According to McWhirter, J., McWhirter, B., McWhirter, E., and McWhirter, R. (2016), Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model suggests that the development of humans is impacted not only by family and peer relationships, but also the cultural and political attitudes of the individual’s society. The interconnectedness and the level of influence that is displayed in the ecological model adjusts throughout each individual’s lifespan. During the 1980s, my adolescent years were far from ordinary, as I attended the same church and this church’s Christian school from kindergarten to graduation. Basically, I grew up within a tight Christian mesosystem, as my family, school, and church were seemingly all-encompassing, and the mesosystem relationships …show more content…
During my teen years, a landline telephone, minimal television channels, radio, and cassettes were the only technology available. In contrast, 95% of today’s middle and high school students have access to the internet, with over 70% of these students using mobile devices to gain this access (Livingstone & Smith, 2014). Since most teens now possess multiple mobile devices, immediate access to peers has become the norm. While I might have talked some to friends on the telephone, the majority of my time at home was spent with my family. In addition, these modern technological devices allow for round-the-clock access to mass media without the shielding effect that family, church, and sometimes schools would have offered during the 1980s. At the same time, teens need family guidance just like I did during the 1980s; however, the relationships that should be formed among caregivers within the mesosystem seem to be growing more difficult, as parents seek to find ways to shield children from the risks that are becoming more prevalent within today’s