The Impact of Social Media Platforms on Identity Development in Adolescence

Adolescence is the interim and growth-oriented period where individuals establish a clear and concise sense of their identity. The emergent mediums of social media platforms have evolutionarily changed the ways in which adolescents self-identify, socialize, and perceive the world around them. Social media platforms now constitute an important developmental task for adolescents that allow them to build tangential relationships and cultivate self-esteem, augmenting pronounced developmental implications noted by traditional theorists imbued in adolescence. While these platforms offer exciting new ways for adolescents to circumscribe their identities, it is evident that these platforms have added to the many challenges adolescents encounter while on the path to understanding a sense of who they are and where they belong in the world.;The intensity of social media platforms is thought to be a factor that may trigger anxiety and low-self-esteem in some adolescents (O'Keeffe & Pearson, 2011). Adolescents who experience anxiety or low self-esteem as a result of such platforms are at risk for social isolation and may turn to social media platforms for help, which can add to the complexities of identity development (O'Keeffe & Pearson, 2011). Social media literacy represents a burgeoning and emergent skill-set competency for adolescents of the 21 st century (Greenhow & Robelia, 2009), yet programs are limited. The Social Media Literacy Program (SMLP) was created and evaluated with anticipation that adolescents (exploring the many facets of their identity through social media platforms) who participated in the program would exhibit a reduction in anxiety symptoms and an increase in self-esteem, thereby reducing potential negative mental health outcomes associated with anxiety and low self-esteem, and in turn enable the development of a solid identity, which can transpire into young adulthood.;The Beck Anxiety Inventory for Youth-II (BAI-Y-II) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) Scale were used in a pretest-posttest design (n = 20). A one-way MANOVA found participants self-esteem to increase and anxiety to decrease (Wilks lambda = .51, p < .05, Partial eta squared = .48), suggesting that the SLMP program is a good anxiolytic and self-esteem enhancer. A qualitative analysis was also completed through the use of a feedback survey post program. Findings may be relevant to child and adolescent psychologists, and psychologists who work in the new and emerging field of media psychology. In light of the limitations, study implications and future directions are discussed.