THE ROLE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS IN ADOLESCENCE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to review part of the existing literature in master's and doctoral studies, whose publications have been made in the last decade, and its central research topic is how social networks currently used can influence the lives of adolescents. This article focuses on the advantages and disadvantages that digital platforms or applications can present in the context of secondary education in young people. Different studies are reviewed that address topics such as the benefits and utilities that they provide in different aspects of the academic dynamics of students, as well as the characteristics of the main social networks, or the most used by school-age young people, these platforms to namely are: WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and X, among others, without placing greater emphasis on the platforms whose object is musical. Among the many advantages offered by social networks; we can highlight: social interaction, synchronous and asynchronous communication and the achievement of information for academic purposes, among others, some of the possible disadvantages faced by adolescents are also analyzed, such as the addiction that can be generated to different social networks, the influence that influencers can exert, the generation of excessive consumption habits and some of the psychological effects that can be associated with these behaviors.   Finally, some of the strategies proposed in the reviewed studies aimed at parents and educators are taken up so that they can guide adolescents towards a responsible, moderate and beneficial use of social networks.