Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Resource and Risk: Youth Sexuality and New Media Use

  • Published:
Sexuality Research and Social Policy Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Some contemporary moral panics orbit around youth sexuality and new media use. This article addresses those moral panics by investigating teenagers’ practices regarding new media and sexuality. New media technologies are central parts of young people’s social, romantic, and sexual lives. These communication technologies are important in their practices of meeting, dating, and breaking up. New media technologies also provide important resources about sexual health and identities. However, these informational and relational resources are not equally available to all young people. Indeed use and access to new media technologies often mirrors the contemporary ordering of economic, racialized, and gendered power. Additionally, while youth are aware of online safety practices, some youth are more vulnerable to online risks than others.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. MSN is an instant messaging service.

  2. Between 2004 and 2008, the percentage of teens who said they use email declined from 89% to 73% (Jones and Fox 2009).

  3. While youth have largely moved to Facebook from MySpace, when youth were on MySpace, one’s location in another’s “top eight” friends signified the importance and seriousness of their friendship or romantic relationship.

  4. These policies recently changed under the administration of Barack Obama. Government funding is no longer limited to those programs which promote abstinence (Rabin 2010).

  5. The BrdsNBz Text Message Warm Line can be found here: http://appcnc.org/brdsnbz-text-message-warm-line.

References

  • Abbott, C. (1998). Making connections: young people and the internet. In J. Sefton-Green (Ed.), Digital diversions: youth culture in the age of multimedia (pp. 84–105). London: UCL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, N. (2008). Always on: language in an online and mobile world. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bay-Cheng, L. (2005). Left to their own devices: disciplining youth discourse on sexuality education electronic bulletin boards. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2(1), 37–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogle, K. (2008). Hooking up: sex, dating, and relationships on campus. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B. B. (1999). “You’re going out with who?” Peer group influences on adolescent romantic relationships. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 291–329). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Celizic, M. (2010). Teen ‘sexting’: youthful prank or sex crime? Retrieved November 23, 2010, from http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29613192.

  • Cohen, S. (2002). Folk devils and moral panics: the creation of the mods and rockers. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, W. A., & Sroufe, L. A. (1999). Capacity for intimate relationships: a developmental construction. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 125–147). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, C. (2009). Beyond the birds and the bees: learning inequality through sexuality education. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 4(2), 83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crowley, M. S. (2010). How r u??? Lesbian and bi-identified youth on MySpace. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 14(1), 52–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dennis, J. P. (2010). Drawing desire: male youth and homoerotic fan art. Journal of LGBT Youth, 7(1), 6–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, L. M., Savin-Williams, R., & Dube, E. M. (1999). Sex, dating, passionate friendships, and romance: intimate peer relations among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 175–201). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiMaggio, P., Hargittai, E., Celeste, C., & Shafer, S. (2004). From unequal access to differential use: a literature review and agenda for research on digital inequality. In K. Neckerman (Ed.), Social inequality (pp. 355–400). New York: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durham, M. G. (2001). Adolescents, the internet and the politics of gender: a feminist case analysis. Race, Gender & Class, 8(4), 20–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eamon, M. K. (2004). Digital divide in computer access and use between poor and non-poor youth. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 31(2), 91–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elia, J. P., & Eliason, M. (2010). Discourses of exclusion: sexuality education’s silencing of sexual others. Journal of LGBT Youth, 7(1), 29–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, L. (2009). “Now why do you want to know about that?”: heteronormativity, sexism and racism in the sexual (mis)education of Latina youth. Gender & Society, 23, 520–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gershon, I. (2010). The breakup 2.0: disconnecting over new media. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Anchor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, M. (2009a). Out in the country: youth media and queer visibility in rural America. New York: NYU Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, M. L. (2009b). Negotiating identities/queering desires: coming out online and the remediation of the coming-out story. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 1162–1189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, N. J., & Klein, J. D. (2006). Adolescents and the internet: health and sexuality information. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 18(5), 519–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, N. J., Klein, J. D., Noyce, P. R., Sesselberg, T. S., & Cantrill, J. A. (2005). The internet: a window on adolescent health literacy. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 37(3), 243.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Guttmacher Institute. (2011). Facts on sex education in the united states. Retrieved March 7, 2011, from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/FB-Teen-Sex-Ed.html.

  • Harvey, K., Churchill, D., Crawford, P., Brown, B., Mullany, L., Macfarlane, A., et al. (2008). Health communication and adolescents: what do their emails tell us? Family Practice, 25(4), 304–311.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier, L., & Harrison, L. (2007). Building realities less limited than their own: young people practising same-sex attraction on the internet. Sexualities, 10(1), 82–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2008). Personal information of adolescents on the internet: a quantitative content analysis of MySpace. Journal of Adolescence, 31, 125.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holloway, S. L., & Valentine, G. (2003). Cyberkids. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Isaacson, R. B. (2010). “Teachable moments”: the use of child-centered arguments in the same-sex marriage debate. California Law Review, 98(1), 121–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ito, M. (2005). Technologies of the childhood imagination: Yugioh, media mixes, and everyday cultural production. In J. Karaganis & N. Jeremijenko (Eds.), Structures of participation in digital culture. Durham: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ito, M., Baumer, S., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Cody, R., Herr-Stephenson, B., et al. (2009). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: kids living and learning with new media. Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S., & Fox, S. (2009). Generations online in 2009. Washington: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kantor, L. M., Santelli, J. S., Teitler, J., & Balmer, R. (2008). Abstinence only policies and programs: an overview. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, 5(3), 6–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, R. (2009). ACLU tackles Knox county schools’ LGBT website block » metro pulse. April 22. Retrieved December 3, 2010, from http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/apr/22/aclu-tackles-knox-county-schools-lgbt-website-bloc/.

  • Kimmel, M. (2001). Masculinity as homophobia: fear, shame, and silence in the construction of gender identity. In S. Whitehead & F. Barrett (Eds.), The masculinities reader (pp. 266–287). Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laegran, A. S. (2002). The petrol station and the internet cafe: rural technospaces for youth. Journal of Rural Studies, 18, 157–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Steinfield, C. (2007). A familiar face(book): profile elements as signals in an online social network. Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, San Jose, CA.

  • Lee, L. (2008). The impact of young people’s internet use on class boundaries and life trajectories. Sociology, 42(1), 137–153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., & Madden, M. (2007). Social networking websites and teens: an overview. Washington: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Madden, M., & Hitlin, P. (2005). Teens and technology. Washington: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Rankin Macgill, A., & Smith, A. (2007). Teens and social media. Washington: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Arafeh, S., Smith, A., & Macgill, A. R. (2008). Writing, technology and teens. Washington: Pew/Internet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media & mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Washington: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, J. (2003). Harmful to minors: the perils of protecting children from sex. New York: Thunder’s Mouth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, S. (2002). Young people and new media: childhood and the changing media environment. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maczewski, M. (2002). Exploring identities through the internet: youth experiences online. Child & Youth Care Forum, 31(2), 111–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, B. C., & Benson, B. (1999). Romantic and sexual relationship development during adolescence. In W. Furman, B. B. Brown, & C. Feiring (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 99–121). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, N. C., Thompson, N. L., & Franz, D. P. (2009). Proactive strategies to safeguard young adolescents in the cyberage. Middle School Journal, 41(1), 28–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Modell, J. (1989). Into one’s own: from youth to adulthood in the United States, 1920–1975. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, K. (2000). Youth and digital media: a policy research agenda. The Journal of Adolescent Health, 27S, 61–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oksman, V., & Turtainen, J. (2004). Mobile communication as a social stage. New Media & Society, 6(3), 319–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osgerby, B. (2004). Youth media. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pascoe, C. J. (2007). “Dude, you’re a fag”: masculinity and sexuality in high school. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2010). Trends in online social networking: adolescent use of MySpace over time. New Media & Society, 12(2), 197–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rabin, R. C. (2010). New spending for a wider range of sex education. New York Times, May 10.

  • Rideout, V., Roberts, D., & Foehr, U. (2005). Generation M: media in the lives of 8–18 year-olds. Menlo Park: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D. F., & Foehr, U. G. (2008). Trends in media use. Future of Children, 18(1), 11–37.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, S. T. (2005). Introduction to positive perspectives on adolescent sexuality. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 2(4), 1–3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schalet, A. (2000). Raging hormones, regulated love: adolescent sexuality and the constitution of the modern individual in the United States and the Netherlands. Body & Society, 6(1), 75–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (2007). Teen and online stranger contact. Washington: Pew/Internet.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soderlund, G. (2008). Journalist or panderer? Framing underage webcam sites. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, 5(4), 62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Subrahmanyam, K., & Greenfield, P. (2008). Online communication and adolescent relationships. The Future of Children, 18(1), 119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Suzuki, L. K., & Calzo, J. P. (2004). The search for peer advice in cyberspace: an examination of online teen bulletin boards about health and sexuality. Applied Developmental Psychology, 25, 685–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, K. W. (1998). Moral panics. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thurlow, C., & Bell, K. (2009). Against technologization: young people’s new media discourse as creative cultural practice. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 1038–1049.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thurlow, C., & McKay, S. (2003). Profiling “new” communication technologies in adolescence. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 22(94), 94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolani, A. T., & Yen, S. (2009). Many websites fail to dispel myths about IUDs, emergency contraception, birth control, and proper timing of pap smears. Stanford: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, R., Bianchi, S., & Raley, S. (2005). Teenagers’ internet use and family rules: a research note. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 67, 1249–1258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, M., & Mitchell, K. J. (2008). How do high-risk youth use the internet? Characteristics and implications for prevention. Child Maltreatment, 13(3), 227.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Catherine T. and John D. MacArthur Foundation. The author acknowledges the generous assistance of Sara Diefendorf, Christo Sims, and two anonymous reviewers for their contribution to this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Colorado College, 14 East Cache la Poudre, Colorado Springs, CO, 80907, USA

    C. J. Pascoe

Authors
  1. C. J. Pascoe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. J. Pascoe.

Additional information

This article is drawn from the keynote lecture Encouraging Sexual Literacy in a Digital Age: Teens, Sexuality and New Media given at The Virtual Sex Ed: Youth, Race, Sex and New Media Conference at the University of Chicago, June 4th, 2009.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pascoe, C.J. Resource and Risk: Youth Sexuality and New Media Use. Sex Res Soc Policy 8, 5–17 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-011-0042-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-011-0042-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation