When Emotions Guide Ado lescents’ Media Use
Young people who feel rejected b y peers are more likely to experience anger and frustration. As a res ult, they are more likely to look for antisocial and risky content on media such as YouTube and TikTok, says Xanthe Plaisier in her thesis .
Plaisier investigated how adolescents are attr acted to media with antisocial, risky and norm-breaking behaviour, su ch as violence, bullying, drug use, abusive language and sexually tra nsgressive behaviour. "I wanted to better understand for whom and und er what circumstances media can have harmful effects."
"Young p eople grow up in a world full of media in which such content is easil y accessible via platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. Short snippets from higher age rated series, such as Squid Game, and user-created v ideos depicting dangerous stunts, pranks or illegal activities, are o ften shared among peers. This raises concerns about possible conseque nces for behaviour and moral development."
Blurring mor al norms
“My research shows that rejection by friend s blurs moral norms: adolescents who feel rejected by peers and are a ngry or frustrated as a result, are more likely to find transgressive behaviour in the media acceptable and seek it out more often. Young adults don’t show this effect. This indicates that it is specific t o young people in the developmental phase of adolescence.
“Th e social environment plays a role in this: young people adjust their media preferences to the judgments of peers. However, rejected young people ignore negative reactions and continue to find antisocial beha viour acceptable, even when peers disapprove of it. Furthermore, it a ppears that the type of emotion and how young people regulate that em otion are important: anger processed by blaming others reinforces the preference for antisocial media, while self-reproach does not have t his effect. In short, emotions and their processing strongly influenc e why young people find cross-border media attractive.
"For par ents, teachers and youth workers, this means that guidance on media u se is important, especially in moments of emotional tension. It is no t about forbidding everything, but about teaching young people to loo k critically and to regulate emotions. In this way, conscious and hea lthy media use can be stimulated."
More information on the thesis
DESCRIPTION: Young people who feel rejected by peers are more likely to experience anger and frustration. As a result, they are mor e likely to look for antisocial and risky content on media such as Yo uTube and TikTok, says Xanthe Plaisier in her thesis. Plaisier investigated how adolescents are attracted to media with ant isocial, risky and norm-breaking behaviour, such as violence, bullyin g, drug use, abusive language and sexually transgressive behaviour. " I wanted to better understand for whom and under what circumstances m edia can have harmful effects." "Young people grow up in a world full of media in which such content is easily accessible via platforms su ch as YouTube and TikTok. Short snippets from higher age rated series , such as Squid Game, and user-created videos depicting dangerous stu nts, pranks or illegal activities, are often shared among peers. This raises concerns about possible consequences for behaviour and moral development." Blurring moral norms “My research sh ows that rejection by friends blurs moral norms: adolescents who feel rejected by peers and are angry or frustrated as a result, are more likely to find transgressive behaviour in the media acceptable and se ek it out more often. Young adults don’t show this effect. This ind icates that it is specific to young people in the developmental phase of adolescence. “The social environment plays a role in this: youn g people adjust their media preferences to the judgments of peers. Ho wever, rejected young people ignore negative reactions and continue t o find antisocial behaviour acceptable, even when peers disapprove of it. Furthermore, it appears that the type of emotion and how young p eople regulate that emotion are important: anger processed by blaming others reinforces the preference for antisocial media, while self-re proach does not have this effect. In short, emotions and their proces sing strongly influence why young people find cross-border media attr active. "For parents, teachers and youth workers, this means that gui dance on media use is important, especially in moments of emotional t ension. It is not about forbidding everything, but about teaching you ng people to look critically and to regulate emotions. In this way, c onscious and healthy media use can be stimulated." More information o n the thesis When Emotions Guide Adolescents’ Media Use END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR