The Influence of Social Media on Teenagers-Based on the Two Perspectives of Prosocial Behavior and Self-efficacy

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_76How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Social Media; Teenagers; Prosocial Behavior; Self-efficacy; The Double-edged Sword Effect

Abstract

The popularity of social media has a huge impact on the psychological development process and results of teenagers. However, the mechanism of its effect on prosocial behavior and self-efficacy has not yet formed a unified explanation. Thinking about this issue will have a certain degree of significance for the mental health education of teenagers. Based on the literature analysis method, this article systematically sorts out the influence of social media on teenagers from the dual perspectives of prosocial behavior and self-efficacy of teenagers. Meanwhile, this article conducts an analysis of the positive and negative impacts of social media by integrating empirical studies on specific issues. Social media has significantly promoted prosocial behaviors among teenagers through online mutual assistance platforms and moral-emotional resonance, but the phenomena of “keyboard warriors” and “clickbait” will weaken its effect. Meanwhile, online skills learning and social support can enhance self-efficacy, while online disguise and search dependence negatively impact it through social comparison and cognitive inertia. Social media is essentially an “amplifier,” and its influence direction depends on the interaction between individual usage strategies and the platform ecosystem. This study suggests that schools should enhance media literacy education that is oriented towards the mental health goals of teenagers. Relevant social media platforms should optimize their content governance mechanisms. The family, school, and society should work together to provide a protective umbrella for the healthy growth of teenagers’ mental health.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Bihan Wang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/15
TI  - The Influence of Social Media on Teenagers-Based on the Two Perspectives of Prosocial Behavior and Self-efficacy
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 International Conference on Mental Growth and Human Resilience (MGHR 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 691
EP  - 698
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_76
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-509-6_76
ID  - Wang2025
ER  -