The DOI matches its Crossref record; 44 of the 44 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Social media: a digital social mirror for identity development during adolescence
Open accessAbstract
Abstract According to recent studies, social media are settings where adolescents construct their identities while engaging in social interactions. In digital spaces, adolescents can interact with, display, and receive feedback about themselves, contributing to the development of a clear and integrated sense of self. This paper reviews the available empirical evidence and discusses four overarching themes related to identity construction in social media: self-presentation (attempting to control images of self to others), social comparison (compare themselves with others, especially evaluating the self), role model (media figures that are social references for behavior), and online audience (friends, peers, unknow/know referents with whom users may interact online). Moreover, it proposes a new contextual perspective on identity development on social media. Informed by research on these themes that social media features allow adolescents to perform self-presentations, offering the opportunity to express interests, ideas, and beliefs about themselves (identification and role exploration). The image presented on social media exposes them to feedback, online audiences, and social comparison with peers or social models. Audiences have an impact on how adolescents think about themselves (self-concept validation). Role models can facilitate the learning of behaviors through imitation and identification (exploration and commitment). Thus, the digital world provides a context for the development of adolescents’ personal identity. This proposal aims to contribute to the construction of future theories on identity in social media and advance this area of research.
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“The way that SI involves social roles enhances undergraduate students’ PU within the context of using technology [66].”
From Advancing Undergraduate Student Mental Healthcare of Social Anxiety Disorder: Evaluating the Acceptance of AR-Assisted Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Through TAM-Based Constructs. (2026) · cites this paper as [66]
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Cites
A theory of social comparison processes
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“Social comparison can be upward when others are considered better or in better condition, or downward when the people we compare ourselves to are seen as worse (Festinger, 1954 ).”
Influential(1968) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 15,136
I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience
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Self-esteem and clarity of the self-concept.
Campbell, J. D. (1990) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.538 · Cited by 1,381 · cited 2×
“An indicator that identity develops properly is the presence of self-con - cept clarity, a coherent and consistent description of one - self (Campbell, 1990), which in social networks involves exploring and experimenting with different ways of being until achieving this integrated self-concept.”
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Dynamics of Identity Development in Adolescence: A Decade in Review
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“…on how social media influences the dynamics of identity construction, especially how it relates to the processes of commitment, in-depth exploration, and the maintenance or reconsideration of those commitments (Branje et al., 2021 ; Crocetti, 2017 ; Crocetti et al., 2008 ; Noon et al., 2023).”
InfluentialSocial comparison on social networking sites
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“Social comparison in social networks is a relevant and frequent process because of the characteristics of these media, in which more importance is given to idealized publications about themselves (Verduyn et al., 2020 ).”
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Sun, X., Wang, Y., & McDaniel, B. T. (2026) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1093/cdpers/aadaf009 · Cited by 47
Phubbing and its impact on the individual's psychological well-being
Garrido, E. C., Delgado, S. C., & Esteban, P. G. (2024) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104388 · Cited by 43
Guo, J., & Chai, R. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1509636 · Cited by 31
Fayyaz, M. S., Abbasi, A. Z., Kumar, S., Qureshi, A., Hussain, K., & Muhammad, L. (2025) · Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services · doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2025.104309 · Cited by 36
Metadata
- Authors
- Pérez-Torres, V.
- Affiliations
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (ES)
- Corresponding author
- Pérez-Torres, Vanesa
- ORCID
- Pérez-Torres, Vanesa
- Venue
- Current Psychology
- Published
- 2024-04-24
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 26
- Pages
- 22170-22180
- ISSN
- 1046-1310 (ISSN-L)
- 1936-4733
- OpenAlex
- W4395075462
- Semantic Scholar
- df9ff32304ed9305d259c81fe3790757d1ae6719
- Cited by
- 147
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 89 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 8
- FWCI
- 105.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Current Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- BURJC Digital (King Juan Carlos University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Hispana (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- social media, identity construction, adolescence, self-presentation, social comparison, role models, online audiences, identification, imitation
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