While dating can be a way for youth to learn positive relationship skills like mutual respect, trust, honesty, and compromise, it also can present challenges. Youth in relationships with the following features may be at risk:. Adolescents and caring adults can learn to spot warning signs that a friendship or romantic relationship is unhealthy. Violence is not the only important sign.
Teens, Technology and Romantic Relationships | Pew Research Center
At the same time, even teens who indicate that social media has had an impact on their relationship whether for good or for bad tend to feel that its impact is relatively modest in the grand scheme of things. Boys are a bit more likely than girls to view social media as a space for emotional and logistical connection with their significant other. Teens in our focus group explained the way digital communication platforms — social media as well as texting — can enhance and expand on in-person meetings. One high school girl noted:. Focus group teens told us how talking with their significant other over text and social media helped them overcome shyness and create a greater sense of connection:. So I think he says more stuff, like how he feels through text.
Adolescence is a time of incredibly physical, social and emotional growth, and peer relationships — especially romantic ones — are a major social focus for many youth. Understanding the role social and digital media play in these romantic relationships is critical, given how deeply enmeshed these technology tools are in lives of American youth and how rapidly these platforms and devices change. This study reveals that the digital realm is one part of a broader universe in which teens meet, date and break up with romantic partners.
Skip to main content. Stay Connected About. When reflecting on teenage relationships as you look down your school hallways, thoughts of peer pressure, raging hormones, trivial ideas about love and friendship may come to mind.