Understanding the neuroscience behind the peer relationship among adolescents in social media

Abstract

Social media have become an essential component of teenage life, from early adolescence through the college years, the peer relations among adolescents are, at least in part, living their social lives online. Adolescents are co-constructing their relationships and identities in the digital and offline worlds, and the distinction between offline and online relationships likely exists only in the minds of adults and not in adolescents. Many adolescents immerse themselves in social media, so ignoring its role in their social lives is not an option, and trying to limit their engagement with social media will likely not be productive. In India, it was estimated that there are 376 million social network users from 2015 to 2018 with two-thirds of Internet users belonging to the age group of 12-29 years. This study acts as a forerunner for researchers to embrace the study of adolescents’ engagement with peers via social media, by understanding the neuroscience behind it.  Overall, the transformation framework represents a departure from the prevailing approaches of prior peer relations work and a new model for understanding peer relations in the social media context. Thus, it suggests the need to develop safe spaces for online interactions to improve the quality of their relationships with their friends and partners.