The Perceived Influence of Media and Technology on Adolescent Romantic Relationships
Abstract
Contemporary adolescents rely heavily on technology and media to navigate romantic relationships. In this mixed-methods study, adolescents and young adults ( N = 204) detailed their perceptions of how entertainment media and interactive technology influence adolescent romantic relationships. The majority of adolescents and young adults perceived that entertainment media (95%) and interactive technology (97%) did influence adolescent romantic relationships. Using a qualitative analysis approach, we found six major themes. Although entertainment media provided media role models for expected behavior in romantic relationships, it was also associated with the development of unrealistic relational expectations and perceived pressure to be in a romantic relationship. Participants perceived that interactive technology has changed the way adolescents communicate with romantic partners, become integrated into the entire relationship life cycle, and led to a decline in face-to-face communication in adolescent romantic relationships.
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ICTs greatly facilitate control behaviors, easily generate jealousy and conflicts, and can contribute to normalizing controlling and abusive behaviors in dating relationships.
“ICTs greatly facilitate control behaviors, easily generate jealousy and conflicts, and can contribute to normalizing controlling and abusive behaviors in dating relationships (Stonard, 2020; Van Ouytsel et al., 2019; Vaterlaus et al., 2018).”
From Romantic myths and cyber dating violence victimization in Spanish adolescents: A moderated mediation model (2023) · cites this paper as Vaterlaus et al., 2018
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Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2013) · Journal of Social and Personal Relationships · doi:10.1177/0265407512453827 · Cited by 751 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Young adults have reported that the use of communication technology hinders self-disclosure (Ruppel, 2014) and interferes with trust and closeness in a face-to-face conversation (Przybylski & Weinstein, 2013).”
BackgroundRace, Gender, and Information Technology Use: The New Digital Divide
Jackson, L. A., Zhao, Y., Kolenic, A., Fitzgerald, H. E., Harold, R., & Von Eye, A. (2008) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.0157 · Cited by 396 · see citing works
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Salzano, G., Passanisi, S., Pira, F., Sorrenti, L., La Monica, G., Pajno, G. B., Pecoraro, M., & Lombardo, F. (2021) · Italian Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1186/s13052-021-00997-7 · Cited by 72 · see citing works
Van Ouytsel, J., Walrave, M., Ponnet, K., Willems, A.-S., & Van Dam, M. (2019) · Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2019-3-3 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Cava, M.-J., Castillo, I., Tomás, I., & Buelga, S. (2023) · Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace · doi:10.5817/cp2023-2-4 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Vaterlaus, J. M., Tulane, S., Porter, B. D., & Beckert, T. E.
- Affiliations
- Montana State University (US)
- Utah State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vaterlaus, J. Mitchell
- Venue
- Journal of Adolescent Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-05-31
- Volume
- 33
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 651-671
- ISSN
- 0743-5584 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-6895
- OpenAlex
- W2618463617
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 4
- FWCI
- 8.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Adolescent Research (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Keywords
- adolescent romantic relationships, entertainment media, interactive technologies, media influence, face-to-face communication, digital communication, young adults
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