Engaging in various forms of social media is a routine activity that
research has shown to benefit children and adolescents by enhancing
communication, social connection, and even technical skills.1 Social
media sites such as Facebook and MySpace offer multiple daily opportunities
for connecting with friends, classmates, and people with
shared interests. During the last 5 years, the number of preadolescents
and adolescents using such sites has increased dramatically.
According to a recent poll, Seventy-five percent of teenagers now own cell phones, and 25% use
them for social media, 54% use them for texting, and 24% use them for
instant messaging.Thus, a large part of this generation’s social and
emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell
phones.