Youth Culture in a Digital World Tentamen PDF

Youth culture in a digital world tentamen College 1: introduction Culture: A group’s distinctive way of life, including its beliefs and values, its customs, and its art and technologies 3 theories to answer the question: disrupting or enri...

Youth culture in a digital world tentamen College 1: introduction Culture: A group’s distinctive way of life, including its beliefs and values, its customs, and its art and technologies 3 theories to answer the question: disrupting or enriching traditional culture? 1. Social presence theory: people don’t see facial expressions when calling 2. Social information processing theory: How people react to a short message can be interpreted in different ways 3. Channel expansion theory: people use emotions in text to develop their messages Distinction between how you use it and how it is used Replacement or addition Passively (only scrolling, observing) or actively Why use social media? Uses & gratifications theory: what purposes or functions does media offer for active receivers? Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 1  Four main reasons to use media Surveillance of the environment (seeing what’s going on in the world) Affective need (need for emotional fulfillment) Cultural transmission (need to know what are values in the society) Entertainment (need to relax) Other needs: self-promotion, maintain existing relationships, need for creativity, escapism, expressing opinions One size does not fit all Information: twitter Social connection: instagram, snapchat Entertainment: instagram, youtube Convenience: all of them Developmental tasks approach Developmental tasks/challenges need to be fulfilled Basic idea: hierarchic list of tasks, met through biological or social development, that needs to be done before they can develop to the next stage Erikson’s developmental stages: in each developmental stage there is a problem/task that needs to be explored Media effect: effects of media depends on the age of the user Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 2  Key developmental tasks of adolescence: Learning to build intimate and committed friendships/relationships Adjustment to pubertal changes Transition to secondary schooling Developing strong and coherent personal identity Risk and resilience approach Differential life experiences among children (focus on individual differences) 2 boys react differently to certain violent video games: differences are explained by their risk and protective factors Basic idea: risk and protective factors explain differences between people → cumulative risk model Applications: snowball effect, turnaround models Snowball effect: the more risk factors, the bigger the consequences Cumulative Also the more protective factors, the less negative effects Violent games influence behaviour, but then also his friends don’t want to be around him anymore Turnaround model Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 3  In time, protective factors will come in for example other interests, that will decrease the negative effects of media Bronfenbrenner ecological model Micro level: how do parents monitor and regulate their children’s media use? Exo level: is school offering classes on online safety and social media policies such as banning the smartphone in the classroom? Macro level: what do we believe and value regarding social media? Is it entertainment or dangerous? All these levels interact with eachother Identity development Basic idea of identity: an identity is an explicit theory of oneself as a person. Identity dimensions: Personal Social (gender, ethnic, national) Online identity Self image: how young people perceive themselves Self-esteem: the ability to appreciate this self-image Virtual identity vs actual identity Identity should be constructed during adolescence through exploration online and offline Self presentation Backstage and frond stage Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 4  How do I want to present myself on stage Can also be online: backstage on whatsapp, front stage on instagram Online there are levels of anonimity that are not in real life More extreme forms of behaviour (cyberbullying) Creativity Playing around, discovering who you are Anonymity: Different, more extreme forms of behavior, cyberbullying Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 5  Creativity: playing around, discovering who you are, how you want to present yourself Asychrony: communication at your convenience, breaking time and space constraints, your can look for communities that are like you Controllability: the ability to decide what information to share, control what others see College 2: media effects Media use: the intended or incidental use of media channels, devices, content/messages, or all types of platforms, tools or apps. Media effects: the deliberate and non-deliberate short-term and long-term individual or collective changes in cognitions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior that result from media use. Payne fund studies Women got together to find out what the media effects were on their children Researchers got together Looked at 1500 movies and categorised them Crime, love/sex/romance What is the emotional impact for children of these movies Also studied the behavioral effects Legacy of fear: media was considered to be a powerful thing that nobody could control the effects of The New York Times Radio listener in panic, taking war drama as fact Magic Bullet or Hypodermic Needle Perspective: whatever they give you, you take it (they put it in you) Conversion: people select arguments that match their beliefs People exposed to media did not change their minds when voting Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 6  Reinforcement: media taps into people’s existing ideas and reinforces them The decatur study Two step flow of communication Media reaches out to opinion leaders, who will in turn inform the regular people Evergreen theories: popular theories that resisted the effect of time Cultivation theory Idea: exposure to media across time has influence on our perceptions about reality Over time media will shape your idea of the world Mainstreaming: the blurring, blending and bending process by which heavy TV viewers from disparate groups develop a common outlook on the world through constant exposure to the same images and labels on TV Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 7  Every issue becomes a politic issue Resonance: influence TV different for subgroups based on experience, interests, etc. Today: the effect is slightly larger for social media than for tv viewing Stronger effects for younger samples Agenda-setting theory Idea: agenda-setting role of the media = ability to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda media is able to shape the agenda/conversation 1. Object- what we are talking about 2. Attributes- how that is talked about, how it is framed 3. Network- what it connects to. To policies, people, ideologies Spiral of silence Idea: an individual’s willingness to express their opinion is a function of how they perceive public opinion If you know that your opinion is not common, you wouldn’t share it Spiral of silence today Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 8  Variety of opinion, selective exposure We perceive what we read about on media as the standard Blurring of online and offline Framing theory Idea: the way information is presented determines the media effect The same information, depending on how you frame it can be interpreted differently Today Different platform specifics: visuals, number of characters Timing is different Interactivity is different Frame building vs frame setting Positive frames vs negative frames Social comparison theory Idea: we determine our self-worth by comparing with others Upward social comparison Downward social comparison Social cognitive/learning theory Idea: humans learn to act the way they do Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 9  You observe reality to be from the behaviour of the people around you Media effects today Fragmented audience (because of algorithms you can’t reach everyone) Echo chambers: an environment where a person only encounters information or opinions that reflect and reinforce their own. Narrow information (most people have a shared norm already (low context) For example: Type of message, medium, platform Micro vs. macro level Content specific vs. diffuse-general Cognitive, emotional, behavioral level Changes or stabilization → individual differences For example based on: Needs/motives Intensity response Traits/dispositions Differential susceptibility model Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 10  Transactional model College 3: gaming Gaming becomes a huge part of adolescents development and part of their lives, its a different world where they develop How can we define gaming Is gaming a youth culture? Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 11  A group’s distinctive way of life, including it’s beliefs and values, it’s customs, and it’s art and technologies Gaming is becoming a part of the activites of adolescents Playing games to hang out with eachother Gamers have their own norms and values Increase in gaming from 2017 (and earlier) More gaming by boys than girls Problematic gaming: losing interest in other activities, losing control, conflicts with others Addiction care numbers: gaming has been ignored a long time as an addiction 2021: as many adolescents that enter addiction care for gaming problems as alcohol Gaming and cannabis use often go hand in hand Why do adolescents play games? Self-determination theory Gaming to satisfy basic psychological needs: Competence needs (being good at something) Increasing skills/ meta achievement (beating an enemy, going to a next world) Becoming a famous e-sports player (future orientation) Beloning to a team (sometimes only getting accepted when you’re good enough) Suppressing unpleasant symptoms Attention problems, concentration problems- playing games can be rewarding for getting into hyperfocus/state of flow Autonomy needs (being in control) Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 12  Adolescents want to become independent and develop skills they need to become independent Games that tap into this need: building your own game in roblox, or building your own avatar Socialization needs (connecting to others) Playing games to connect to others Strengthen already existing relationships Status increasing/popularity Need to belong sometimes not fulfilled in real life, therefore search in the virtual world Problematic gamers have the highest levels of social problems (for girls and boys) Having poor attention and social problems are risk factors for gaming addiction Gaming can also decrease feelings of social competence and satisfaction with life (only among the problematic adolescent gamer!) And… identity formation Games and online communities: discussion forums, communities/online environments Adolescents go through a phase of exploring and finding out who they are Games and online communities Construct and or extend identity Shared norms and values Peer influence (microtransactions) Improving performance (providing tips, feedback) Gaming can support in Collaboration (mutual goals) Social support Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 13  Social identity Feelings of acceptance But also can amplify already existing social problems Games and rewards Pavlov and skinner Loot boxes: You can buy them, and still have a random chance of getting what you want Random chance= gambling? Types of rewards in games Random rewards (finding a valuable sword) Contingencies rewards (log-in bonusses) Social rewards (teamplay/building guilds) Meta-achievements (leaderboard scores) College 4: misinformation Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 14  Misinformation: umbrella term Disinformation: deliberately false or misleading information Malinformation: true information used to manipulate or deceive people, often with intent of causing harm to a person, organization or country Fake news: false or fabricated information that mimics regular news content Propaganda: the more or less systematic effort to manipulate other people’s beliefs, attitudes, or actions by means of symbols Misinformation is often used as an umbrella term for these types of information. It can be summarized as false or misleading information, regardless of intent or source False vs true: some information is easy to falsify But some is this not feasible: grey areas Intentional vs unintentional People sometimes share misinformation by accident, and it can happen that someone publishes misinformation without meaning to. In other cases, misinformation is produced intentionally: disinformation Malicious vs benign People can share misinformation for benign reasons (trying to warn other people) Other times sharing happens maliciously, with the intent to cause harm Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 15  If people genuinely believe the earth is flat and share this, is this misinformation? With intent to spread true information Still misinformation, regardless of intent Does age play a role in misinformation belief? Digital natives: younger generations who were born into the digital age. Older adults entered the digital world later in life and are less digitally literate Older adults visit more low-quality news websites and share more misinformation Older adults are better or as good as younger people at judging the veracity of news Misinformation and youth Experts concerned about children using skincare Companies deliberately sharing misinformation about children needing this, to enhance their profit Who falls prey to misinformation? Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 16  Age and gender dont matter that much, analytical thinking matters Illusory truth effect: repetition Repetition increases belief in misinformation such as fake news headlines and conspiracy beliefs (for both true and false information) Partisan bias Individuals are more likely to accept information compatible with their beliefs and are more critical of information that diverges from their identity or the values they defend Group identity: information about groups that we identify with (ingroups) is intepreted differently from information about groups that we do not identify with (outgroups) Als je links bent geloof je dezelfde informatie sneller als het van een linkse partij komt dan van een rechtse Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 17  Consequences of misinformation Increases polarization Racism and discrimination Health outcomes- vaccines People more hesitant to take vaccines or let their children get vaccines 2 perspectives: 1. researchers warn for significant costs of misinformation on individuals and societies and call for interventiions to reduce misinformation susceptibolity impacts 2. Others propose that problematix outcomes, such as climate change denial and vaccine hesitancy, are caused by deeper systemic socio-economic and psycho-social issues Is misinformation a symptom or a cause? College 5: parenting and social media Social media can be useful for identity development Social media may have advantages for some, but not for all Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 18  Getting to know more types of people Helping to become more independent from parents What is addiction? If you have more than 5 of these symptoms = problematic use Loss of control Preoccupation Conflict as a result of Withdrawal symptoms Escapism Tolerance Problems as a result of Lie about use Goes at the expense of other activities How addicted do you feel you are to social media? (12-15 year olds) Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 19  But if you measure them with the symptoms, only 4% of them have problematic social media use Difference between subjective and statistic More risky users (two or three symptoms) Problematic social media use is related to More depressive feelings More impulsivity Lower schoolgrades Lower sleep quality Less physically active Important: what do they do online, differences between the platforms adolescents use Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 20  Family context: parents are the most important socialization agents in children’s lives But kids also influence their parents’ behaviour Many parents worry about their children’s social media use Kids in elementary school that have their own smartphone According to parents, digital media use is of influence on their kids Impact on the level of exercise Very little research on this, but parents think this Parents underestimate the time their kids spend online Role of parents 3 ways of parental influence Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 21  1. Parental modelling Social learning theory: parents are role models Children learn more by what parents do than what they say Parents that spend a lot of time on their phones are the model Parental screentime and parental phubbing (parents responding to notifs on their phones while being in interaction with their child) Interrupts the ongoing activity with their child Both factors increase the chance of being an at risk of problematic user as an adolescent Parents who use/look at their phone while interacting with their child are less sensitive and responsive (verbal and non-verbal) 2. Behavior-specific parenting Parental mediation theory Active mediation (talking with young people about the content they see on television) Frequency of communication- how often Quality of communication- are you taken seriously Restrictive mediation (setting rules and regulations about children’s television viewing) Different types of restrictive mediation: Restrictive rules: are you allowed to bring your smartphone to your bedroom when you’re going to sleep? Reactive rules: how often do your parents tell you that you should turn of or put away your tablet or smartphone Interrupting ongoing behaviour in the moment Co-viewing (simply watching television with children) 3. General parenting Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 22  For girls is the more restrictive rules related with a tiny effect with problematic smu For boys we see that the frequency of communication has a impact on problematic smu and gaming Does age matter? Effect of rules on onset risky/problematic smu Effective on kids 15.7 Years → important for parents to know: make agreements with children before they start using smartphones Influence of kids behaviour on parenting strategies Girls: problematic gaming predicts more reactive rules and lower quality of communication Parents do not react to problematic gaming in an effective way Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 23  Boys: problematic gaming predicts more rules and reactive rules, and they communicate more frequently about it Parents try to stop problematic gaming But we know that it is more effective to prevent gaming than to intervene Internet-specific parenting in a more general socialization context General parenting The balance between controlling behaviours and supporting behaviours of parents Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 24  We have three different groups of parents Limiting/supportive: green group (60%): pretty high level of restrictions and high levels of support Tolerant/supportive: purple group (25.5%): pretty low level of restrictions and high level of support Limiting/less supportive: blue group (13.5&%) → high level of restrictions and low level of support Most effective is the tolerant/supportive group on problematic social media use among their kids Then the limiting/supportive group and than the limiting/less supportive group What works? Warm, autonomy supportive parenting is more relevant than setting rules Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 25  Rules about internet are crucial to prevent development of PSMU, before adolescents display any symptoms Sharenting Parents sharing pictures of their kids online Discrepancy in the parents' and children’s views about whether a parent should ask for permission to upload child-related content on social media Kids say: Achievements: is allowed by kids Embarrassing pictures/visually unflattering: is not allowed by kids (just thinking as a parent that a picture is nice and fun is not enough) Me-time for parents is also nice but a crying kid is no me-time, but give an device to a kid which keeps him busy is me-time → keeping parents aware of the screen-use under young kids Parents’ self-interest Use of digital media by kids for parents’ own interest 1. Parents do have an interest in the use of digital media by their kids Parents use digital media to create time/space to do other things (obtain me-time) 2. This is achieved in different ways, dependent on age of the child From more active to passive as kids become older College 6: social media and alcohol use of adolescents Why is underage drinking a problem? Lowers cognitive capacities Lowers physical health Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 26  Increased chronic illness Leads to costs Less workforce & higher costs Leads to other risky behaviors Why do adolescents share alcohol content on social media? Content that has alcohol in it, also in a subtle way BAMI (Belgian Adolescent Media Investigation) study Survey of 1645 adolescents in Belgium Questions on norms, attitudes, alcohol related behavior Explorative process to identify relevant predictors Planned behavior: Assumption that behavior does not occur randomly Norms of posting alcohol content Social evaluation In every social group there are norms Inductive norms: what you should and should not do Deductive norms: what people actually do “drinking is not healthy, is frowned upon, but we do it anyway) Attitude How you feel about something, what is one’s attitude towards alcohol Which factors do actually influence this behavior Regression tree Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 27  What do your parents think about this, friends etc Parents had a strong impact What your parents do, think and say you should do Most of the adolescents do not share alcohol references frequently Those who do are also exposed to them Importance of predictors Norms are important The type of content that you see on social media is central to sharing Social media can normalize being drunk Social media content- different perspectives Time spent on social media Social media platforms Temporality & accessability Snapchat = temporary Private chat different effect to public Interaction with content Sharing, liking, ignoring Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 28  Different effects on alcohol use based on different platforms Snapchat and facebook Strong relation between snapchat and alcohol use What makes Snapchat different? Private messages (rarely public) Ephemeral messages (rarely permanent) Private ephemeral format has more alcohol references Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 29  Conclusions on temporality and accessibility Platforms that allow for private ephemeral messages usually display more extreme content Potentially a higher risk here for adolescent substance use & risk behavior (also for bullying) → attention to these platforms Interaction perspective: the case of liking alcohol posts Simulate a facebook like environment for adolescents 265 participants for 21 days Study from 2018, when boomers didn’t take over FB yet Simulated facebook environment and tracking In the weekend more likes on alcohol posts Reveived likes per post females receive more likes on alcohol posts than men Women have more sense of aesthetic Alcohol posts get more likes than non-alcohol posts Estimate likelihood of giving a like Mutual liking (liking back when someone liked your post) Matching gender (same gender as poster) Poster is female (cumulative with same gender) Alcohol post is higher than non-alcohol post Likelihood of drinking alcohol Liking alcohol posts has a significant effect Conclusion Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 30  Alcohol content might get more likes than non-alcohol content Liking alcohol content is associated with drinking yourself Causality is not yet clear Who is most at risk? 1/3 adolescents engage in risk drinking Risk drinking: amount and time of drinking Alcohol prevention programs campaign for less consumption Who should prevention programs specifically target? Problem behavior theory (jessor & jessor) Personality = Age, Gender, Sensation Seeking, Willingness to Drink Behavior = Social Media Use Environment = Social Norms, Peer Pressure The older adolescents are, the more they drink, Sensation seeking Study Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 31  Adolescnets that are sensation seekers are more at risk Risk behaviors (alcohol and social media) co-occur 3 domains of risk behavior contributed The high-risk adolescent: Female 16 yo Uses insta and snapchat Has peers who drink a lot Conclusion Evidence that drinking behavior correlates with alcohol related social media use Epheremal content is more prone to be associated with alcohol Effect varies from adolescent to adolescent Focus on those at risk Research is clear here: social media contributes to adolescent alcohol use Not limited to alcohol use Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 32  Perspective- Juul Advertisement Campaign targeting Adolescents Vaping Epidemic” South Africa: 1 in 6 adolescents vapes UK: 1 in 10 adolescents vapes US: 1 in 16 adolescents vapes (includes grade 6 & 7) Social media is used to sell tobacco to adolescents Developmental approaches to understanding media effects on individuals Developmental approaches Developmental tasks approach Children face different developmental tasks at different ages, and the effects of media violence are likely to vary depending on these tasks Basic idea: in order for a person to adapt, there are developmental challenges that must be met. Risk and resilience approach Focuses on differential life experiences among children that may put them at risk for future maladaptation (risk factors) and the factors that serve to protect children from this risk exposure (protective factors) Why we may see greater effects of media violence for some children than others Exposure to media violence = risk factor Some children may have additional risk factors that enhance media effects Some children may have protective factors that lower media effects Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 33  Cumulative risk approach: the more risks encountered by a child, the greater the likelihood of problematic functioning Digital youth: the role of media in development Developmental task: task that arises at or about a certain period between adolescence and full adulthood, marked by exploration, self-focus and sense of possibility. 3 key developmental challenges 1. Developing sexuality The internet provides acces to information on sex, relationships and sexual health, which can be helpful Enables sexual communication and exploration, like sexting and sharing explicit content, but poses risks such as exposure to pornography, sexual solicitation, potential harm 2. Forming an identity Allow adolescents to experiment with identities and connect with supportive communities Anonymity can lead to cyberbullying and identity-based harassment 3. Establishing intimacy Digital communication tools allow adolescents to stay connected with friends and maintain existing relationships Questions about whether online interactions strengthen or weaken the quality of relationships Co-construction model Model that emphasizes the reciprocal influence between online and offline worlds. Reciprocal influence: the interplay between online and offline worlds, showing how adolescents’ offline experiences, values and relationships shape their online interactions and vice versa. Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 34  Developmental considerations: the model urges researchers to examine how digital media intersects with adolescents’ developmental goals, emphasizing individual differences Media effects: an overview Evergreen theories: theories that have remained influential over time Cultivation theory Media consumption shapes perceptions of social reality Initially focused on tv violence Agenda-setting theory Media influences the salience of issues on the public agenda Diffusion of innovations theory Explains how new ideas and technologies spread through society Uses and gratifications theory How individuals actively use media to fulfill needs and goals. Social learning/social cognitive theory How media influences behavior through observation and modelling. Media system dependency theory The more individuals rely on media to meet their needs, the greater its potential influence Key paradigms in contemporary media effects theories Selectivity: individuals actively choose the media they consume based on their needs, preferences and beliefs Various factors that contribute to selective exposure, including individual differences, social influences, and algorithm-driven recommendations in digital platforms Transactionality: media use and effects are reciprocally related. Media use can influence outcomes, and those outcomes can shape media use. Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 35  Conditionality: Media effects are not uniform: they vary depending on individual characteristics, social contexts and other factors Why we can’t stop: the impact of rewarding elements in videogames 3 types of rewards Random rewards: rewards delivered on random moments, creating unpredictable reinforcement (loot boxes) Contingencies rewards: consistent with consistent engagement like daily log-in bonuses Social rewards: gained through social interaction within the game (building online communities and team play) Meta achievement rewards: long term process indicators like achievement points (were not significantly associated with problematic gaming behavior) Individual vulnerabilities Attentional disorder Moderated the effect of contingencies rewards on problematic gaming Adolescents with attentional problems are susceptible to the pull of rewards for continuous engagement Bc they struggle with sustained attention in other contexts Social competence Moderated the effect of social rewards on problematic gaming Adolescents struggling in real-life social interactions might be more drawn to games offering social rewards, seeking the sense of acceptance and belonging Impulsivity and hyperactivity Moderating effects of contingencies and meta-achievements Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 36  The role of virtual communities in gambling and gaming behaviors Distinct Types of Online Communities Gambling communities: Exist mainly outside games (forums, discussion boards), sharing experiences, strategies, and offering support. Some in- game interactions occur (e.g., online poker, social casino games). Gaming communities: Primarily embedded within games (e.g., MMORPG guilds) but also extend to external forums. Influence on Behavior Gambling communities: Can normalize gambling and encourage risk- taking but also provide protective benefits (e.g., feedback, support for problem gamblers). Gaming communities: Encourage continued gaming and spending on in- game purchases, often without checks to prevent excessive spending. Social Interaction and Money Use Gambling: Less social interaction correlates with more severe gambling problems, while socializing during gambling can act as a protective factor. Gaming: Stronger identification with gaming communities leads to increased spending on virtual items, while isolated players tend to spend less. Shared Norms and Identity Both gambling and gaming communities shape players’ identities and establish norms that members must follow to gain acceptance. Theoretical Implications Virtual communities fulfill social identity needs and influence behavior through norms and peer influence. Gambling and gaming require distinct theoretical models due to their different social and financial dynamics. Practical Implications Prevention & Treatment: Recovery-oriented gambling communities can help problem gamblers, while gaming interventions should address strong social bonds that encourage spending. Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 37  Game Design: Developers should consider how in-game communities and rewards promote spending and should include features to encourage awareness and limit excessive spending. Parental & Educator Awareness: Education on the social aspects of gambling and gaming is crucial to fostering healthier online habits. Virtual communities significantly shape gambling and gaming behaviors, with both positive and negative effects. A nuanced approach is needed in prevention, treatment, and game design to balance risks and benefits. More research is required to understand the complex social dynamics influencing problematic behaviors. Oh me, oh my! Identity development through games Identity vs role confusion Stage that occurs during adolescence that involves a process of trying on different roles and identities to figure out one’s true self How identity development intersects with video game experiences Form: descriptive roles (religious beliefs, occupations) Function: offers individuals a sense of direction, purpose and continuity Process: involves the lifelong evolution of identity Video games present a space for self-concept exploration without altering real-life identity Building on self-discrepancy theory: Players align their in-game avatars with their ideal selves, reducing the gap between real and ideal self-perceptions Merging with the avatar: Players ‘merge’ with their avatar’s identity during gameplay, shifting self- perceptions and social perceptions (atractiveness, success) Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 38  Enhances identity development through the interactive nature of video games Degrees of freedom in virtual roleplaying Low Freedom: Games with pre-determined avatars offer limited opportunities for identity exploration. Players primarily connect with the avatar through empathy and parasocial relationships. Moderate Freedom: Games allow for some customization or influence over the story, but many elements are still pre-set. High Freedom: Games provide extensive avatar customization and allow players to make meaningful choices that shape the game's narrative. These games offer the richest opportunities for identity exploration. Identifying as vs identifying with Identifying as a character: experiencing the game world through the avatar’s perspective Identifying with a character: feeling a connection or similarity to a predetermined character The identity exploration facilitated by games can have carryover effects → by experimenting with different traits and behaviors in a safe, virtual environment, players might gain insights into their values, beliefs, and how they want to present themselves in the offline world A survey of expert views on misinformation Factors influencing belief and sharing of misinformation Identity: people tend to align themselves with information that confirms their existing social and political identities, even if it’s inaccurate Conformation bias: People seek out and interpret information in a way that reinforces their preconceived beliefs, leading to selective acceptance of Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 39  information Motivated reasoning: emotional and psychological motivations can lead individuals to process information in a biased manner, favoring information that supports their desired outcomes or beliefs Lack of trust in institutions: when trust in traditional sources of informations, such as government agencies and media outlets, erodes, individuals may be more susceptible to alternative narratives, including misinformation Factors that received comparatively less agreement as determinants of misinformation belief and sharing were (less influential) Repeated exposure Inattention Lack of cognitive reflection (insufficient critical thinking) Lack of digital media literacy Lack of education Lack of acces to reliable news Thinking clearly about misinformation 3 key dimensions Topic: subject matter of the misinformation Type: truthiness, sytemic lies, bullshit, and shock-and-chaos Depth: misinformation has a bigger impact when it’s shared widely or repeated often Students’ civic online reasoning: a national portrait Many struggle to evaluate online information critically Study highlights the need for civic online reasoning: skills to help people judge online information and tell facts from falsehood Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 40  Most students lack critical online evaluation skills Students need to learn lateral reading: checking sources and investigating biases beyond the surface of a website Predicting adolescents’ problematic social media use from profiles of internet-specific-parenting practices and general parenting dimensions 3 parenting profiles Limiting and less supportive Approach: strict internet rules, low emotional support, little autonomy Effects: rebellion, secrecy, risky social media use as teens seek freedom and connection elsewhere Tolerant and supportive Approach: minimal internet rules, high emotional support, lots of autonomy Effects: encourages open communication and trust, reducing the likelihood of problematic social media use Limiting and supportive Approach: clear internet rules combined with emotional support and respect for autonomy Effects: balances boundaries with trust, helping teens follow rules while fostering open dialogue and reducing online risks Adolescents in the Tolerant and supportive profile consistently showed the lowest levels of problematic social media use across all four waves. Adolescents in the Limiting and supportive profile demonstrated lower levels of problematic social media use than those in the Limiting and less supportive profile, particularly in later waves. This suggests that internet restrictions might be more effective when combined with a supportive general parenting context, where adolescents feel understood and respected. Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 41  The study found no significant change in overall problematic social media use over the 1.5 years, indicating its persistence over time. The findings challenge the assumption that strict internet restrictions are the most effective way to prevent problematic social media use. Instead, they emphasize the importance of a supportive general parenting environment that fosters warmth, open communication, and autonomy. The study highlights the need to address the underlying psychological needs that might drive adolescents to excessive social media use. Prevention efforts should target adolescents living in less supportive parenting contexts and educate parents about the importance of a positive parenting climate. Conclusion: more nuanced approach that prioritizes a supportive family environment over strict control Parenting and problematic social media use General parenting: Positive parent-child relationships and positive family climate are linked to lower levels of PSMU Feeling closer to parents, open family communication, supporting family environment= less likely to exhibit addictive-like social media behaviors General parenting practices (particularly those characterized by affection, responsiveness and demandingness are less associated with PSMU Inconsistency, psychological control, rejection, overprotection, harshness = higher PSMU Internet-specific parenting: Restrictive mediation, focussing on rules about when, where and how long social media can be used = lower PSMU Reactive restriction: interrupting adolescnets’ social media use = higher PSMU Active mediation: parental support and huidance of social media use = mixed results Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 42  Parental phubbing: the act of parents using their own devices during parent- child interactions = higher PSMU Dus: Early intervention is crucial Parents need to be mindful of their own digital behavior Social media and well-being Social media itself is not inherently good or bad: its impact on well-being depends on how and why people use it, and who is using it Self-presentation on social media Online profiles can boost self-esteem, but also fuels social comparison that lead to envy and distress New ways to share emotions, which can enhance well-being through social support but can also harm others through cyberbullying, trolling and the spread of moral outrage Dus: Need for a more nuances and process-orientated approach to studying social media’s impact on well-being Concepts: Active social media use: Using social media to interact with others, like chatting or sharing posts. Bonding social capital: Benefits we get from close relationships, like family or close friends. Bridging social capital: Benefits we get from weaker connections, like acquaintances or strangers. Cross-sectional methods: Research that looks at data collected at one specific time. Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 43  Cyberbullying: Using digital tools to purposely hurt or bully others who can’t easily defend themselves. Emotional support: Showing care and concern for someone. Experience sampling: A method that tracks people’s behaviors and feelings several times a day over a few days. Fear of missing out (FOMO): Feeling anxious about missing important events, which can lead to stress and compulsive social media use. Informational support: Giving advice or helpful information. Jingle-jangle problem: Confusion caused by using different words for the same thing (e.g., "social media" and "online networks") or the same word for different things. Longitudinal design: Research that collects data from the same people multiple times over a period. Meta-analysis: A study that combines results from many other studies to find overall patterns. Moral outrage: Feeling angry or shocked about something you think is morally wrong. Passive social media use: Browsing or observing on social media without interacting. Perceived social support: Believing you have people to rely on for help. Received social support: Actually getting help from others. Social comparisons: Comparing yourself to others to evaluate yourself. Social media: Online platforms for sharing and connecting with others. Social media platform: Specific sites like Facebook or Twitter where people share and connect. Trolling: Posting things online just to provoke or upset others. Upward social comparisons: Comparing yourself to someone who is doing better than you. Well-being: How happy and satisfied you are with your life. It can also include feelings like depression, loneliness, or anxiety Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 44  Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health Many inconsistencies across studies Small to moderate associations between social networking site use and adolescent ill-being but also with higher levels of well-being Ill- being and well-being are not simply opposite ends of a spectrum and should be investigated independently Emphasizes the complexity of the relationship between SMU and adolescent mental health The association between social media use and hazardous alcohol use among youths lack of research on how different types of sicla media might contribute to hazardous alcohol use among young people globally User-oriented social media Facebook and instagram Based on people’s relationships and content is mainly shared among users. Users typically have a visible identity Content-oriented social media Youtube or twitter Establish networks around users’ shared interests People are mostly anonymous Facebook: daily use = higher hazardous alcohol use Instagram: daily use = higher hazardous alcohol use Instant messaging: daily use = hazardous alcohol use Youtube: daily use= lower hazardous alcohol use Twitter: daily use = higher hazardous alcohol use Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 45  Young adults may be more susceptible to the influence of social media on alcohol consumption, possibly due to increased acces to alcohol More likely to explore identities, lifestyles and new habits Eventually more likely to engage in risky behaviors and succumb to peer pressure Social media environments where people actively share self-images, particularly related to drinking and partying might contribute to the normalization and spread of hazardous alcool use among ypung people User oriented platforms (emphasize social interaction and user-generated content) may be more conductive to the spread of alcohol related behaviors than content-related platforms Like to drink: dynamics of liking alcohol posts and effects on alcohol use Alcohol posts received more likes than non-alcohol posts Reciprocity: users were more likely to like posts from individuals who had previously likes their posts Gender: females received more likes and were more likely to like other females’ posts Males more likely to like males’ posts Strong association between liking alcohol-related posts and increased alcohol consumption on the same day Youth culture in a digital world tentamen 46