1. Influential Behaviors Shelbi Chandler University of Cincinnati, (Secondary Education) chandlsb@mail.uc.edu Introduction  The purpose of this study was to investigate why teens are so easily influenced by social media. Nowadays children spend most of their time on social sites, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The most common sites used my adolescence are Twitter and Instagram. Background Literature Self concept- CHAPTER 12 : PAGE 314-315  Adolescents unify separate personality traits (“smart,” “talented”) into more abstract descriptors. For example, 12- 14 year-olds might mention opposing traits- “intelligent” and “airhead,” “shy” and “outgoing.” These disparities result from adolescents’ expanding social world, which creates pressure to be display different selves in different relationships- with parents, classmates, close friends, and romantic partners. Other similar topics (page 328-329):  Cliques  Dating  Crowds Methods I went to observe students who were of very young age. Although they were young, they were still using the computers, cell phones, and internet like any other average teenager. This goes to show you that age does not matter when it comes to media influences. Anything is possible. The children I was observing were telling me how certain songs influence their behavior and how they like to base their decisions off what celebrities are doing. I found this quite interesting. This makes me want to learn even more. Research Question  How does the media influence adolescence behavior so much ? Professional Implications This topic will allow me to widen my view on teenagers and their different influences in life. As a future educator it is imperative for me to understand the different thoughts that go into an adolescence mind. References Harris, A. L. (2011), Media and Technology in Adolescent Sexual Education and Safety. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 40: 235–242. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2011.01218.x Results Media are entwined in the lives of adolescents today. In 2007, 90% of eighth grade students reported having a home computer, and nearly 59% of adolescents' age 12 to 17 reported having their own home computer (Child Trends, 2009). According to the 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project report, 93% of adolescents go online, and of these, 63% report daily Internet use (Lenhart & Madden, 2007). Of significance, 65% use social networking sites, 27% blog, 18% visit chat rooms, and 11% have their own webpages (Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickuhr, 2010). The amount of time adolescents spend with other types of media and technology continues to grow. Cellular phone use has grown from 45% in 2004 to 75% of 12- to 17-year-olds in 2009 (Lenhart et al., 2010). Rideout, Foehr, and Roberts (2010) estimated that 20% of media consumption occurs on mobile devices, such as phones, IPods, and handheld video game players. Additionally, these authors reported that adolescents average 24 minutes a day on video games and 38 minutes for TV content. Adolescents compress a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into 7.5 hours daily. Why I Chose This Topic I chose to research this topic because as a teenager I am surrounded by these things all day. I know for a fact I personally use Twitter and Instagram for majority of the day. I also look to the media to give me advice on what outfits not to wear. With that being said, I begin to wonder, what else does the media approve? If I go out of my way to see if they approve my outfit, just imagine what the next teen is searching for approval for. Could it be sex? Personality? All thoughts are possible.