Editing Adolescence (section)

====Social networking====

In the 2000s, social networking sites proliferated and a high proportion of adolescents used them. As of 2012, 73% of 12–17 year olds reported having at least one social networking profile;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Reich|first=Stephanie M.|author2=Kaveri Subrahmanyam |author3=Guadalupe Espinoza|title=Friending, IMing, and Hanging Out Face-to-Face: Overlap in Adolescents' Online and Offline Social Networks|journal=Developmental Psychology|date=March 2012|volume=48|issue=2|pages=356–368|doi=10.1037/a0026980|pmid=22369341}}</ref> two-thirds (68%) of teens texted every day, half (51%) visited social networking sites daily, and 11% sent or received tweets at least once every day. More than a third (34%) of teens visited their main social networking site several times a day. One in four (23%) teens were "heavy" social media users, meaning they used at least two different types of social media each and every day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teens are avid, daily users of social media|url=http://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life/key-finding-1%3A-teens-are-avid,-daily-users-of-social-media|work=Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives|publisher=Common Sense Media|access-date=December 6, 2012|archive-date=May 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515235615/https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life/key-finding-1%3A-teens-are-avid,-daily-users-of-social-media|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Although research has been inconclusive, some findings have indicated that electronic communication negatively affects adolescents' social development, replaces face-to-face communication, impairs their social skills, and can sometimes lead to unsafe interaction with strangers. A 2015 review reported that "adolescents lack awareness of strategies to cope with cyberbullying, which has been consistently associated with an increased likelihood of depression."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hamm|first1=MP|last2=Newton|first2=AS|last3=Chisholm|first3=A|last4=Shulhan|first4=J|last5=Milne|first5=A|last6=Sundar|first6=P|last7=Ennis|first7=H|last8=Scott|first8=SD|last9=Hartling|first9=L|title=Prevalence and Effect of Cyberbullying on Children and Young People: A Scoping Review of Social Media Studies|journal=JAMA Pediatrics|date=June 22, 2015|pmid=26098362|doi=10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0944|volume=169|issue=8|pages=770–7}}</ref> Furthermore, in 2020, 32% of adolescent girls that use Instagram reported feeling worse about their body image after using the platform.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-09-15|title=Facebook under fire over secret teen research|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58570353|access-date=2021-10-03}}</ref> Studies have shown differences in the ways the internet negatively impacts adolescents' social functioning. Online socializing tends to make girls particularly vulnerable, while socializing in [[Internet café]]s seems only to affect boys' academic achievement. However, other research suggests that Internet communication brings friends closer and is beneficial for [[Social anxiety|socially anxious]] teens, who find it easier to interact socially online.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Chen|first=Su-Yen|author2=Fu, Yang-Chih|title=Internet use and academic achievement in early adolescence|journal=Adolescence|year=2009|volume=44|issue=176|pages=797–812|url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/47715864|access-date=October 4, 2012|pmid=20432601}}</ref>