ABSTRACT
Adolescents’ use of social media (e.g., text messaging, online video games, and social networking sites) as a method of interacting with peers has become increasingly ubiquitous in recent decades. Adoption of these technologies by teens as a primary mode of communicating with each other has been accompanied by many developmental costs and benefits. In this chapter, some of the unique ways in which peer relations and adolescent development are affected by digital communications platforms are explored. Then, ways that digital communications technologies can promote healthy or unhealthy peer relations that either support or undermine healthy adolescent development are considered. Finally, recommendations for how teachers and schools can approach adolescents’ use of these technologies to promote healthy development are discussed.
