The self-concept and the use of online environment in young people
Keywords:
self-concept, young people, advantages of using the Internet, disadvantages of using the Internet.Abstract
Nowadays, the Internet is omnipresent in the lives of adolescents and young people. As defining one’s identity plays a central role in this developmental period, it is necessary to understand how online media is associated with processes characteristic of self-concept development. The present article aimed at reviewing the main results on this topic. It was observed that the virtual reality, as a complex media with many characteristics, can both support and impede the construction of identity in young people. Several possibilities offered by the Internet can be associated with selfconcept development, such as self-expression, identity experimentation, self-clarification, assimilation of new resources, disengagement from reality in order to cope with negative emotions, like those associated with an identity crisis. However, these aspects have different implications, according to the context they occur and to user’s characteristics. For this reason, it is necessary to better understand the role that Internet plays in young people’s lives and to clarify in which situations it turns from an opportunity for identity exploration and expression into a space which maintains confusion, anxiety or depression.
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