The Effects of Online Friendships on Teenagers

Adolescence is the stage wherein a growing individual from about 13 or 14 up to 20 years old experiences a psychosocial crisis. It is the stage wherein most boys and many girls experience the need to experiment with slight misbehavior; their feeling of self-doubt arises as well as the need to defy a certain rule. However, this stage is also the part of a person’s life wherein he or she can confidently answer the question “Who am I?”

In this present time, the instances wherein adolescents engage and rely on meeting friends online and joining social network sites are rapidly increasing. They find it a means to keep in touch with old friends whom they have not seen or heard from for a period of time and to meet new acquaintances whom they hope to become their new friends

Adolescents have different friendship patterns depending on their age and gender. They enjoy social gatherings and for this reason, they find it an advantage to meet with their friends online especially during school season when they are busy doing projects and home works, making it impossible to have a social life as much as they want to.

Certain press and survey conducted came up with reports which show that there are two tremendous yet contradictory motives why socially interactive technologies, also commonly known as SITs are preferred by adolescents as a means to communicate with people. First of these two motives indicates the prevention of adolescents from being depressed and socially isolated with the help of internet communication with other people; the second one being the fostering of anti-social behavior through continuous use of these technologies.

            A study on adolescents and SITs came up with the following results:

1. The adolescents use SITs in order to further develop the means of interaction and message transmission to and from family members and friends, to preserve social connection with their peers; and to formulate ideas and exchange opinions among themselves.
2. The adolescents find text messaging and instant messaging a faster, cheaper and more convenient means of communicating with people.
3. Adolescents are still likely to embrace detailed and sensitive discussions offline despite the rising demand and preference for SITs over emails.

Adolescents have easy access to the internet in various means such as through mobile phones and laptops with Wi-Fi and in most places such as public libraries; a friend’s house and even at school. This accessibility makes it difficult to prevent a teenager from partaking in a social network site.

Social networks are considered to be the “junk food” of the internet since behind their enjoyable features and pleasant appearance, the offer inadequate substance. Social networking sites pose a threat to adolescents who are still unacquainted with the dangers of revealing too much personal information to people whom they barely know. They become innocent preys to stalkers who take advantage of what they reveal through comments and personal profiles which are set for public viewing.

Although not everything that online friendships offer to adolescents is harmful, since they also enable the youth to have an opportunity to connect and interact with people of their same age who share the same experience and views as they have, it is still wise to take precautions.

With the high percentage of adolescents who have already met in person those people whom they have come in contact with through the internet, and the risk of not knowing whether or not these strangers whom they now call “friends” are the kind of persons that they may pretend to be, the best way to avoid suffering the consequences is to be cautious and careful.

References

Agadoni, L. (2010). Teenage friendship problems. http://www.ehow.com/about_6331682_teenage-friendship-problems.html

Bryant,  J.A., Sanders-Jackson, A., & Smallwood, A.M.K. (2006). IMing, text messaging, and adolescent social networks. In: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Oldroyd, C. (2010). The advantages of internet chat rooms. http://www.ehow.com/list_6571327_advantages-internet-chat-rooms.html

Sharp, A. (2008). Teens, privacy, and online social network sites. http://www.suite101.com/content/teens-privacy-and-online-social-network-sites-a76030

Sinauer Associates, Inc. (2010). The importance of friendships. http://sites.sinauer.com/cobb/chapter07.html