Psychology
Publication Date
Summer 2026
Document Type
Paper
Faculty Sponsor
Alena Esposito
Major
Psychology
Abstract
Adolescents tend to take more risks than other age groups due to a combination of sensitive reward systems, lower impulse control, and stronger susceptibility to peer influences. These days, many adolescents spend a substantial amount of time on social media, which can further influence their decision-making. Although risk-taking plays an important role in adolescent development, social media can increase exposure to unhealthy and potentially dangerous forms of risk. Dangerous online trends and the addictive nature of social media algorithms contribute to the normalization of risky behavior and expose adolescents to social pressures, leading them to be more likely to take unsafe risks. This white paper synthesizes developmental, psychological, and social media research to examine how online environments influence adolescent risk-taking and to propose evidence-informed recommendations for families and policymakers. Recommended strategies include promoting social media literacy, redirecting sensation-seeking toward structured and developmentally beneficial activities, and designing interventions that account for developmental, cultural, and socioeconomic differences.
Keywords
adolescent risk-taking, social media, online trends, adolescent development
Recommended Citation
Vitola-Franchi, Camilla, "Scroll Control: Reducing the Influence of Social Media Trends on Adolescent Risk-Taking" (2026). Psychology. 2.
https://commons.clarku.edu/undergraduate_psychology/2
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
