Internet Usage and Teenagers

Over the last decade, an increasing number of teenagers have become prominent users of the Internet (Becker 44-5; La Ferle, Edwards and Lee 55), thus generating concerns among parents and researchers with regard to its effects on their psychological well-being. In one of the studies, 40 to over 65 percent of the 1,000 parents surveyed assert their worries about their children's isolation from others in the real world and their development of antisocial behavior due to Internet use (Turow).

Due to their vulnerability to adult predators, teenage girls and their use of the Internet have also captured the attention of the public. A recent research study entitled "How Children Use Media Technology" conducted by Statistical Research Inc. (SRI) indicated that girls aged between 8 and 17 used the Internet more frequently than their male counterparts. Compared to boys who used the Internet 2.0 days per weeks, the girls used it for 2.7 days per week. Furthermore, more of the teenage girls (59 percent) in the study used the Internet for communication-oriented activities such as e-mailing and instant messaging than the boys (39 percent). Rather, more of the boys (37 percent) preferred to play games on the internet than the girls (24 percent) ("Girls Spend More Time on the Internet than Boys Do" 6). These statistics thus suggested that teen girls had higher exposure to Internet and unknown Internet users than boys, which could affect their psychological well-being.

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he Internet can also provide opportunities for unstable teenagers to indulge unchecked in their darker sides. In other cases, teenagers may escape from the problems of their social relationships in the real world by retreating into the fantasy realms of their cyberspace existence, thus causing them to be addicted to the Internet (Ritter; Suler, Adolescents in Cyberspace "Caught in the Net: Addiction"). Other teenagers may be susceptible to online groups such as "radical political groups and Satanic cults" (Suler, Adolescents in Cyberspace "Where Everyone Knows Your Name"). Another dangerous online influence is adult predators who utilize the Internet as another tool for luring their victims. By presenting themselves either as adolescents or adult confidants, these predators deliberately contribute to the erosion of teenagers' self-image in order to increase their dependency and vulnerability (Suler, Adolescents in Cyberspace "Adult Predators"). Their existence is a key issue of concern for parents of female teenagers. Based on the above discussion, it is evident that teenagers' use of the Internet can have both positive and negative effects on their self-image. McKenna and Barg's observation that "there is no simple main

Category: Psychology - I