Human development is the physical, psychological, and biological growth of a human being throughout their lifespan. The process starts from conception and runs through infancy, childhood, adolescence, and finally, adulthood. Every phase of life has a different label and set of developmental tasks. Each developmental stage has its demands and opportunities, which determine how we experience later changes. Human development is multidimensional in that several aspects change (Cingel et al., 2014) . However, physical development is the most apparent form of development, other elements such as emotions and the mind change. There are several theoretical explanations for human development (Doble, 2019). Developmental scientists have done a lot of research on individual progress up to adulthood. The theories are essential in the compilation and the interpretation of human development studies and fill gaps in our knowledge about a given phenomenon and make predictions on what has not yet been discovered. This paper explores David Elkind’s theory of adolescent egocentrism and how its two constructs, the imaginary audience and personal fable, have become quite conspicuous in adolescents’ lives in the digital age characterized by social networking sites and apps.
Part 1: Literature Review
Dr. David Elkind developed the term adolescent egocentrism after studying adolescents from 11 years to 18 years. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development typically starts at age 12, whereby young adolescents develop the ability to analyze their thoughts and conceptualize other people’s ideas (Horne, 2020). His study focused on their perception of the world as they undergo the cognitive update compared to adults. He discovered that the adolescents were unable to differentiate their perceptions from those of others. They believed that the views of other individuals’ ideas except their own were false.
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Adolescent egocentrism is the state in which most teenagers believe that the world revolves around them. Egocentrism emerges because adolescents fail to differentiate between what others think about them and what they feel about themselves (Horne, 2020). They assume that the entire world is obsessed with their behavior and appearance as they are with themselves. For some, this leads to inflated confidence, while for some, it manifests as low self-esteem. The egocentrism in teenagers is in two constructs “the imaginary audience” and “the personal fable. “For the imaginary audience, the teenagers have a strong belief that they are the center of attention, making some of them struggle to socialize with others as they hold on to the belief that their peers are keeping track and judging their every action. For some, the reverse might happen, causing them to be aggressive and loud with regular explosive displays. The adolescents are always in a competition to outdo each other and even go as far as creating falsehoods to help them appear a certain way. The personal fable is the unrealistic state in which adolescents view themselves and the world around them. They tend to believe that they are special or unique, omnipotent and invulnerable, and therefore no one can understand them. The personal fable has been linked to risky behavior such as vandalism, believing that the consequences are harsher on others compared to oneself.
Part 2
In the recent past, there has been a surge of interactive media platforms which young people have rapidly adopted. The sites are used for various activities, including sharing information, developing a coherent identity, and interacting with peers (Weinstein, 2017). Social networking sites are characterized by the constant yearning to see and be seen by peers (Popovac & Hadlington, 2019) . Adolescent interaction with the sites is different from that of adults due to the heightened emotional responsiveness to peers’ presence. Many adolescents use social media to provide critical teenage developmental tasks. They use social media for impression management among their peers.
Adolescent egocentrism has been associated with some online habits such as uploading images and Facebook status updates (Cingel et al., 2014). Imaginary audience ideation emerged as a strong predictor for self-disclosure and impression management on Facebook. Adolescents who had higher imaginary audience ideation were found to be frequent selfie posters. The belief that one is being monitored constantly creates the need for them to play up to a constant audience hoping that it brings forth positive feedback and likes. A more extensive online presence and audience may increase social standing among peers, adding to both risk behaviors and social opportunities (Popovac & Hadlington, 2019) . Invulnerability, which is linked to personal fable, leads to increased risk-taking among teenagers due to the belief that one can manipulate the risks to their advantage. However, the remaining personal fable constructs predict more safety online. They lead to greater control and a higher sense of individual distinctiveness, enabling teens to navigate risks more effectively.
Conclusion
The constructs of adolescent egocentrism: imaginary audience and personal fable are significant predictors of online risk-taking. They intensify adolescent involvement in digital communication. As they explore identity possibilities, adolescents try on roles by sharing pieces of information and self to be seen and to connect. They also increase the likelihood of the adolescents hurting due to negative online experiences such as vocalized judgment. Vulnerable adolescents may suffer the pain of social exclusion, worrying about what to think, post, or say, thus stalling any progression. Teenagers may struggle to find their place in society due to the conflicting social media contexts during image formation. In some areas, social media has turned the imaginary audience real; for some, the fable has been collective. This is true for situations that posts are made to belong. The trick is to temper the need for belonging with the need to seek individuality. It is crucial for parents, teachers, and other adults in teen’s lives to cultivate a growth mindset to help them establish the skills and resources required to make wise choices and gain favorable outcomes from their adolescence.
References
Cingel, D., Wartella, E., & Krcmar, M. (2014). The role of adolescent development in social networking site use: Theory and evidence. Journal of Youth Development , 9 (1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2014.70
Doble, K. (2019). Social media’s influence on adolescent identity (Undergraduate). Lesley University.
Horne, C. (2020). What is adolescent egocentrism, and how can I deal with it as a parent? | Betterhelp . Betterhelp.com. Retrieved 20 March 2021, from https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/adolescence/what-is-adolescent-egocentrism-and-how-can-i-deal-with-it-as-a-parent/.
Popovac, M., & Hadlington, L. (2019). Exploring the role of egocentrism and fear of missing out on online risk behaviours among adolescents in South Africa. International Journal Of Adolescence And Youth , 25 (1), 276-291. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2019.1617171
Weinstein, Emily. (2017). Influences of social media use on adolescent psychosocial well-being: ‘OMG’ or ‘NBD’?. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
