Developing a Framework for Understanding Adolescent Behaviour on Social Media: A Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this thesis was to explore adolescent identity development in the context of social media. This thesis focused on the social and emotional influences guiding the choices young people make about social media, the types of behaviour associated with social media usage, how adolescents interpret feedback received online, and how this relates to emotional regulation and expression. Drawing on the literature presented in this thesis, an exploratory model of social media behaviour is proposed as a framework for understanding adolescent social media behaviour.