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Internet Effects

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

Adolescents’ extensive use of Internet communication and the uncertainty about its consequences call for an integrative perspective that helps to understand both the appeal of Internet communication and its risks and opportunities. The aim of this essay is to theorize, and if possible, substantiate by evidence that both the appeal of Internet communication and its psychosocial implications can be attributed to enhanced controllability of online self-presentation and self-disclosure. Self-presentation and self-disclosure are vital for at least two important components of psychosocial development: identity and intimacy. This essay will review the research on the effects of online self-presentation and self-disclosure on adolescents’ identity and intimacy development. Finally, it discusses some shortcomings of existing research as well as possibilities for future research.

Adolescents’ Internet Use

In most Western countries, adolescents are the defining users of Internet...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Patti M. Valkenburg & Jochen Peter

Authors
  1. Patti M. Valkenburg
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  2. Jochen Peter
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Correspondence to Patti M. Valkenburg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Valkenburg, P.M., Peter, J. (2011). Internet Effects. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_73

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_73

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1694-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1695-2

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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