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The rapid proliferation and maturation of social media platforms have led to numerous challenges in understanding the correlates of social media use among users. To advance this research, the present article proposes a new way to think about social media with the Personal Social Media Ecosystem Framework (PSMEF). This perspective defines social media as a user-centric digital environment made up of a central set of individual, yet interrelated digital spaces (e.g., in-app pages) that are themselves embedded within a broader ecology (e.g., operating system, the Internet, offline contexts). By leveraging the PSMEF and data from focus groups involving adolescent participants (N = 59), we identify a core subset of salient environmental contexts within participants’ PSMEs that can generalize across platforms, which are differentially associated with popular social media platforms. The theoretical and practical implications of this work are discussed.

There has been a recent increase in television programming that aims to provide realistic portrayals of adolescent life in an effort to both entertain and educate adolescent viewers. Research on th...

A number of recent series airing on traditional and streaming platforms portray sensitive topics faced by adolescents, including depression and suicide. Research has suggested that these subjects may be difficult for parents and adolescents to discuss, given their stigmatized nature. It is possible, however, that series portraying these issues in a realistic way can influence parent viewers’ perceived understanding of and comfort discussing these topics, and subsequently, relate to self-reported conversations with their adolescents. In addition, it is likely that these relations may differ for participants from different countries, especially considering country differences in mental health, access to mental health care, and stigmatization about mental health. We tested these relations using data from 778 parent viewers of the series 13 Reasons Why. We sampled viewers from four countries: Australia, the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Results suggested an indirect association between self-reported topic understanding and starting a conversation with their adolescent about these topics via reports of comfort discussing these topics. Participants’ country of habitation at the time of the study did not significantly influence these associations. We discuss these findings in the context of parent-adolescent communication, particularly around sensitive health-related topics.

Media programing addressing controversial topics among youth has grown; however, research has yet to consider the correlates of viewing on a global scale. Using the theory of normative social behavior (TNSB), this study examined perceived norms about mental illness among a sample of 3,520 adolescent and young adult viewers and nonviewers of 13 Reasons Why in Australia/New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil. We assessed the influence of viewer age and culture on the association between descriptive and injunctive mental illness norms and reports of prosocial mental health-related behaviors (e.g., talking about suicide with others). Results indicated a positive association between the number of episodes viewed and perceived norms, and among viewers, descriptive and injunctive norms related to reports of mental health-related behavior change in all regions, although the process differed based on age and culture. We conclude with implications for the predictions of the TNSB.

Children and adolescents are frequent media users and research regularly examines the consequences of such use. This research, however, often does not examine parental factors relating to youth media use. Framed by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study examines the role of media in the child’s ecological system by describing how parent attitudes, behaviors, and own personal media use are related to child media use. This study used data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. parents of 8- to 18-year-olds (N = 1819). This study documented that parents’ attitudes toward technology are mixed, suggesting that while parents are worried about certain aspects of technology use, they also see the positive outcomes of use for both their children and their own lives as parents. Further, the data indicated that parents of children and adolescents were heavy and regular media users themselves and that parent media use and media attitudes were strongly related to youth media use, even during adolescent years. These findings shed light on youth media use and suggest that, to fully understand media use among young people, researchers must also consider how parent factors influence the media ecology of the child’s home environment.

Theorizing posits that moral judgment and reasoning stem from intuitions from at least one of six cognitive moral modules. Research has examined how media exposure influences aspects of moral devel...

Despite nearly equal Instagram use rates between men and women, research on the effects of Instagram use on body image has mainly focused on women, and continued research on visual social media is warranted. To fill this gap, we conducted a 2 (image muscularity; high vs. low) × 2 (image sexualization; high vs. low) + 1 (control) between-subjects online experiment among 133 young adult men. Among all participants, we examined the moderating effect of sexual orientation, hypermasculinity, and trait appearance-related social comparison. We considered internalized homophobia among men who did not identify as exclusively heterosexual. Results demonstrated no main or interaction effects of condition on intention to exercise. There was a small but significant main effect of condition on state body image, with scores significantly lower in the muscular/nonsexualized condition in comparison to the control. Further, the effect of exposure to muscular Instagram images was stronger among men higher in trait appearance-related social comparison and among nonheterosexual men higher in internalized homophobia. These results suggest that similar to findings among women, exposure to certain types of Instagram images can have small, negative body image effects on men, which are conditional on individual differences.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed school contexts and social opportunities dramatically for adolescents around the world. Thus, certain adolescents may have been more susceptible to the stress of the pandemic as a function of differences in schooling. We present data from 1256 United States adolescents (ages 14–16) to examine how the 2020–2021 school context (in-person, hybrid, or virtual) related to feelings of school satisfaction and success, social connection, mental health, and media use. We also examine differences as a function of gender identity. Results demonstrate that school context, particularly in-person compared to virtual schooling, was related to higher school satisfaction and academic success, stronger feelings of social connection and inclusion, lower levels of anxiety and depression, and less problematic media use. Interestingly, adolescents did seem to use media as a tool to support social connection when in hybrid or virtual school contexts, but they also reported higher rates of problematic media use, thus suggesting that media use needs to be examined more carefully to understand its role as a potential protective mechanism for adolescents’ social connection and mental health. These findings provide baseline information about how schools’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic may have created disparities among youth. These findings have implications for current school interventions.

When he began to compile and edit the collection, Exploring Key Issues in Early Childhood and Technology, it is difficult to imagine that Dr. Chip Donohue could have known how prescient and importa...

The relationship between social media and self-esteem is complex, as studies tend to find a mixed pattern of relationships and meta-analyses tend to find small, albeit significant, magnitudes of statistical effects. One explanation is that social media use does not affect self-esteem for the majority of users, while small minorities experience either positive or negative effects, as evidenced by recent research calculating person-specific within-person effects. This suggests that the true relationship between social media use and self-esteem is person-specific and based on individual susceptibilities and uses. In recognition of these advancements, we review recent empirical studies considering differential uses and moderating variables in the social media-self-esteem relationship, and conclude by discussing opportunities for future social media effects research.

Although superheroes are popular characters on television and in movies, there is a lack of research on the effects of viewing this content among adolescents. For this reason, we conducted an experiment (N = 145; no-view control, nonviolent superhero content, violent superhero content) among adolescents ages 16–18. Results indicated that exposure to violent superhero content elicited prosocial outcomes among males, but not among females. There were no significant main effects or interactions for indicators of hostility in any of the three conditions. We contextualize these findings by considering pro- and antisocial media effects, as well as aspects of adolescent development.

Past research has considered how exposure to certain media content affects children’s Theory of Mind (ToM). It is possible, however, that ToM also moderates the effects of exposure to televised narratives on children’s behavior. Previous work found that special inserts, designed to help children understand an inclusion message, were somewhat effective in promoting children’s comprehension of the moral lesson. Such inserts, however, may be most effective in promoting inclusion among children lowest in ToM, who would theoretically be least likely to engage in prosocial behaviors. To test this possibility, we use data collected from four- to six-year-old children in the Netherlands (N = 66). We randomly assigned children to one of three conditions: a control, a treatment condition with general information inserts, and a treatment condition with explicit moral lesson inserts. Results indicate that children’s prosocial intentions mediate the relationship between condition and stigmatization, but only among children in the explicit condition lowest in ToM. This suggests that explicit inserts can help children low in ToM to learn from inclusion narratives. Comprehension of the moral lesson did not mediate this relationship. We integrate these findings with existing research, discussing overall conclusions in the context of child development.

With increasing media choice, particularly through the rise of streaming services, it has become more important for empirical research to examine how youth decide which programs to view, particularly when the content focuses on difficult health topics such as suicide. The present study investigated why adolescents and young adults chose to view or not view season 1 of 13 Reasons Why and how individual-level variables related to adolescents’ and young adults’ viewing. Using survey data gathered from a sample of 1,100 adolescents and young adult viewers and non-viewers of the series in the United States, we examined how participants’ resilience, loneliness, and social anxiety related to whether participants viewed the first season or not. Our descriptive results indicate that adolescents who watched the show reported that it accurately depicted the social realities of their age group, they watched it because friends recommended it, and they found the subject matter to be interesting. Non-viewers reported that they chose not to view the show because the nature of the content was upsetting to them. In addition, results demonstrated that participants’ social anxiety and resilience related to participants’ viewing decisions, such that those with higher social anxiety and higher resilience were more likely to report watching season 1. Together, these data suggest that youth make intentional decisions about mental health-related media use in an attempt to choose content that is a good fit for based on individual characteristics.

This chapter examines the effects of various kinds of mediated portrayals of both antisocial behavior, such as aggression, as well as the effects of mediated portrayals of prosocial behavior such as altruism or social inclusion on children’s moral development. Utilizing both a child developmental approach as a theoretical frame and moral foundations theory as an organizing principle, the authors explore how exposure to children’s media can influence children’s moral judgments of and reasoning about (im)moral actions. In general, this body of work finds that exposure to violent content influences child and adolescent moral reasoning about caring for and harming of others. Specifically, exposure to violent content is negatively related to moral developmental variables, whereas prosocial content appears to have the opposite effect. In the context of including dissimilar others, research suggests that children and adolescents often extract the wrong message and behave in ways that are more exclusionary after viewing inclusion narratives, although properly designed shows may have positive effects. In terms of fairness/cheating/justice, research suggests that shows designed to promote perspective-taking and fairness influence young children’s moral judgments, resulting in children exhibiting more developmentally advanced moral reasoning. Last, research suggests that respect for authority can also be influenced by media exposure. In each study that explored perspective-taking as a mediator, results were consistent with the argument that perspective-taking advancements are key to improved moral reasoning in children.

Posting and viewing fitspiration-related content is a new social media trend. Although some say that fitspiration inspires women towards an empowered body image, others argue that fitspirational social media use may negatively influence women’s body image. To address these concerns, the current study (359 women; ages 18–28 years) investigated how exposure to four types of fitspirational social media messages related to three indicators of body image: body dissatisfaction, compulsive exercise, and situated optimism related to body goals. Moreover, we investigated the role of two individual difference variables in predicting women’s exposure to fitspirational messages and moderating the relationships between exposure and indicators of body image: thin-ideal internalization and fit-ideal internalization. Overall, the study provides support for both positive and negative correlates of fitspirational social media use. In addition, the findings provide initial evidence that individual difference variables differentially predict exposure to certain types of fitspirational content and moderate the relationship between fitspirational social media and body image related variables. Thus, this study emphasizes that the relationship between fitspirational social media and body image involves a complex interaction between characteristics of consumers and the exact content that is being consumed.

For decades, popular press reports have called the role of media in the lives of young people into question. Of course, some of these news stories and other popular press pieces are associated with...

Literature examining self-esteem and social networking site use has generally considered linear relationships between these variables. Mixed results in this extant literature and Self-Affirmation Theory indicate that a curvilinear relationship is possible. Data from a survey of 337 Dutch adolescents (ages 12–18) suggest a curvilinear relationship between self-esteem and Facebook use. Relative to higher and lower levels of self-esteem, moderate levels of self-esteem correspond to the highest levels of both Facebook use and specific activities, such as text- and visual-based social contributions. Results clarify our understanding of the relationships between the well-being variable, self-esteem, and social networking site use.

Children’s prosocial television shows include moral lessons in their narratives, but research suggests that children struggle to comprehend and transfer these lessons to other situations. The social intuitionist model of moral judgment, however, argues that dimensions of morality can be made more salient through environmental exposure. Using data collected from 101 parent-child dyads (children ages 4.5-6.5), we explore if children’s existing moral intuitions about fairness and care may be made salient following exposure to moral lessons in a children’s television show, and if parent presence and mediation aid this process. Results demonstrate that, compared with children in the control group, children who viewed the moral message either alone or with a parent experienced improvements in perspective-taking, which in turn influenced their moral judgments and moral reasoning. Thus, children’s morality can be positively influenced by prosocial television exposure via promoting perspective-taking, fairness, and care.

A large body of research has considered children’s novel word learning from video; however, no known work has compared children’s novel word learning from an educational television show in which th...

The goal of the present study was to utilize two theoretical models, one based on a mediation approach and the other on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), to understand parents’ mediation of their adolescents’ social media use. Data were collected from parents of adolescents ages 10–18 in two countries, the United States (US) and the Netherlands. Results indicated significant differences between the two samples. Specifically, American parents reported more concern about adolescent social media use, more positive attitudes and perceived subjective norms to control adolescent use, and higher levels of active and restrictive mediation. In general, demographics and parental concern accounted for more explained variance in mediation behaviors among Dutch parents, and the TPB-based variables accounted for more explained variance among American parents. Results suggest important implications for the integration of different theoretical models to explain parent mediation behavior.

Research has considered how exposure to prosocial television narratives influences children’s social inclusion behaviors (e.g., Mares & Acosta, 2010). In these experiments, children typically view a stimulus episode alone; however, we know that children often watch with others at home (Chandler, 1997). Thus, in this study we examined how children’s proximal social context during viewing influenced effects. Using data collected from a 3-condition experiment (control, view-alone, coview with close friend) with Dutch children ages 5 and 6 (N = 80), we found that exposure largely did not influence children’s inclusion judgments or stigmatization beliefs. There was, however, an age × condition interaction, such that 6-year-old children in the coview condition demonstrated greater stigmatization beliefs toward other children, compared to 5-year-olds in the same condition, or all children in the other conditions. We discuss the implications of these findings while considering previous work on learning inclusion from prosocial television shows, reality judgments, and the bystander effect.

Although research has indicated that moral decisions are made during video game play, less research has examined moral reasoning during play. Using a think-aloud protocol, participants’ decisions and reasoning were recorded during game play and coded as either strategic or moral. Players’ reasoning was also coded using Moral Foundations Theory. Results indicated an almost equal percentage of strategic and moral reasoning; the salience of several individual moral foundations predicted moral reasoning during play. Video game experience was positively related to the use of moral reasoning, which can be explained by relating reasoning to rational and experiential processing during game play.

This article urges children and media scholars to consider the broader consequences of the ubiquitous media environment in which children live today. We consider, within a broader sociocultural context, the ways in which media and interactive technology serve as more knowledgeable others, scaffolding children's learning and development. Given this context, it is imperative for researchers to consider the consequences of living in the digital age and how broader developmental trajectories may be influenced. We call upon children and media researchers to contemplate more thoughtful research agendas that begin to assess the larger impact of media on children’s learning and developmental trajectories.

Two-study paper with American and Dutch adolescent samples.Constructs of adolescent development relate to adolescents' Facebook activity.There is a relationship between Facebook use and Personal Fable ideation.Behavioral rehearsal and Imaginary Audience mediate this relationship.Heightened Personal Fable does not necessarily relate to risky self-disclosure. Research has begun to examine adolescents' motivations for using social networking sites. The present set of studies supplement this literature by considering the relationships between characteristics of adolescent development and media use. Using American and Dutch samples of adolescents, the paper examines predictors and consequences of a developmental construct, Personal Fable, which is characterized by feelings of uniqueness and invulnerability. Overall, results indicate that Facebook use is associated with Personal Fable ideation, which is then related to certain media use behaviors such as posting a new photo or status update. By nature, these practices constitute self-disclosure; however, results from the second study indicated that Personal Fable does not moderate the relationship between Facebook use and problematic self-disclosure, contrary to predictions. Such findings provide important information about the link between Facebook use and constructs of adolescent development, with implications for researchers' understanding of predictors of adolescents' online behaviors.

The goal of the present study was to investigate whether adolescent online self-disclosure is primarily related to the developmental variable of egocentrism or related to the personality trait, narcissism. Egocentrism was measured as Imaginary Audience ideation and Personal Fable ideation, two distinct concepts of adolescent egocentrism. We also examined whether age moderates the aforementioned relationship. A total of 381 participants completed the survey instrument. The sample consisted of adolescents from two high schools and college students in the Netherlands. Results indicated a positive relationship between Imaginary Audience ideation and Facebook self-disclosure. Also, more narcissistic adolescents disclosed more on Facebook than less narcissistic adolescents. However, this effect became weaker when controlling for Imaginary Audience ideation. Finally, Imaginary Audience was related to Facebook self-disclosure for all age groups except the 19–22 age group. Thus, adolescent egocentrism is a somewha...