ABSTRACT

Current literature indicates that adolescent girls are more likely than their male counterparts to identify with social media figures and to use social media for peer comparison and feedback-seeking. Among adolescent girls, YouTube and Instagram comprise two of the most widely-used social media platforms and, thus, function as prominent forces for influencing adolescent culture and identity formation. Given social media’s capacity to facilitate prosocial behaviors, as well as its potential to generate negative self-concepts among users, this article aims to (a) highlight current social media trends; (b) examine the impact of social media on adolescent girls in the United States; (c) outline a psychoeducational activity intended to help adolescent girls process and recontextualize the idealized images of beauty commonly portrayed on social media.

摘要

目前的文献表明，与男性相比，青春期女孩更有可能认同社交媒体人物，并使用社交媒体进行同行比较和寻求反馈。在青春期女孩中，YouTube 和 Instagram 是两个最广泛使用的社交媒体平台，因此，它们是影响青少年文化和身份形成的重要力量。鉴于社交媒体促进亲社会行为的能力，以及它在用户中产生负面自我概念的潜力，本文旨在 (a) 突出当前的社交媒体趋势；(b) 检查社交媒体对美国少女的影响；(c) 概述一项心理教育活动，旨在帮助少女处理社交媒体上普遍描绘的理想化的美丽形象并将其重新置于语境中。