46% of Teens Influenced by Expectations of Other Teens

Teen dating, relationships, and even social behavior in general is largely influenced by social media in a recent study by McAfee. How many teens are affected, how are they influenced and to what degree do they feel that way?

In a recent survey about teens, ages 13 to 17, McAfee found that 46% of teens feel the Internet influences what their boyfriend or girlfriend expects from them in terms of relationship behavior. Why and how is social media specifically influencing teen relationship norms? Well, the points fo contact and exposure are two places to start in social media.

This generation of teens are growing up in a world where social media pervades almost every facet of their life. Almost a quarter of all teens, 23%, own smartphones with Internet access, where they can access any iteration of social media, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, at any time.

Most teens are now what we call “Digital Natives”, meaning they’re used to be connected all the time and feel “naked” without technology that connects them to everyone else. How could social media not influence teens’ lives when it’s that pervasive?

Teens feel pressured to imitate what their peers are doing, especially when dating. They are influenced by and forming social norms projected through social media.  Despite the perceived social norms, expectancies, and behavior of their peers, teens feel uncomfortable and pressured by the influence on their relationship behavior by social media.

46% of teens said “yes” that the Internet influences what their boyfriend or girlfriend expects from them in terms of relationship behavior.

Here’s what some teens had to say about the subject,

“The internet portrays women in a certain way, a way that gets them the man they want. Girls are pressured to have this appearance in their online personas to attract who they want.”

But the influence isn’t gender specific, while a greater emphasis is placed on teen girls to behave a certain way  in order to “fit in”, this negative influence is more general. One male teen states,

“They want me to be more outgoing, do things others like to do even if it may be wrong.”

Social networks like Facebook, can push teens to behave in a way contradictory to their upbringing. There is an overbearing pressure on teens, a group already influenced strongly by their peers, to conform.

“Everyone has to be “mega sexy” to fit in completely. It’s hard to fit in, so I don’t.”

What teens see online can largely affect the way they develop social and behavioral norms as they grow up. Controlling what your teen sees online and monitoring their social activities could help prevent negative influences from affecting your child.

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