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This study examines the formation of adolescents' norms toward non-normative behaviors using a two-wave survey of middle school students in South Korea over a one-year period. The study focuses on four modes of non-normative behavior, namely, verbal aggression, Internet slang, digital piracy, and self-exposure, and investigates the impact of exposure to descriptive and injunctive norms on social media on adolescents' actions, attitudes, and perceptions of non-normative behavior. The results reveal that exposure to injunctive norms on social media is positively associated with adolescents' engagement in deterring non-normative behavior. This suggests that when adolescents witness others taking action against non-normative behavior on social media, they are more likely to engage in similar actions to prevent such behavior. However, the effect of exposure to descriptive norms on actions against non-normative behavior is not supported in this study. The study provides insights into the influence of personal relationships and social networks on young people's perceptions of social media use in South Korea, with important implications for developing interventions to promote responsible and respectful digital behavior among young people.
Key Worts: Descriptive Norms, Injunctive Norms, Non-normative Behaviors, Adolescents, Social Media
I. Introduction
Adolescents, typically spanning ages 10-19 and referred to as 'digital natives' (Prensky 2001), display a high usage of digital technology and social media, with 95% of teens in the United States owning smartphones and 45% using them constantly (Pew Research 2022). Social media serves as a prominent platform for adolescents to communicate with peers, remain informed, and stay connected, with American teenagers spending an average of 7.5 hours daily on screen media and using three different social media platforms (Lenhart 2015). Griffiths and Kuss (2017) suggested that adolescents view social media as a 'way of being'. In South Korea, social media use among adolescents is exceptionally high, with 95.5% of teenagers aged 13-18 utilizing social media daily. KakaoTalk, which has a 95% penetration rate, is the most popular social media platform in South Korea, followed by Naver, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook (KISDI 2020).
In the context of social media, adolescents engage in communication with peers and others, expanding their social networks and developing their social competence. Research indicates that sharing information on social media affects life satisfaction and loneliness differently across generations. Specifically, young adults tend...