Friday Feature: Growing Up Male in the Digital Age [Standing Up to Peer Pressure]
This is Part 3 of a 4-article series about the question“What are some of the formative experiences that punctuate the journey of growing up as an adolescent boy with access to tech devices?”
Read the first 2 parts - where we cover formative experiences like problematic gaming and first introductions to sexual images - at the links below:
Part 3: Standing Up to Peer Pressure (this article)
What the Research Shows About Tech and Peer Pressure
Adolescence is a developmental phase marked by a natural drive for sensation-seeking and risky behavior. During this time, young people are especially susceptible to peer pressure as they navigate social hierarchies. (1)
A teenager’s sense of self-worth is often tied to their personal relationships and level of popularity on/offline. While digital spaces are primary hubs for leisure and connection, it also exposes adolescents to significant potential stressors. (1)
Social media and digital spaces can offer positive connections and bond-forming opportunities to adolescents, depending on the context and type of use / type of app or platform. (1, 2)
However, studies show that adolescents experience different levels of perceived social pressure to use devices and apps, many of which create the psychological demand of "always being available", which can result in detrimental emotional and social impacts. (2)
Sources: (1) Dacka M: Social media challenges among adolescents – unconscious danger or peer pressure? Dangerous consequences of modern adolescents’ games. Psychiatr Psychol Klin 2024; 24 (1): 79–88. DOI: 10.15557/PiPK.2024.0011(2) Halfmann, A., & Rieger, D. (2019). Permanently on Call: The Effects of Social Pressure on Smartphone Users’ Self-Control, Need Satisfaction, and Well-Being. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 24(4), 165–181. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmz008For me, bravery is being able to hold down your sense of self and be who you are surrounded by people who have a group mentality. Bravery is to hold and build your sense of self.
-Ridian (👇 full interview below👇)
Interviews with Gen Z on Peer Pressure and Bravery with Tech
What type of role did technology have in your upbringing? Did you have your own phones growing up?
[Ridian, 23-years-old] Yeah, we did have our own phones, but it came in very late. I was maybe 16 when I actually downloaded Snapchat and Instagram. I was very late on the whole social media thing. It wasn't really my thing. I preferred being detached from it completely. But here [in Thailand] we would, of course, have Facebook [because it’s the main app here], and we would sometimes text people, but really, [phones] were just to meet up.
[Douglas, 20-years-old] I don't really like the idea of the whole thing with social media. I just prefer to be in the moment where, if I want to find out something about someone, I prefer to ask them instead of going onto their Instagram or Snapchat and start scrolling and start looking through, because it's kind of creepy. I just don't like the idea of how I'm looking at someone else's stuff without them knowing about it, and after one day, I just go up to him and say, like, “Hey, I saw that, you had three cats or whatever”. They'd be like, “how do you know that?” You're putting out so much of your personal life into the internet, so many people access it. I find it to be a little disturbing when people can have access to that information about you.
So was there a lot of peer pressure with tech when you were a teenager?
[Douglas] At one point, I cracked because there's peer pressure. I wanted to try and fit in. I got bullied verbally because of [being different and not having the same tech], and obviously, if you start getting bullied because of it, then you're telling yourself you might as well just give in, actually just get it and do what everyone else does. But yeah, I tried fighting it off, tried speaking to my parents about it. They said “It doesn't matter what they say,” kind of [a mentality] like “sticks and stones may break my bones [but words will] never affect me.” There's a certain limit to that.
Now would you say over the years of using technology, you've developed your own relationship with tech, and you know what is right for you?
Yeah, I don't feel any pressure towards it. Like, if someone comes up to me and asks me, like, “Do you have WeChat, or you wanna get WhatsApp?” I’d just [say “no, just give me your phone number”]. I'm not gonna start getting other apps. I'm all right with what I have right now.
I want to talk about your guys' ideas of traditional masculine words like bravery and strength. Because for many young boys nowadays, their first ideas of bravery are often coming through their devices or peer groups.
[Ridian] People have different points of view of what bravery is. For me, [it’s] to be able to hold down your sense of self and be who you are surrounded by people who have a group mentality. What I would like to think is bravery is to hold and build your sense of self.
[Douglas] Bravery is keeping on your own path. Obviously, you can have a little bit of influence [from other people], but don't let it completely [make you] stray off your path. So, don't do things that don't hold to your standing or if you have moral points of views and [compromising with others really] doesn't work, just keep [your] distance and face being alone, if you have to.
