Shu-Sha Angie Guan

Youth Internet use: risks and opportunities

Purpose of review The Internet has become all pervasive in the lives of young people and this paper will review studies that examine the risks and opportunities that it affords. We will examine research that investigates the more negative aspects of youth online behavior such as addiction as well as online risks such as harassment/cyber bullying and sexual solicitation. In addition, positive aspects of Internet use such as its potential for learning and enhancing social relations as well as delivering health interventions will be examined. Recent findings The results show that online risks such as addiction, cyber bullying, and sexual solicitation are associated with negative consequences for youth. It is important to note that not all children are equally susceptible and more research is necessary to identify the youth most at risk as well as to develop effective interventions. The Internet can also provide benefits in the areas of cognitive, social, and physical development, and can also be used to deliver treatment interventions. Summary The Internet represents both risks and opportunities for young people. To protect youth who are at risk for online addiction, bullying, and solicitation, we need more research to understand which youth may be most susceptible and to develop targeted interventions to protect them. The Internet also has many positive aspects and can be used to enhance youth learning and empowerment; although it is a tremendous health resource and can be used to cheaply deliver interventions, we need to understand how to better implement them to enhance their effectiveness.

Translating Into Understanding: Language Brokering and Prosocial Development in Emerging Adults From Immigrant Families

This mixed-method study assessed the nature of language brokering and the relationship between language brokering and prosocial capacities in a sample of 139 college students from ethnically diverse immigrant families. The prosocial capacities of interest were empathic concern and two forms of perspective-taking: general perspective-taking (understanding the perspectives of others) and transcultural perspective-taking (understanding of divergent cultural values). As predicted, structural equation modeling identified a significant pathway from language brokering for parents to skill in transcultural perspective-taking. We illustrated this pathway with a qualitative case study. We also identified a significant bidirectional relationship between language brokering for others (e.g., other relatives, friends) and empathic concern. The experience of language brokering for others develops empathic concern; at the same time, those with higher levels of empathic concern broker more for people outside their immediate families.

Cultural and Social Processes of Language Brokering among Arab, Asian, and Latin Immigrants.

This study examines how language and culture brokering (translating and interpreting language and culture for others) influences the acculturative experiences and self-perceptions of young adults from immigrant Arab, Asian, and Latino American backgrounds. Semi-structured interviews with 10 participants suggest that mediating information for members of different cultural and linguistic groups strengthens awareness of linguistic, cultural, and social processes. This cultivated awareness, in turn, is leveraged for social and cultural processes as identity formation and transcultural competencies. Experiences both prior to immigration and in the new immigrant context also differently shape the experiences of brokers from different ethnic groups.

A Second Life Within Second Life: Are Virtual World Users Creating New Selves and New Lives?

Virtual worlds such as Second Life (SL) are online computer-based world-like spaces, where users assume virtual selves or avatars to interact with others, create objects, and engage in a variety of transactions. This paper examines SL residents’ avatars, activities, and the relation between residents’ offline characteristics and online avatars and activities. The authors examined whether there was a relationship between residents’ identity style and online beliefs and activities, specifically those related to self-presentation and identity exploration via avatars and relationship formation as they are related to one’s sense of self. An online survey of 378 SL residents was conducted, who ranged in age from 18 to 69 years. Respondents were asked to complete an SL survey (containing questions about their avatars, use, and activities within SL) and the Identity style inventory sixth grade reading level (ISI-6G). Results suggested that SL avatars were mostly human, and were of the same gender as the residents’ offline self; SL activities were similar to every day offline ones. The study suggests SL residents may not be creating second lives within this virtual world, but are instead bringing elements of their first or offline lives into this online context.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder? Attractiveness in a virtual world

The current study examines whether traditional offline gender biases regarding physical attractiveness and status transfer to Second Life (SL), a virtual world where residents can easily manipulate the appearance and status of avatars (i.e., graphical representations of the self). Participants (N = 312, 60.58% female, M age = 29.77, SD = 10.53) reported on demographics, SL usage, and rated the attractiveness of female and male avatars manipulated along physical attractiveness (high vs. low) and status (high vs. low). Mixed measures ANCOVAs were modeled separately for the female avatars and male avatars with within-subjects factors (avatar characteristics: physical attractiveness and status) and between-subject factors (participant characteristics: sex, and intensity of SL usage), while controlling for participant age. Consistent with offline norms, female avatars high in physical attractiveness were rated as more attractive, regardless of status. Participants rated male avatars high in physical attractiveness as more attractive if they were high in status compared to those low in status. We also found opposite-sex preferences and moderations by participant age and SL usage on avatar attractiveness ratings. The results suggest the continuity of offline gender norms and effect of in-world experience on perceptions of avatar appearance.