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CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Developmental Psychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1445098

Body, image and digital technology in adolescence and contemporary youth culture

Provisionally accepted
Francesco Demaria Francesco Demaria 1*Maria Pontillo Maria Pontillo 1Cristina Di Vincenzo Cristina Di Vincenzo 1Domenica Bellantoni Domenica Bellantoni 1Italo Pretelli Italo Pretelli 1Stefano Vicari Stefano Vicari 1,2
  • 1 Childhood and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Rome, Italy
  • 2 Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Lazio, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The physical, psychological and social changes that occur during adolescence constitute a physiological crisis that is necessary for development and growth. The establishment of a suitable "self-image" is important for facilitating harmonious psychophysical development during this time. In the current era, digital technology (DT) serves as an extraordinary means of communication for young people, who make significant use of images as a mode of expression. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the relationship between physical development, self-image and use of DT. A review of the published literature on the topic was carried out in April 2024. Fourteen studies (n=14) were inclused from search of electronic databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, PsycInfo, MedLine, and Cochrane Library. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of (DT) on cultural models of adolescent body image, and how this "social" culture can affect well-being and development. It was considered that the rise of DT and social media (SM) emphasized in young people the culture of appearance, adherence to ideal models (thinness ideal) and social comparison at an unprecedented level. It was estimated that the digital mechanism works on the adolescent's vulnerability and stimulates the desire for experimentation and amplifies cultural beliefs that expose the young to deviant or pathological behaviors on the body. The use of digital images emphasizes the perception of self by making it more real and alive but empty of content. Our framework highlights that the adolescent can defend himself if he leaves the homologation that the SM condition, regains his own experiences, fill with emotional content and real life the images and the representation of the body.

    Keywords: body image, Digital technology, adolescence, Youth culture, self-perception Table 1. Previous Works ¶

    Received: 07 Jun 2024; Accepted: 07 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Demaria, Pontillo, Di Vincenzo, Bellantoni, Pretelli and Vicari. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Francesco Demaria, Childhood and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital (IRCCS), Rome, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.