Abstract
This study investigates the adolescents’ perceptions toward Instagram as a social network site via their mind maps and tries to understand this social phenomenon that affect them by its use motives and features. It also offers a general profile of social network site use among adolescents. Data were collected from 540 adolescents majoring in high schools of Turkey. The participants created their mind maps on Instagram in the visual arts course. Qualitative data were resolved using thematic analysis. Results highlighted the popularity of Instagram among adolescents. According to their mental images on Instagram, we found four categories: “communication and interaction,” “knowledge acquisition,” “entertainment and sharing,” and “negative effects of Instagram.” In addition to their positive perceptions toward Instagram, the majority of adolescents focused on the negative effects such as addiction, mood disorders, narcissistic acts, and ethics violations. Based on the findings, we also suggested a theoretical model for educational use of Instagram and directions for future research.
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