Teens and Technology Part 2

My whole educational career has been centered around teenagers. I have been at a high school setting for the past eight years, and I have picked up rather quickly on how important romantic relationships are for them. It is also evident to anyone (not just educators) that teens are especially attached to their cell phones. Smartphones, in particular, have made it incredibly easy for people to send and receive information almost instantaneously. According to Leinhart, Smith, and Anderson, "the digital realm is one part of a broader universe in which teens meet, date, and break up with romantic partners" (2). Anyone who has access to any social media venue can easily validate this claim. Teens use social media in order to spark up their interests, to flirt, to reach out, etc. The authors claim that Facebook is the primary social venue for teenagers. Again, anyone can validate this claim if they have access to social media. One thing that took me by surprise is that only 8% of teens have met their romantic interest online. What this means is that while teenagers do use social media for romantic purposes, they knew the person they are in contact with before making contact through a social venue. I also thought it was quite interesting that most teenagers see social media as a way to strengthen their relationship. I suppose I can understand this to a certain point since most teenagers are not allowed to go on physical dates as often as adults do.

Source:

Lenhart, A., Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2015). Teens, technology and romantic relationships: From flirting to breaking up, social media and mobile phones are woven into teens' romantic loves. PEW Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/10/PI_2015-10-01_teens-technology-romance_FINAL.pdf
(77 pages)