Identity: personal and online
Self esteem and self concept are different things and represent different facets of the individual adolescent. Self concept is a broad term implying how we see ourselves. Self-esteem however, is how we feel about ourselves. Self-esteem doesn't always have to be positive. Sometimes, the way an adolescent feels about themselves is more negative than positive. In that instance, they have a low self-esteem.
Many adolescents have to deal with more than one identity, however: the 'self' that they are with people and the 'self' that they are online. The experience of trying to exist in more than one incarnation of yourself is called digiphrenia
The higher an adolescent's self-esteem, the better will be their academic levels because those that have a high self esteem are willing to take risks, even though they might fail. Those that have a low self-esteem will be afraid to take risks for fear of failing. Thus, it is important for an educator to foster an adolescent's self-esteem.
I think that many adolescents may not understand why getting so many “likes” is important for them, however what it is creating is an self-esteem based on what others think about you. To have your self-esteem determined by others is not good because it will leave you always wanting to fit in and be liked by everyone, and in essence not to be genuine. I think that I would let my students know the detrimental effects of being exposed to too much media, such as teen magazines and magazines like Cosmopolitan which create a dangerous idealization of body image and a negative idea of self-esteem (one poised on sexuality primarily). A lot of girls read this magazine and use it to learn from. However, I would encourage learning in my classroom. I would attempt to question them about why they think that getting more followers or more likes is really important. I think I would allow open discussion in my classroom where everyone is able to share his or her own views. I would try to create a sense of meaning for them as individuals without them needing to resort to going online to find meaning, because they won’t find it there.