Online Self‐Presentation in Adolescence

Adolescence is the most prevalent age group that uses communication technologies, such as texting and social media. Adolescents are drawn to online communication because of its usefulness for addressing their developmental dilemmas. With communication technologies being ubiquitous in the lives of teens, self‐presentation has become complex. The features of communication technologies or affordances allow youths more time to construct and continuously alter how others view them, which can change the trajectory of their identity development. Youths have more time to meticulously edit their online self‐presentations but must do so in a way that is not disingenuous; adolescents must walk a fine line between authenticity and enhancing the self to create a good impression and avoid negative judgment. A growing body of research investigates adolescents' self‐presentation on social media with attention to how social media help them confront developmental hurdles, how affordances of social media shape their self‐presentation, the truthfulness of their self‐presentation, and how adolescents choose photos to post to social media to communicate who they are. More empirical work is needed to identify what predicts differences in self‐presentation as well as how different self‐presentation leads to healthy or unhealthy behaviors and psychosocial well‐being.