According to psychosocial development, Adolescence is one of the eight stages an individual goes through towards full development. An adolescent according to the World Health Organization is an individual who is between the ages of ten to nineteen years. It is at this age where individuals are very attached to their peers and role models. They, however, have no defined role or identity of themselves in the community hence very delicate to handle (Shapiro, 2014). At this stage, individuals are very social and find all means to stay connected to their friends mostly those outside family ties. Therefore, social networking sites and dating are very popular in adolescents.
Dating Versus Social Networking Sites
Dating
Adolescent dating is common mostly in western culture where individuals even have family support. Such a phenomenon is however not evident in all adolescents and has little contribution to normal and healthy growth. Dating mostly among high school students is on the rise and most adolescents feel it’s important to maintain such relationships. Hence, parents should ensure that their children dating life is supervised to avoid negative consequences.
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Social Networking Sites
On the other hand, social networking contributes greatly to normal adolescent growth. Given that it is at this stage in life where an individual doesn’t want to be associated much with family members makes it important for them to have friends. With the current technological advancements, individuals do not require physical contact to communicate rather they can utilize websites. Some sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have elevated socializing among adolescents even those separated by geographical borders (Shapiro, 2014). Such attachments are vital to ensure that teenagers are sharing experiences and not sinking into depression and loneliness.
Personal Opinion
Social networking sites may be addictive to adolescents but help in their mental growth more than dating does. Furthermore, social networking has also enhanced dating among adolescent due to available communication channels. It is, therefore, more logical to encourage social networking site which can be used to share important educational knowledge than dating. Parents should advise their adolescent children to focus more on making friends and wait to date in their early adulthood.
Substantial Evidence
According to the book “Fundamental Changes of Adolescence”, it is evident that individuals at this age are very sensitive to what they perceive. Adolescents often develop self egocentrism which is portrayed through imaginary audience and personal fable. In personal fable the adolescent believes that their experiences are exceptional while in imaginary audience they tend to believe everyone should pay attention to their actions. These self-conscious behaviors require to be shared among other teenagers who can relate hence the importance of social networking sites. If such adolescent don’t share with friend, they may develop aggressive behavior thinking no one understands them.
Reference
Shapiro, L. A. S., & Margolin, G. (2014). Growing up wired: Social networking sites and adolescent psychosocial development. Clinical child and family psychology review, 17(1), 1-18.
