Adolescent and family development: Autonomy and identity in the digital age

Abstract

Adolescence is a time when youth are faced with multiple tasks that intersect and influence one another, e.g., increased desire for autonomy, salience of identity issues, peer orientation, self-focus and self-consciousness, and a continuing need for a safe environment in which to explore autonomy and identity. These all occur in a dynamic ecosystemic environment, which in the past would have mostly included family, peers, and school, but today also includes cyberspace as both a system, and a means to interact with many other systems through the use of multiple forms of information technology (IT). This paper uses the voices and experiences of 128 adolescents, captured in qualitative interviews, to look at autonomy and identity in the digital age as they talk about their parents vis à vis their use of IT. Thematic analysis revealed two major themes: 1) Adolescents spoke of their expertise. In particular they commented on their knowledge to repair equipment, ability to use IT well, their sense of pride in their own ability and their parents' acknowledgement of this ability. 2) Subjects perceived little need for their own supervision, but assessed that other adolescents and younger children needed to be watched closely by their parents. Implications of this work are discussed.

Conceptualization and Measurement of Adolescent Prosocial Behavior: Looking Back and Moving Forward

“…It is important to note, however, that within this notable surge in research studies uncovering the positive implications of prosociality, there is a disproportionately greater focus directed toward infancy (Brownell, ; Dunfield, Kuhlmeier, O'Connell, & Kelley, ), toddlerhood (Hay & Cook, ; Svetlova, Nichols, & Brownell, ), and early childhood (Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Knafo‐Noam, ; Knafo & Plomin, ; Romano, Tremblay, Boulerice, & Swisher, ), with far fewer studies bringing a developmental perspective to the issues of defining and measuring prosocial behavior during adolescence. This is despite evidence suggesting the frequency and nature of prosocial behaviors may change during this age period as a result of (1) cognitive and affective development (e.g., developing a greater capacity for abstract thinking, role taking, affective labeling, moral reasoning); (2) changes in interpersonal relations (e.g., simultaneous increase in frequency of face‐to‐face contact and digital communication with peers and decrease in time spent with family); and (3) changes in social context (e.g., increase in school population size coinciding with a more departmentalized and impersonal environment, disruption to social regularities and a necessary social role restructuring; Goldstein, Boxer, & Rudolph, ; Shifflet‐Chila, Harold, Fitton, & Ahmedani, ; Steinberg, ). Therefore, with the continuing development of social cognition and emotional regulation, changes in familial, relational and educational processes, as well as an actual relocation from the typically more intimate elementary school context to a more impersonal, larger‐scale secondary school, it is important to expand the study of prosocial behavior with a greater focus on adolescence.…”

With a Little Help from My Friends: Peer Coaching for Refugee Adolescents and the Role of Social Media

“…Media usage as a communication channel can impact the development of new friendships and thus, influence well-being as well. While using social networks and media based communication comes naturally for most adolescents, such media is also a place for peers to meet (Jansz et al, 2015;Kneer et al, 2012Kneer et al, , 2019Shifflet-Chila et al, 2016). The use of digital communication showed promising results concerning social inclusion of refugee youth and therefore social media has high potential for social capital in Australia (Wilding, 2009).…”

“…Media usage as a new communication channel can impact the development of new friendships and therefore influence well-being as well. Handling social media including media based communication comes naturally for most adolescents and social media is now also a place for peers to meet (Kneer, Glock, Beskes, & Bente, 2012;Kneer, Jacobs, & Ferguson, 2019;Shifflet-Chila, Harold, Fitton, & Ahmedani, 2016). Special social media apps such as Instagram and Snapchat are more or less language free since visual content is more emphasized (Kennisnet, 2017).…”

De los riesgos en la socialización global: adolescentes en conflicto con la ley con perfil de ajuste social

“…La adolescencia es energía, pujanza, vitalidad, pero también es inexperiencia, incerteza, búsqueda. Shifflet-Chila et al (2016) refieren que las grandes instituciones como la familia deben impulsar el tránsito hacia la madurez. En este sentido, es vital atender a los planteamientos de Sündermann et al (2014) que recurren a la conciencia creativa y crítica como factores de protección, para que los adolescentes configuren sus procesos de desarrollo ajenos a las modas e incrementando el pensamiento propio, alejado del bullicio consumista, factor que previene el contagio de los riesgos.…”