Education for a Digital World

Chapter 2

Beyond the Classroom Walls: A Review of the

Evidence on Social

Networking Sites and Youth

Anton van Hamel and Rocci Luppicini

INTRODUCTION

In the public imagination, social networking sites (SNS) have been branded as a

source of problems ranging from teenaged narcissism to replacing face time with close

friends to abduction by sexual predators. Yet despite the impulse on part of parents,

educators and policymakers to curb these risks, there is comparatively little empirical

research on how SNS is incorporated into the everyday lives of those 25 and under,

and the early findings are far from frightening. This research review compiles the ex-

tant, evidence-based literature on SNS from the USA and abroad to summarize what

is known about SNS and youth and point out gaps in the research base. The research

is discussed in terms of education in an increasingly digital world and the challenges

and opportunities this poses for educators.

T

he Challenge of Education in a Digital World

The

most popular SNS frequented by youth have been designed with a mostly rec-

reational use in mind. Nonetheless, the technology is relevant to educators. First and

foremost, SNS use appears to leap upwards for certain age groups defined around

entry into high-school and university (Lenhart, 2007). Secondly, even though the main

use for SNS among students is for leisure and socializing, there are trends which sug-

gest the technology may become an important tool in adults’ professional lives. This

review is meant to give an overview of what is currently known about youth and SNS

in order to dispel myths and fears so that educators can begin innovating ways to de-

ploy the technology productively.

Youth and S

NS

Although the stages of adolesce

nce and emerging adulthood are periods of intense

psychological growth and development, they are distinguished from early childhood

development by their lack of linearity and their sensitivity to structuration (Coté, 2009;

Kuhn, 2009; Smetana & Villalobos, 2009). While biology determines much of the

intellectual growth of young children across cultures, by the time they reach ado-

lescence, pathways of development diverge. In contrast to theories of universal de-

velopment during adolescence proposed by Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlburg, empirical

research has failed to document a single, predictable trajectory for development during

this period. Indeed, many adults never achieve certain milestones like full formal oper-

ational thinking or complete identity achievement (Coté, 2009; Kuhn, 2009), yet they