Youth 2.0: Social Media and Adolescence

This book grasps the duality between opportunities and risks which arise from the growing popularity of social media with children and adolescents. By focusing on this subject from a multidisciplinary perspective, three main related themes are investigated: identity, privacy, risks and empowerment. The first part of this book deals with how young people use social network sites to express and explore their developing identity. The second part revolves around the disclosure of personal information on social network sites, and concentrates on an often-raised concern: the tension between online self-disclosure and privacy. Finally the third and last part deepens specific online risks young people are confronted with and offers solutions by describing how children and adolescents can be empowered to cope with these risks. By emphasizing these three different, but intertwined topics, this book provides a unique overview of research resulting from different academic disciplines such as Communication Studies, Education, Psychology and Law. The outstanding international researchers that contributed to the different chapters describe relevant theories, give answers to a variety of pertinent questions, discuss practical solutions and reveal important emerging issues that should lead future research agendas.