ABSTRACT
Digital media are digital and often have the characteristics of being manipulated, networkable, dense, compressible, and interactive. The emergence of new, digital technologies “signals a potentially radical shift of who is in control of information, experience and resources”. The nature of digital media providing rich data, including images or videos, may provide new opportunities for users to observe or model others’ behaviors. Social learning theory as a theory has interesting promise to understand the influence of digital media, including visual and video data, as influencing attitudes and behaviors. Affordances can be a mechanism for understanding digital media, particularly in the area of social media. Most were developed to consider communication and media phenomenon in an analog environment and were then appropriated to consider digital and social media. Social media platforms that allow teens to present themselves through photos, videos, text, and creative arts promote the exploration and formation of a maturing identity and self-image.
