As emerging adults (ages 18–30) figure out who they are and who they want to become, deciding on a career path is often a challenging task in their identity development process. Importantly, many also engage with digital media—including social media and conversational AI agents—while exploring and committing to identity-relevant goals, beliefs, and values. Although researchers recognize that identity develops in a digital context, little is known about how media can influence identity and its development. The current study draws from past developmental psychology research on positive identity interventions to examine how digital media can be leveraged to provide guidance in identifying and pursuing best-fit career goals, supporting both personal and vocational identity development. Here, I develop and evaluate the efficacy of digital identity interventions that consist of career-focused media prescriptions as treatments (i.e., AI interactions and social media activities) designed to promote adaptive identity processes via behavior change and self-reflection. Findings will demonstrate how experiences with an AI agent interactions and social media activities may influence identity processes and whether AI agents offer a promising approach for scaling developmental support for young people.
