties often use Facebook for data mining and phishing

(Debatin, et al., 2009). In addition to personal information, teens also share risky information

about oneself that could have unintended consequences. Examples of these risky behaviors

include messages related to cyberbullying, or posts involving drugs or alcohol. 13% of teens

were tagged in photos using alcohol, with 23% tagged in photos involving partying.

Vanderhoven also cited a study that found that 20% of adolescents publish items on their profiles

that they would not want employers to see, and that most of these posts involve alcohol or drugs.

Teens ages 15-16 use social media mainly as a way to build and develop a personal and social

identity, making them specifically vulnerable to online risks and, therefore, need to be educated

on this subject matter (Vanderhoven, et al., 2014).

Denise Agosto and June Abbas offer tips for safer social media use. The first one is to simply

limit your information via privacy settings, which, as has already been discussed, is not a

common practice among teenage social media users. They also suggest limiting your online

friends; in other words, do not friend people on Facebook that you do not know personally and

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do not accept followers that you do not know on Instagram and Twitter. In addition to keeping

your information private, it is also a good idea to withhold optional personal information. For

example, it is optional to display email addresses and phone number on ones social media

profile, so it is recommended to avoid providing these details. Lastly, Agosto and Abbas

suggests that everybody considers the possible consequences before posting anything online, and

to be aware that anything that is posted will stay online forever, even if the user removes the post

(Agosto and Abbas, 2016).

Experts propose that social media usage promotes anxiety and self-esteem (Ehmke).

Research by Richards indicates that there is an association between the use of social media and

self-esteem, as well as between social media and body image concerns. In her report, Impact of

Social Media on the Health of Children and Young People, Richards cited the works of several

researchers who explored self-esteem and well-being with regards to social media use. She found

that, in addition to the link between Internet use and body image concerns, there is a more

specific link between the number of friends somebody has on a social networking profile and

body image concerns (Richards, 2015). Similarly, there appears to be a correlation between the

amount of time spent on Facebook and ones self esteem; while causation cannot be determined,

there is a relationship such that the more time one spends on Facebook, the lower their self-

esteem (Richards, 2015). Tiggemann and Slater found similar results in their 2013 study on the

relationship between Facebook and body image concern. 1,087 girls ages 13-15 were studied

and, of this sample, 95.9% have access to the Internet and 75% have a Facebook profile. This

study focused solely on Facebook as the source of social media; of the girls studied, the average

time spent on Facebook is 90 minutes every day. When examining the time spent on Facebook

and body image in these girls, they found that time spent on this site was strongly correlated with

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internalization of the thin ideal, body surveillance, and drive for thinness (Tiggemann and

Slater, 2013).

Rachel Simmons, a leadership development specialist at Smith College, published an article

titled How Social Media is a Toxic Mirror in August 2016. Simmons talked to teenagers about

social media and how they use it, and found that there is a strong association between social

media use and body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive thinness, and self-

objectification in teenagers. Social media platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram

create an environment where one can earn approval for their appearance through likes and

compare themselves to others. As one 16 year old girl put it, I think it affects teens

subconsciously just seeing how many likes they get and how much attention they get just for

how they look (Simmons, 2016). Todays social media culture has created a drive to earn the

most likes, and, when one fails live up to their peers, they become vulnerable to developing a

negative body-image and self-esteem issues.

One way that social media may influence ones self-esteem is the presence of fitness

celebrities. Simmons analyzed fifty fitspiration websites and social media pages, and

concluded that many of their messages are indistinguishable from thinspiration websites and

pages. Fitness celebrities promote diet and exercise regiments that mimic dieting and

deprivation, as well as fat stigmatization (Simmons, 2016). These fitness celebrities have huge

social media followings, which implies that this is what users are attracted to online. Teenagers

see these images that their role models are publishing and develop an unrealistic idea about body

image and dieting.

One of the major draws to social media is the idea of user generated content, which also

incorporates Web 2.0, which allows all users to continuously update and modify information in a

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participatory and collaborative fashion, rather than just access content published by somebody

else (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social media allows users to create content and receive

information and feedback from others. Creating and sharing online content is becoming more

central to managing ones identity, lifestyle, and relationships, as Sonia Livingstone examined in

her 2008 study on youthful content creation. Livingstone found that such content creation can

facilitate an innovative peer culture among young people, both locally and globally

(Livingstone, 2008); however, she also found that it may not be an accurate representation an

individuals real self. Similar to the fitness celebrities just discussed, teenagers are creating fake

images to represent what they view as ideal. Her interviews of sixteen teenagers ages 13-16

revealed that, in general, social networking profiles may be more of a social front rather than a

self-portrait; in other words, they mark somebodys place in a social group and represent the peer

group rather than the individual.

One way that teenagers present themselves on social media is through choice of platform and

profile design. Teenagers acknowledge that their identity changes from year to year; for

example, a thirteen year old will not present themselves the same way a fifteen or seventeen year

old will. As Livingstone found, moving from Myspace to Facebook and customizing ones

profile in a plainer, more professional looking style was characteristic of these older teenagers

trying to portray a more mature identity. Different social media platforms and profile designs

allow for revisions of ones identity, and teens utilize this to express their ideal self

(Livingstone, 2008).

Rachel Ehmke of the Child Mind Institute identified a concept she calls imposter syndrome

to elaborate on identity development through social media. Imposter syndrome is the projection

of an idealized image online rather than of the actual self. This is more common in girls, as they

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are socialized to compare themselves to others and to develop their identities in comparison to

others. In online social interactions, people want to, and have the ability to, control the

impressions that other people form of them, and two ways that they can do this is by creating an

online image that matches the identity they want to convey, and reveal only the personal

information about themselves that is consistent with this image (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). A

teenage girl interviewed by Aileen Donnelly discussed the ability to self-promote on social

media, saying that, I think the temptation of being able to self-promote, where it doesnt show

who you really are as a person, is just too strong you can be whoever you want to be on social

media. Everything just revolves around these Internet people we create, (Donnelly, 2016).

Simply put, teens are creating an online identity that represent who their ideal self is (Donnelly,

2016). However, it is the presentation of an idealized self that could be damaging girls self-

esteems. As clinical and developmental psychologist Dr. Donna Wick explains, Adolescence

and the early twenties in particular are the years in which you are acutely aware of the contrasts

between who you appear to be and who you think you are, suggesting that when adolescent and

teenage girls project this ideal image and avoid presenting the actual self, they are becoming

more aware of the contrasts between the two (Ehmke). Dr. Steiner-Adair elaborates on Dr.

Wicks insight, explaining how self-esteem comes from consolidating who you are, and the

more social media users create new identities and pretend to be someone they arent, the harder it

is going to be for them to feel good about their actual selves (Ehmke). Perhaps one of the reasons

teenage girls are working so hard to produce an idealized image is because of the concept of

likes on social media, as this is a major indication of how much people like you, or how much

they like the person you are pretending to be. With the addition of Photoshop, it has become

increasingly easier to alter ones physical appearance to fit the ideal beauty standards (Ehmke).

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Free applications allow for photo editing, which teenagers use to present themselves

physically in the ideal way. To photoshop an image is to digitally alter it using image-editing

software. These applications allow users to alter the shapes and sizes of their body, conceal

blemishes, whiten teeth, and airbrush themselves before posting a selfie. Simmons makes the

analogy that what Photoshop has done is let anybody enter the beauty pageant (Simmons,

2016). As one young woman told Simmons, I dont get to choose how Im going to leave my

apartment today. If I could, my body would look different. But I can choose which picture makes

my arms look thinner (Simmons, 2016).

The use of photoshop in magazines, advertisements, commercials, and other forms of media

have exacerbated the body image issues exhibited by young girls. Often, teens identify five

characteristics that define beauty: flawless skin, being thin, white teeth, straight teeth, and

straight hair. These characteristics are all among the main alterations that occur when an image is

photoshopped. These photoshop effects make teenage girls feel bad about themselves, as they

dont see themselves as living up to the beauty portrayed in the digitally altered images. Vanessa

Van Petten, who writes for Radical Parenting, an advice column for parents written by kids,

argues that photoshop is giving girls the idea that perfection exists and that the images they see

in the media are what actual beauty looks like (Petten, 2013). A 2012 article examining the

medias role on self-esteem in girls used research from the National Association for Anorexia

and Associated Disorders and found that 69% of girls in grades 5-12 reported that magazine

pictures influenced their idea of a perfect body shape. Furthermore, a 12 year old anorexia

nervosa patient remembers feeling insecure about her body while watching a Disney Channel

show because one of the female actresses looked perfect and she wanted to look like her.

Lastly, this article cited the Dove Self-Esteem Fund, who found that 71% of girls with low self-

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esteem feel that their appearance does not match the beauty standards they see in media images

(Roberts, 2012).The reality is, these images are altered and the level of beauty portrayed in these

photos does not exist in real life.

Social Identity Theory posits that part of an individuals self-concept stems from their

knowledge of their membership of a social group combined with the value and emotional

significance of that membership. Ones self-concept includes characteristics unique to an

individual, and a social identity consisting of group classification. We are motivated by a need

for high self-esteem, and being part of a social group fulfills this need. Social media provides

users the opportunity to form friendships and expand their social networks to find social groups

in which they fit. Social networking sites provide access to a larger in-group based on common

characteristics of users; in other words, it is easier to find people with whom you share common

characteristic and interests. In addition, social networking sites make the world seem smaller and

more connected, which is known as the small world phenomenon. This phenomenon can

confirm and strengthen ones social identity because social connections can be made quickly and

easily when utilizing these sites (Schmalz, Colistra, and Evans, 2015).

While social media has opened the door for quicker and easier social connections, Schmalz

and her colleagues identify two opposing ways social networking sites can impact ones self-

esteem. First, users may experience an increase in self-esteem as a result of friendships and

social support found on social networking sites. However, one could also develop a threatened

social identity when negative judgments are made by others on social networking sites and social

support is not present (Schamlz, et al., 2015).

There is a general sense of pressure for teenagers to be on social media. 16 year old Emily

explains, Theres so much pressure to be on social media. Like if youre not, its like you dont

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exist. Or people feel like youre judging them for being on it (Donnelly, 2016). Teens have

admitted that they feel anxiety and depression over the pressure and need to be online, with

many of them describing this pressure as making them feel trapped (Donnelly, 2016). One study

examined the effects of social media with regard to food consumption, and found that kids will

conform their eating behaviors to those of their social media peers (Richards, 2015). What this

implies is that simply seeing a photo of a specific food item on a social media profile will

increase the chances of the viewer consuming that same food product. Peer pressure on social

networking sites greatly influences what kids choose to post or pay attention to online.

Livingstones interview of 13-16 year olds revealed that these teens do not feel that social

networking sites are a place for free choice and free expression, but rather feel constrained by the

norms and practices of their peer group on social media sites (Livingstone, 2008).

Researchers at UCLA found that teenagers are more likely to like the more popular photos,

regardless of what the image portrays. More specifically, when shown neutral images and

negative images, such as those that display alcohol or other risky behavior, teens would choose

to like whichever photo had more likes already when shown both types. Social learning for

adolescents stems from reading likes and shares on social media, which is different from

previous generations, who learned from facial expressions and gestures; this could have

implications for brain growth and structure of adolescents (East, 2016). For example, when

shown risky photos, the teenagers in this study showed less activation in brain areas associated

with cognitive control and response inhibition, which weakens the filter the brain develops to be

alert and careful. This study highlights the importance and influence of peers on social

networking sites, even when some of the peers liking these photos are strangers, as well as the

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impact it can ultimately have on brain development (Association for Psychological Sciences,

2016).

When discussing the online risks faced by teenagers on social media, cyberbullying is most

commonly brought up. Cyberbullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false,

embarrassing or hostile information about another person. It is the most common online risk for

all young people and is a peer-to-peer risk (Richards, 2015). In her work, Richards cites a study

titled Cyberbullying and the Digital Self, which is a case study of a young cyberbullying

victim who committed suicide right after her parents made her delete her Facebook account

(Richards, 2015). This case study provides an example of how ones digital self is an extension

of ones actual self; this girl took her own life after the metaphorical death of her Facebook

account. This study also highlights how cyberbullying extends into real life and may be related to

traditional bullying; while this girl deleted her Facebook account to end the cyberbullying, she

still felt that suicide was the only option, suggesting that her struggles with bullying extended

beyond Facebook.

There is an appeal to cyberbullying that is distinct from traditional bullying. As Dr. Donna

Wick states, Kids text all sorts of things that you would never in a million years contemplate

saying to anyones face (Ehmke). A 2014 study involving 166 teenagers 13-19 investigated

general teenage use of social media, and found that 88% of these teenagers had witnessed mean

behavior on social media over the past year. However, despite this large percentage of teenagers

witnessing the behavior, only 19% reported being bullied online in the last year. The reason for

this is that teenagers often substitute the word drama for bullying (Marwick and Boyd,

2014). While teens have used these two terms interchangeably, when asked to discuss bullying,

drama was mentioned as a component. In this study, drama was defined as social interactions

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with conflict, excessive emotions, excessive time and attention, and practices that overlap with

bullying, while bullying is defined as aggressive behavior that is unwanted, repeated over time,

intentional, and unbalanced in power (Marwick and Boyd, 2014). The distinction between the

two involves the presence or absence of conflict; drama is conflict between two or more people,

while bullying often is one person targeting another in an unwanted interaction. Both drama and

cyberbullying may involve relational aggression, which is defined as harming others through

purposeful manipulation and damage of their peer relationship (Marwick and Boyd, 2014).

There is a form of cyberbullying, referred as mutual cyberbullying, where two people

reciprocally bully one another; this is more similar to the characteristics of drama, as it involves

two people engaging in the behavior towards one another (Wegge, Vandebosch, and Eggermont,

2014). It is important for todays generation of social media users to understand the distinction

between drama and cyberbullying, and this study implies that they do not, as many of these

teenagers have witness mean behavior that victims did not classify as cyberbullying.

A study published in The European Journal of Communication Research analyzed

cyberbullying and traditional bullying to see if there is a relationship between the two. 1,458

teenagers 13-14 years old were studied, and their real-life social interactions were examined,

along with the presence of cyberbullying. The results showed that victims and perpetrators of

traditional bullying, such as that which occurs in school, will assume the same roles online.

Furthermore, self-reports from the teenagers revealed that perpetrators of traditional bullying

were more likely to report that they are perpetrators of cyberbullying as well. Overall, bullying

victims rarely reported that they were only bullied online, and the researchers found that being a

victim of traditional bullying drastically increased the likelihood of being a victim of

cyberbullying as well. Another interesting finding of this study was that victims of cyberbullying

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are also frequently perpetrators of cyberbullying; Wegge, Vandesboch, and Eggermont found

that for adolescents, being involved as an online perpetrator is a key factor in predicting

cyber victimization (Wegge, et al., 2014). This relates back to the concept of mutual

cyberbullying that was previously discussed, as the victims assume the role of their perpetrators,

and the bullying is reciprocated (Wegge, et al., 2014).

Wegge and his colleagues also explored who the perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying

were in relation to classmates. What they found was that students are most likely to be bullied by

other students in their class that are of the same gender. Research from a 2007 study reported that

over 25% of bullying victims reported being cyberbullied by a friend, but other studies and

literature did not support this idea. What is consistent among research in this field supports what

Wegges study found, that classmates are the most frequent victims and perpetrators of

cyberbullying (Wegge, et al., 2014).

Victims of cyberbullying experience distress, fear, and powerlessness, and this has

impacted 20% of boys and girls ages 12-14 (Wegge, et al., 2014). A 2010 study titled Bullying,

Cyberbullying, and Suicide looked at 1,963 middle school students, around the ages of 12-15,

and found that those who are victims of traditional bullying or cyberbullying have more suicidal

thoughts and are more likely to attempt suicide when compared to those who did not experience

bullying. In addition, those who reported being bullied offline were more than twice as likely to

report being cyberbullied, which is consistent with research by Wegge and his colleagues

(Hinduja and Patchin, 2010). Cyberbullying, as well as slut shaming, is connected to the rise in

sexting and sharing nudes among teenagers (Sales, 2016). In other words, the rise in

cyberbullying may be partially due to, or at least is related to, the rise in the sharing of these

explicit photos. As will be discussed further, the number of teenage girls sharing explicit photos

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is rapidly increasing, and there can be severe consequences, beyond the presence of

cyberbullying, of doing so.

In 2012, at age 17, Nicole Edgington became the victim of cyberbullying by several of her

classmates. The initial attack came via text messages and Facebook, following false accusation

against Nicole regarding a group of students who were turned in to the principal for coming to

school drunk. What is interesting about this situation is that the original plan involved physically

harming Nicole, but, when that fell through, these classmates resorted to cyber attacks. Prior to

these attacks, Nicole was a popular girl with a large social circle. Her school did not have a plan

for handling cyberbullying and could not offer much help to Nicole and her family; as a result,

the cyberbullying continued and Nicole was forced to delete her social media accounts and block

phone numbers of the perpetrators. Unfortunately, ignoring the bullying was not enough to make

the issue go away and ultimately led to the formation of the Great American No Bull Challenge

by Shawn Edgington, Nicoles mother, with Nicole as the spokesperson. This was a chance for

Nicole to talk to other kids about cyberbullying and to educate them on the issue (Bullying/A

Teens Tale).

Scholastics article on Nicole, Bullying/A Teens Tale provides insight into the prevalence

and severity of cyberbullying among teenagers. 15% of teenagers stated that they have been the

target of mean comments on social media, and 9% have been bullied via text message.

Furthermore, 6% of teenagers said that they have gotten in trouble at school because of an online

bullying incident, highlighting how online behavior can have real life consequences. The article

also presents a discussion with Scott Hirschfield of the Anti-Defamation League, who is also a

leader of anti-bullying education. Hirschfield brings up new issues that arise with the trend of

cyberbullying, specifically the idea that victims of cyberbullying can never feel safe, even at

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home. With traditional bullying, a student can go home from school and be separated from the

perpetrators, but, in todays generation of social media users, the bullying follows them home in

the form of text messages and comments on social networking sites. He attributes the increase in

cyberbullying to the I cant see you, you cant see me factor. Those doing the cyberbullying

cannot see or hear the reactions of the victim, and there is no urgency to their response, so their

attacks can be well thought out. Lastly, unlike verbal words used in traditional bullying, text

messages and postings on social networking sites can last forever and can be shared with others

(Bullying/A Teens Tale).

As mentioned earlier, there is a rise in the number of teenage girls sexting and sharing nudes,

either through social networking sites or through texting (Sales, 2016). Sexting can be defined as

sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or images via cell

phone, computer, or other digital devices (OKeefe, et al., 2011). Children as young as nine

years old have been found sharing this type of material; this behavior occurred specifically on

Vine, a video sharing application, that had to place a site-wide ban on all sexually explicit

behavior (Sales, 2). In 2008, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned

Pregnancy conducted a survey of 653 teenagers ages 13-19 to investigate the presence of

sexually explicit behavior on social media. Of those surveys, 20% of them had electronically

sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves, and 39% of them had

exchanged sexually explicit messages. When dividing the survey results into gender, the teenage

girls had slightly different results, with 22% and 37%, respectively (Sex and Tech: Results from

a Survey of Teens and Young Adults, 2008). One issue that arises with the sharing of these

photos is the nonconsensual sharing that may result; what this means is a girl will send a sexually

explicit photo to a guy for one reason or another, and the photo is shared with those whom the

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photo was not intended for (Sales, 2). Teenagers are aware that these messages and photos can be

shared with others, but they still choose to do so, and 38% of the teen girls surveyed in 2008

stated that they have had photos or messages shared with them that were intended for someone

else (Sex and Tech, 2008). The top reasons that teenage girls are sending or posting sexually

explicit content include pressure from a guy, to be flirtatious, as a response to content that was

shared with them, or as a joke. They also admit that the ability to send this online or via text

message has had an impact on their behavior, as it is easier to be more forward and aggressive

online than in real life (Sex and Tech, 2008).

Sharing person information and explicit material have proven to be extremely dangerous, as

was demonstrated by the story of Nicole Lovell. Lovell, a 13 year old girl, was murdered by a

college student she met on Kik, an instant messaging app known for sexting and explicit material

(Sales, 2016). Lovell had been exchanging messages with this man online, and identified him as

her boyfriend. However, when she snuck out of her house to meet up with this stranger she met

online, he kidnapped and murdered her. It was later revealed that her killer had been carefully

planning her death while communicating with Lovell online.

Todays selfie culture has led to a trend of sexualization among teenage girls. Nancy Jo Sales

attributes this partially to the idea of gaining likes on social media, stating that receiving

validation from likes is easier to achieve by looking attractive. Sales talked with a 14 year old

girl, who told her I think its just to get attention. Its to get the likes. Everythings about the

likes (Sales, 2016). Furthermore, girls are exposed to sexualized images at a young age, or at

the age they begin using social networking sites, through images posted by their peers or by

successful social media celebrities (Sales, 2016).

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Aileen Donnelly of The National Post used Nancy Jo Sales research as a basis for her article

regarding the concept of Instafame. Instafame refers to somebody gaining enough popularity

and followers on Instagram that they appear to be a celebrity on the social networking site,

relative to other users. Teenage girls are using sexy selfies to improve their social standing

because, as 16 year old Greta explains, More provocative equals more likes, (Donnelly, 2016).

Girls follow the example of social media celebrities, who promote themselves through the use of

seductive photos; as a 13 year old girl stated, theyre just trying to get more likes. Its like a

cool girls way of being like the Kardashians, (Donnelly, 2016). The Kardashians and the

Jenners are known for promoting dietary or body-enhancing products to make money off of their

Instagram posts, and they also display suggestive images of themselves that flaunt the high

amount of plastic surgery they have had done. Their enhanced bodies, combined with digital

alterations, displays a completely unrealistic image to these girls who are trying to imitate their

behavior. Interestingly, Donnelly cited Nancy Jo Sales when she pointed out that these girls are

well aware of this inauthentic presentation of the self on social media as a way of gaining

popularity among their peers.

In addition to the rise in cyberbullying and sexually explicit behavior on social networking

sites, there has been an increase in mental health issues in teenagers. The term Facebook

Depression refers to depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time

on social media sites, such as Facebook. When spending ample time on these sites, they begin

exhibit classic symptoms of depression (OKeefe, et al., 2011). Dr. Megan Moreno discusses the

relationship between social media and depression and states that this relationship is one that

strongly depends on the nature of the individual. In other words, someone who is not prone to

depression will feel a positive impact and a sense of connectedness on social media, while

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someone who is prone to depression will display symptoms of depression and feel disconnected

when using social networking sites (Richards, 2015).

Support for Dr. Morenos idea was found in a study that looked at 790 Facebook users and

155 non-users. This study found that Facebook users scored significantly higher on narcissism,

self-esteem, and extraversion than non-users. These factors were negatively correlated with

depression and anxiety. Going along with Dr. Morenos statement that those who are not prone

to depression will feel a positive impact from social media, this study explained that extraverts,

those who scored low for depression and anxiety in this study, have a high need for social

interaction, and if this need is satisfied, their well-being, happiness, and life satisfaction

increase. Such persons are perceived as sociable and popular interaction partners who usually

receive a lot of social support and are, therefore, well protected against mental health,

(Brailovskaia and Margraf, 2016). Piecing all of these findings together, it seems that extraverts

experience social media in a positive way due to their desire for social interactions being

fulfilled, which, in turn, raises their self-esteem and protects them from the depression often

experienced on social media. Brailovskaia and Margraf found that non-users showed higher

levels of depression than users, but other studies show contradictory results, suggesting that there

are several mediating factors, such as ones personality traits and mental health, that will

determine their susceptibility to Facebook depression and other mental health issues that arise

with social media use.

Mental health issue may also arise as a result of the pressure for teenagers to maintain a

social standing through social media. Specifically, Instagram has led to a phenomenon known as

the 100 Club, which refers to an exclusive social standing that comes with receiving at least

100 likes on a photo. The more likes one receives, the greater social standing they appear to

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have (Wallace, 2014). Kelly Wallace, whose study was published by CNN, talked with six

teenagers about their social media usage, and found that all of these teenagers recognized the

importance of likes and admitted that there is a constant fixation on how many likes their

photos receive. Interestingly enough, at the beginning of these interviews, the teenagers did not

think that they suffered from social media anxiety but, once the interview was underway or

finished, they realized that they experience some level of anxiety over their social media

popularity. There is a relationship between the competition for likes, the number of friends you

have, and the development of anxiety among teenage social media users; part of this stems from

the idea of FOMO fear of missing out which can occur when somebody feels that they are

not experiencing or using social media the same way that their peers are (Wallace, 2014).

In 2014, Caroline Moss, a contributor for Business Insider, tried using Instagram like a

teenager and found some startling results. A common practice of teenagers on Instagram is to use

hashtags, which make photos more searchable and visible and can help gain followers or likes.

When Moss experimented with using hashtags on her photos, she began gaining new followers,

but also lost almost the same amount. While she agrees that hashtags can help make the photo

searchable, she identifies them as desperate looking, unnecessary, and as a way to seek

validation by gaining likes and followers. Moss explains that, Using Tags for Likes wasnt

helping me make more friends on Instagram or keep the ones I already had, and questions how

there are so many teenagers who gain and maintain thousands of followers without following

most of them back (Moss, 2014). Moss interviewed a 12 year old boy, who explained to her that

for teenagers, itss a numbers game, and that more followers means more popularity, regardless

of who these followers are. He also introduced her to the concept of the cool ratio which is

when you take the number of people that follow you and you divide it by the number of people

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youre following, and the goal is to have more followers than people you are following (Moss,

2014). There is a game among teenagers that involves using the hashtag #followforfollow on a

photo, searching this hashtag, then following every user who also posted it or liked the photo

with the tag. After people return the follow, users are unfollowing them because, chances are,

they will not notice and their follower count will remain high while the number of users they

follow will remain low. A high follower count makes the user seem important or Instafamous,

which satisfies the need for attention among teenagers (Moss, 2014).

Rachel Simmons found that 75% of teenagers use Instagram as their main social media app.

In her article The Secret Language of Girls on Instagram, Simmons identified the app as a

popularity meter, and as a way for girls to find out what their peers think of them based on the

number of likes they receive on their photos. In addition to receiving likes, users will also trade

likes on photos for honest feedback; for example, after liking a users photo, that user will return

the favor by commenting their honest opinion on a photo of the person who liked their photo, or

they will provide a rating of 1-10 in their photos comment section.

Researchers at UCLA watched the brain of 32 teenagers as they used social media apps.

They found that certain brain regions become activated by likes, and these are the same

regions as the brains reward center. As researcher Lauren Sherman states, this is the same

group of regions responding when we see pictures of a person we love or when we win money

(East, 2016). The brains reward circuitry is activated by likes and this brain area is especially

sensitive in adolescence, which may explain why teenagers use social media so much (East,

2016).

Despite all of the issues that have accompanied the rise of social media usage among

teenagers, there are some advantages to using it. Social networking sites are being used for

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career exploration and development, and there are four specific career skills kids can learn from

social networking sites: introducing themselves, sharing experiences, interacting, and

connecting. Teenagers start presenting themselves online around age thirteen, but often they do

not consider the consequences or, on the other hand, the opportunities involved with social

media. Rutten and her colleagues suggest that schools should teach teenage students how to

safely use social networking sites in an effective way and to focus on teaching them how to

network online in a way that supports their career (Rutten, Kuijpers, Kreijns, 2016). However,

Rutten and her colleagues cited a 2013 study that found that most school curriculums did not

involve teaching students how to properly use social networking sites, and most also did not

want to integrate social networking sites into their classroom. The importance of guiding

teenagers in their social media usage stems from the idea that developing the necessary online

career competencies and skills at a young age may help them to deal with ongoing changes in

professions and career perspectives when they start working (Rutten, et al., 2016). Social media

offers opportunities for communication and knowledge sharing, but it is critical that teenagers

utilizing these sites understand how to appropriately use them.

When discussing whether or not social media should be integrated into the classroom,

findings reported by the journal Emerging Adulthood highlight the potential consequences of

media and academic performance. This study focused on female college freshman, but results

from this can be used to evaluate how high school females are using social media as well. The

results were that these girls spend an average of 12 hours every day on social media and,

consequently, less time is being spent doing homework, attending class, and sleeping. Media use

is generally associated with lower GPA, with cell phones and social networking sites producing

the largest effects on academic performance in terms of technology. The authors of this study,

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who are affiliated with the Miriam Hospitals Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine

suggest that schools should assess their students media use and encourage them to take breaks

and focus more time on being in class and studying. (Lifespan, 2013). A 13 year old student

revealed that her grades actually improved once she reduced the amount of time she spent on her

phone, stating that I put my phone away and Im the happiest person I could be right now,

(Wallace, 2015). There is no way to eliminate social media entirely from the lives of todays

youth, but controlling social media usage and finding a balance is key. One way to control social

media usage is for parents to plan activities with their kids to encourage them to put their phones

down (Wallace, 2015).

Social networking sites can also provide information to its users, such as health information.

Deborah Richards identifies one way that social networking sites can be used as an outreach

strategy; using social media, an outreach program targeting teen pregnancy for low income

communities in California was able to reach a wider, more diverse population with important

health information (Richards, 2015). However, when using social media, or the Internet in

general, for health information, it is crucial that one is aware of inaccuracies, false postings, and

the risk of misunderstanding.

While arguments can be made in favor of social media, the indirect communication it entails

has changed the way kids develop social skills. As clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Steiner-

Adair discusses, Theres no question kids are missing out on very critical social skills. In a way,

texting and online communicating its not like it creates a nonverbal learning disability, but it

puts everybody in a nonverbal disabled context, where body language, facial expression, and

even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are rendered invisible (Ehmke). Personal aspects of

communication are missing; more specifically, you do not see or hear the person you are

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communicating with, so there is an absence of facial and bodily cues. Responses can be well

thought out as well, as immediate replies are not required. As Rachel Ehmke explains in here

article published by the Child Mind Institute, If kids arent getting enough practice relating to

people and getting their needs met in person and in real time, many of them will grow up to be

adults who are anxious about our species primary means of communication talking (Ehmke).

This can have severe consequences for romantic relationships and employment opportunities if

todays kids do not know how to directly communicate (Ehmke).

While social media evidently affected the way teenage girls behave and view themselves and

the world, a common concern is how parents can play a role in their childs development and

behavior in the social media world. Nancy Jo Sales article How Social Media is Disrupting the

Lives of American Girls discusses parental behavior on social media and how that may be

playing a role in how their children are behaving. She uses the term sharenting to describe

parents sharing images of their kids on social media. 92% of American kids have an online

presence before the age of two, with some children having as many as 1,000 photos of

themselves online by the age of five. She further discusses parental behavior in terms of self-

promotion, and connects the common belief that todays generation of kids are narcissistic to the

example these kids were given by their parents (Sales, 2016). Sales also discusses sexism and the

sharing of sexually explicit material with regards to todays youth and points out that adults often

have a hard time understanding this behavior because thats not how they use social media, and

that is not how sexism was defined when they were teenagers themselves (Sales, 2016).

Kelly Wallace published an article with CNN that references the documentary #Being13:

Inside the Secret World of Teens to discuss how parents understand social media usage among

their kids. Wallace identifies a disconnect between what parents think their kids attitudes

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towards social media are and what these kids are actually feeling. More specifically, 60% of

parents underestimate how lonely, anxious, or depressed their kids are, while 94% underestimate

the amount of fighting that takes place between peers on social networking sites. One of the

reasons they may be underestimating this is, as Sales mentioned, there are small, subtle hurts on

social media that parents did not experience when they were teenagers. As clinical psychologist

Marion Underwood explains, When we were young, I didnt know every party I wasnt invited

to. I didnt see pictures every time friends, good friends, got together without me. Now they see

all of it in real time, (Wallace, 2015). Social media provides a view into everybodys life in real

time, and it is much easier for kids to see status updates or photos that give them a sense of being

left out.

Because there is a discrepancy in how parents and todays youth use and understand social

media, it can be difficult for adults to know how to properly teach their kids to be smart and safe

on social media. Agosto and Abbas provide a set of guidelines for parents and educators in their

2016 article on helping kids become safer and smarter social media users. One of the main tips is

for adults to take advantage of teachable moments and incidents; in other words, rather than only

punish and reprimand kids for using social media irresponsibly, make an example out of the

situation by teaching them what went wrong and how to avoid issues in the future. They also

suggest being a social media role model; the way parents and educators behave on social media

should reflect the behavior they want todays kids to use on these same sites. However, the main

issue that Agosto and Abbas identify regarding the way kids are taught about social media is that

few of these discussions about popular media are based on accurate understandings of teens

behaviors with social media, and even fewer take into account teens ideas of online privacy and

safety (Agosto and Abbas, 2016). The problem faced by parents and educators is that they do

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not realize the full extent to which their views of social media differ from those of kids and

teenagers today. In order to appropriately educate them on safe social media usage, it is

important that these educators learn about the way that kids are actually using these platforms

and use that knowledge to properly discuss safe and smart behavior (Agosto and Abbas, 2016).

Parents do not fully understand the new forms of socialization and, as OKeefe and colleagues

found in their research that examined the impact of social media on families, there is a

knowledge and technical skill gap between parents and youth, which creates a disconnect in

how these parents and youth participate in the online world together (OKeefe, et al., 2011).

Wallace identified several things parents can do to learn more about teens and their social media

usage. The main recommendation was to sign up for the same social networking sites that their

children are using, and to follow their accounts. Spending time on these sites will help them

better understand how they work (Wallace, 2015).

Social media has gained significant popularity over the years and plays a huge role in the

way teenagers behave. 95% of all teenagers ages 13-19 use the Internet, and 60% of teenagers

13-17 have at least one social networking profile (Richards, 2015). With this increase in social

media usage, there has been a corresponding increase in risky behaviors and mental health

issues, which have been found to impact teenage girls more than boys. These behaviors include

sharing personal information, connecting with strangers, sexting, posting sexually explicit

behavior, posting photos depicting underage drinking or drug use, and cyberbullying.

Depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem are connected to social media, and researchers believe

much of this has to do with the pressure of maintaining a high social standing and comparing

oneself to their peers. Popular social networking sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, have

paved the way for competition among having a number of friends or followers, as well as

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competition about receiving the most likes on ones photos. Teenagers, more often girls than

boys, are developing an online identity to portray the ideal self to others, and are discovering a

damaging conflict between who they want to be and who they really are. Social media has

impacted the perceptions, behaviors, and self-esteem of teenage girls ages 14-17, and research is

continuing in this field to discover its full scope of effects, as well as how they can be prevented.

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