Technology and Social Media

Megan A. Moreno

“OMG.” “TTYL.” “LOL.” It may look and sound like a strange new language, and in some ways, it is. These acronyms represent popular terms used by adolescents and young adults (AYAs), terms that have emerged as a result of communicating via the Internet and texting. Translation of these terms includes “Oh my God,” “talk to you later,” and “laugh out loud,” respectively. Adolescents today have grown up immersed in technology, with iPads, smart phones, and social networking sites (SNSs) at their fingertips. The rapid advancements in technology over the past decade have provided AYAs with numerous benefits, including expansive access to knowledge and far-reaching communication tools. Adolescents have been dubbed the “digital generation” or “digital natives” given that they have grown up with access to computers and the Internet from an early age.¹ However, there are concomitant risks to technology use that include balancing online and offline lives, and exposure to risky health behaviors via social media. This chapter provides an overview of technology and social media use—the most popular form of Internet use, reviews benefits and risks, and considers opportunities to use these tools to improve health for AYAs.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

The first iteration of the Web was known as Web 1.0 and its purpose was to provide information to consumers. Technological advancements led to Internet 2.0, a new web that both provided information to consumers and empowered users to view, create, and share multimedia data with peers and the public. Web 2.0 led to what has been called social media, also called immersive or interactive media.² Social media represent a set of Web 2.0 tools that are centered on interaction and sharing of content with others.

The idea of interacting and sharing content via media is a remarkable concept in the areas of media studies. Traditional media, such as television, typically featured a corporation creating the content and the viewer consuming this content. Messages were unidirectional, easily represented by a single arrow pointing from the corporation to the consumer. In the new world of social media, Internet users became both creators and consumers of content. Messages could now flow in all directions, from corporations to users, among users, and back to corporations through a seemingly endless array of potential paths. Thus, today’s AYAs have increased capacity to interact with each other and the larger world using media, enhanced opportunities to explore and experiment via media, and an increased likelihood of being influenced by media.

Popular Social Media Sites

The most common type of social media use is through a SNS profile. The majority of AYAs report ownership of at least one SNS profile.³ There are different types of SNS available on the Internet. The most common SNSs used by AYAs include Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook

The mission of Facebook, as posted on the Web site, is “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” Facebook achieved remarkable popularity among teens and has also drawn adult populations in recent years.³ Facebook’s ongoing popularity may be related to its ability to combine functions from other sites such as photo sharing, email communication, games, blogs, and really simple syndication feeds.

Twitter

Twitter users are able to post “tweets,” 140-character posts, about recent events, ideas, or even random thoughts. Tweets are typically labeled with “hashtags,” a word or unspaced phrase with the number sign (#) as a prefix, which incorporate that tweet into a particular topic or content area. Content from others can also be “retweeted.” In addition to generating one’s own tweets, Twitter users can choose to “follow” the Twitter posts of other Twitter users.

Other Social Media and Online Gaming Sites

Other social media sites present different activities and varied cultures within each site that draws those whose interests match. Pinterest is a site that can best be described as an online bulletin board that includes fashion, crafts, and recipes. Users can identify items they link and “pin” them to their own boards. YouTube is a Web site for users to view and upload videos. Some videos are made by companies and uploaded onto YouTube, such as old sitcom episodes. Many other videos are user generated, meaning created and uploaded by users. Reddit is a platform for discussion of specific topics where user votes shape what stories or news items are most prominent. Finally, LinkedIN, is another popular site which is intended for professional networking that often appeals to older AYAs as they prepare to enter the job market.

Other types of social media include online gaming, in which players are connected across the globe while playing immersive games such as World of Warcraft. Social media can also include music sharing such as through sites like Spotify or Pandora. Many social media Web sites are linked to apps, while other apps are freestanding and only available on mobile phones. Each year sites
change in popularity, new sites emerge and older sites die out, leading to a constantly changing landscape of social media.

Social Media and Technology Use Rates

Social media use has surged over the past decade and this exponential growth is expected to continue.⁴ The rate of social media use is especially high among AYAs.³ Adolescents report that 77% use Facebook and 24% use Twitter. Young adults report similar rates: 84% use Facebook and 31% use Twitter. Many young adults also use the professional, job-related site LinkedIn (15%).⁴

Texting is an increasingly common form of communication among AYAs using mobile devices. Current estimates include that approximately three-quarters of adolescents have a cell phone, and almost half of teens own smartphones.³ Among older adolescent females who own smartphones, over half report they access and use the Internet mostly from their phones. Among college students, a 2013 study found that 88% reported owning a smartphone, with rates up from 67% in 2012 and 56% in 2011.⁵

Internet and computer access among AYAs is commonplace. The vast majority of adolescents have computer access at home.⁴ Among young adults, nearly all college students (99%) report using a personal laptop.⁵ Tablet computers are owned by almost a quarter of adolescents, a comparable rate to tablet ownership among adults.⁴ Among young adult college students, use of tablets has received increased focus with proposed possibilities that tablets could enhance the collegiate learning experience. A recent study reported that approximately one-quarter of college students owned a tablet computer; however, only 58.3% reported using it for schoolwork.⁵

In recent years, the digital divide in Internet access between high and low socioeconomic groups has narrowed. Adolescents who fall into lower socioeconomic groups are now just as likely, and in some cases more likely, to use their cell phones for primary access to the Internet compared to teens from higher socioeconomic groups.⁴

How SNSs Are Used

Adolescents who own an SNS profile are able to choose and modify its content on a moment-to-moment basis. SNS content may include audio, images (e.g., pictures and video), and text (e.g., blogs and personal descriptions). A widely used feature of some SNSs such as Facebook is called “status updates,” which allow users to share a short text description of their current location, emotion, or activity. Examples of status updates include “Jay is excited for Friday’s game!” or “Emily is loving the new Lady Gaga album!” SNSs often allow profile owners to create online photo albums and to share photographs with other profile owners. Facebook also provides a venue for profile owners to describe their favorite sports, movies, music, and other activities, and link via these interests to other profiles with similar interests. Thus, SNSs allow AYAs with opportunities for self-expression and identity development through what they choose to display and communicate on their profiles.

SNSs typically provide a venue for communication with other profile owners in three formats: messaging, instant messaging, and publicly displayed comments. First, AYAs can use Facebook messaging to communicate privately. These messages are similar to email; messages are sent from profile to profile as asynchronous communication. Second, AYAs can send instant messages to other profile owners, whose profiles are linked as “friends” if they are also online at that moment, leading to synchronous communication. Third, AYAs can publicly comment on the content of their peers’ profiles and thus leave a digital record of their opinions about events, as well as content displayed by peers.

Finally, SNSs provide opportunities to link one’s profile into a social network via “friending.” When two profile owners accept each other as online “friends,” the two profiles become linked and content is mutually accessible. In summary, these sites allow individual many opportunities for self-expression, a means of peer communication and feedback, as well as connection to an online social network.

Influence of Social Media

Previous work, rooted in observational theory, has established strong links between what AYAs see and how they act.⁶ Observation of peers is a major source of influence on AYA health attitudes, intentions, and behaviors.⁷ For example, adolescents who perceive that their peers are sexually active are more likely to report intention to become sexually active themselves.⁸ Studies of college students have illustrated that alcohol consumption patterns are highly influenced by one’s peer group.⁹ Many studies of adolescents have illustrated links between traditional media and health behaviors. For example, previous work has illustrated that younger adolescents exposed to tobacco use through media such as movies are more likely to initiate this behavior themselves.¹⁰

Social media combine peer and media effects and thereby represent a powerful motivator of behavior whether it is by content created by the individual or content she or he finds and shares with peers. It has been argued that Facebook may have greater influence than traditional media, as Facebook combines the power of interpersonal persuasion with the reach of mass media.¹¹ Facebook has been described as “the most significant advance in persuasion since the radio was invented in the 1890s” and initiated a new form of persuasion labeled “mass interpersonal persuasion.”¹¹

A previous study examined the potential ways in which Facebook may influence AYAs and found four distinct constructs.¹² Those areas include (Table 10.1): (1) Connection: Facebook provides and enhances peer communication, networking, and connection; (2) Comparison: Facebook allows comparison between peers to take place using tangible information such as photos, stated behaviors, and the ability to note peer comments on these information; (3) Identification: Facebook allows a profile owner to develop an online identity through a profile. Profile owners can then reflect and revise that identity via feedback from peers’ comments and “likes,” or by personal perusal through the Facebook “timeline.” The ability to develop one’s identity in real time provides a unique multimedia view of the self; and, (4) Immersive experience: Facebook provides a Web site that provides positive, negative, tool-based and distracting features toward an immersive and powerful experience for users.

Benefits of Social Media

There are many areas in which use of social media and technology provides benefits to today’s AYAs. Described below are some of the key features of social media, particularly of SNSs, that may provide unique benefits to this population.

Social Support and Social Capital

Virtual communities play an increasing role in the lives of today’s youth. Previous work illustrates that adolescents who experienced a greater number of positive reactions to their SNS profile also experienced higher self-esteem and satisfaction with their life.¹³ Comparably, a study of young adults demonstrated that Facebook usage was positively correlated with life satisfaction, social trust, and civic engagement.¹³ Epidemiological studies over the years have repeatedly demonstrated that as the size of one’s social network increases, so does their physical and mental health.¹⁴ The varied social media sites available allow AYAs to develop several new arenas in which social support can be built and cultivated.

Identity Development

One of the most important milestones in adolescence is the development of an identity. SNSs in particular provide adolescents a technological canvas on which they can explore and shape their identity, by choosing what information about themselves to display to the public and how the information they display changes in response to new experiences as well as related to feedback from peers. For young adults, feedback from peers may reinforce
particular aspects of their identity. One study of African American college students found that Facebook provided a platform to use both photographs and text to signal racial identity.¹⁵ For those AYAs with interests outside the mainstream culture, SNSs provide an outlet to meet new people who share their interests. These online peer groups may provide AYAs with the support they need to develop and reinforce one’s identity.

TABLE 10.1 Areas of Influence Adapted from the Facebook Influence Model

Area of Influence	Cluster Topics within This Area	Example Items That Represent the Cluster
Connection	Connection to people	—Allows people to constantly stay updated with other’s lives —Way to get to know acquaintances almost instantly —Keep in touch with people you would not call or text
	Far reaching	—Ability to reach many people with one Web site —Can reach anyone, young and old, rich and poor —Bonding across cultures and distances
	Fast communication	—Feel connected and in the loop constantly —Puts everyone you know and what they are doing in one place —Updates on people’s lives faster than with a cell phone
	Business and promotion	—Ability to plan influential events such as protests or sit-ins —Statuses provide a way to blog instantly about events or political topics —Every company uses it to promote business or provide deals
	Accessible and adaptable	—Largest network in human history —Easy to use and navigate —Widely known and talked about
	Data and Information	—Huge database of information —Compiled data from millions of individuals —News feature
Identification	Identity expression	—Freedom to express things and let it be heard —Present the best side of yourself —Show off accomplishments to everyone you are friends with on Facebook, not just close friends
Identification	Influence on identity	—Provides others with pictures that can influence perceptions —Display aspects of yourself that you would not share in offline life (sexuality, substance use) —Wonder if you should be doing what you see everyone doing in pictures
Comparison	Curiosity about others	—Can know what people are up to without asking them about it and without them knowing you know —Creep culture/stalking —See who associates with whom with pictures and comments
Comparison	Facebook establishing social norms	—Reinforces beliefs or opinions by seeing that others hold same beliefs or opinions —Can see what is popular by observation —Can follow norms
Facebook as an experience	Distractions	—Procrastination —Addictive —Huge distraction
	Positive experiences	—Facebook is referenced in daily life —Provides entertainment at any time —Status updates can promote a good mood
	Negative experiences	—Changes the nature of communication from face-to-face to screen-to-screen —People willing to sacrifice privacy —Inspires competition in people
Moreno MA, Kota R, Schoohs S, et al. The Facebook influence model: a concept mapping approach. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw 2013;16(7):504-511.

Education and Civic Engagement

There are several ways in which technology use can contribute to education. Youth in high school, technical school, and colleges/universities can use the Internet to seek information sources for reports, or augment learning on classroom topics. The Internet can provide audio, video, or multimedia sources to expand the learning found in traditional textbooks. One of the more common uses of SNS in schools is using blogging to help increase skills in creative writing.¹³ Further, technology can be used as a means of communication between students as well as between students and teachers to discuss homework assignments and projects.

Technology and social media can also contribute to AYAs’ civic engagement. One feature of SNS such as Facebook is the ability to create groups and events, which can be private or publicly available
to others. Many of the existing groups on Facebook are dedicated to political, religious, or community purposes. This provides AYAs’ opportunities for exposure to new ideas and information. A national survey of AYAs found that those who used the Internet more often were more politically aware and civically engaged compared to those who used the Internet less often.¹⁶

Health Access and Illness Support

Social media allow AYAs to access health information for questions that may be embarrassing or stigmatizing, such as sexual behavior or substance use.¹⁷ A key issue is to ensure that AYAs have knowledge of and access to sites that provide accurate and reliable information. Toward that end, numerous health organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, maintain a social media presence. Many of these social media sites allow real-time interactions to answer questions or provide resources. Technology and social media also allow opportunities for AYAs with chronic illnesses, or their parents, to connect to support groups to find support during challenging times or share stories with others. Some patients use technology or social media to interact with classmates, or even virtually attend classes, during prolonged hospital stays.

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