#Like-What Are Adolescents Experiences Of Using Social Media?

Adolescent engagement with digital communication, especially social media, has risen
in recent years. Given this, and a lack of psychological exploration of the topic, the
current study set out to understand the experience of adolescents using social media.
Six participants (three male and three female aged 14) shared their experiences through
semi-structured interviews. They were all year 10 students in an Academy in southeast
England. The resulting data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological
Analysis (IPA).
Eight group superordinate themes were identified. These highlighted a variety of
positive and negative experiences. The themes were explored in relation to conceptual
models and latent psychological factors that could be motivating mechanisms driving
the use of social media. Comparisons made between these findings and existing
literature demonstrated a need for more ‘bottom-up’ qualitative research to understand
adolescent social media use.
The findings highlighted a number of areas relating to professional practice with
adolescents using social media. There is a particular need for dialogue between these
social media users and the personal and professional networks of people who support
them. Implications for practice are discussed.