Psychosocial consequences of adolescents’ online communication

As a crucial part of psychosocial development, adolescents need to acquire adequate levels of self-esteem and social competence. Both are largely shaped in adolescents’ social interactions with peers, of which a substantial part takes place through online communication. The overarching aim of this dissertation was to investigate possible consequences of adolescents’ online communication for their psychosocial development. More specifically, this dissertation examined (1) the longitudinal relationships between online communication and social competence and self-esteem, (2) the underlying processes that may explain these relationships, and (3) individual differences and precursors that may predict which adolescents are mostly likely to experience positive or negative consequences of their online communication. The findings suggest predominantly positive relations between online interactions and psychosocial development. Specifically, online communication can be a way for adolescents to practice social skills that can be used in offline situations. In addition, online communication seems positively related to adolescents’ self-esteem through the positive feedback they receive. Finally, while most adolescents receive predominantly positive online feedback, when they do receive negative feedback, online communication stimulates more assertive responses, which can increase self-esteem. However, a small group of adolescents may experience negative consequences of negative online feedback, including boys, older adolescents, those high in sensation seeking, low in inhibitory control, and high in peer problems and family conflict. The findings of this dissertation provide insight into how adolescents can benefit from online communication for their psychosocial development, and help intervention strategies to target adolescents who are most at risk of negative consequences.