ABSTRACT
In conclusion, I have shown in this book how a range of risks and opportunities for young people online can be analyzed theoretically in terms of those that arise from the identity that they adopt online, the content that they consume and the types of relationships that they engage in. Although there is not strong empirical evidence that the general adolescent population is suffering more mental health difficulties as a result of online risks, we know that adolescence is a vulnerable time and that teen culture is changing radically, meaning that it would be foolish to dismiss all fears about young people’s wellbeing as mere moral panic. Recommendations to academic researchers in the field include developing more theoretically driven hypotheses and longitudinal process models, and focusing on how to help people who feel they are using the internet in problematic ways. Some brief recommendations for parents, policymakers, and industry are also outlined. I finish the chapter by analyzing some of the ways in which the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected the dynamics of online risks and opportunities (in areas such as screen time, loneliness, and distance learning) and other ways in which these are likely to change in the future – for example, with the switch to more video-based modalities of online interaction.
