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What Your Teen’s Digital Maturity Says About Their Social Connections

Photo from Olia Danilevich via Pexels

What Your Teen’s Digital Maturity Says About Their Social Connections

By Movieguide® Contributor

Researchers have recently found that teens who make good digital choices have greater social connections.

“This connection is not simply a result of more active use of social media. Instead, factors such as engaging with real-life friends online and adopting compassionate goals in online interactions played mediating roles,” PsyPost reported Dec. 20.

“The increasing role of digital technologies in adolescents’ lives has brought both opportunities and challenges for social connectedness. Social connectedness — the sense of belonging and having positive relationships — is crucial for emotional well-being,” PsyPost said. “However, despite constant online connectivity, reports of loneliness among young people are on the rise.”

The research consisted of a longitudinal study and a cross-sectional study with a total of 573 students across several countries in Europe.

“Study 1 was a longitudinal study that followed 316 adolescents (average age 15) and their parents over one year. The adolescents’ digital maturity was assessed at the first wave using a comprehensive inventory measuring skills such as emotional regulation and respectful online behavior,” PsyPost reported. “At the second wave, adolescents reported their social connectedness, while both parents and adolescents evaluated the teens’ online activity as either active (e.g., posting, commenting) or passive (e.g., scrolling).”

Study 2 assessed teens’ digital maturity, goals for online interactions and their online vs. real-life interactions.

The studies used the Digital Maturity Inventory, which measures the regulation of negative emotions, respect toward others and personal growth all in a digital context.

“Those who score high on this measure of digital maturity agree with statements such as ‘When using a mobile device, I watch my language when I disagree with someone, so that what I say doesn’t come across as mean’ and ‘When using a mobile device, I learn something useful,’ but disagree with statements such as ‘When using a mobile device, and I become annoyed or upset online, it takes me a long time to feel better.’”

“My goal is to investigate what kind of abilities enable young people to use digital technologies and social media in a beneficial way, taking advantage of the opportunities which the digital world offers while avoiding accompanying risk,” said study author Teresa Koch of the University of Vienna.

The subjects who demonstrated higher levels of digital maturity were more likely to use social media to strengthen existing real-life relationships rather than seek new ones with people they’ve never met in person.

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“This engagement with real-life friends was strongly associated with higher social connectedness. It suggests that digitally mature adolescents are adept at using digital tools to maintain and enhance offline relationships, leveraging the online world to complement rather than replace in-person connections,” PsyPost reported.

“Another significant finding was the role of compassionate goals in online interactions. Adolescents with higher digital maturity were more likely to adopt compassionate goals — prioritizing others’ well-being and aiming to provide support. These goals were linked to higher social connectedness, underscoring the importance of the motivations behind online interactions.”

The teens who engaged with others out of good-natured desires had greater emotional and social rewards.

Digital Information World reported, “Adolescents who had high scores in digital maturity were also likely to have compassionate goals as they aim to provide emotional support to others.”

“My study shows that adolescents with higher digital maturity also feel more socially connected to others, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally one year later,” Koch said. “Adolescents with higher digital maturity use digital devices to engage with their friends from real life, rather than virtual-only friends, which seems to benefit their social connectedness. Also, they feel more compassionate towards others, which also seems to benefit their social connectedness.”

“In fact, the relationship between active use and social connectedness was inconsistent, with some measures suggesting a weak or even negative association. This finding calls into question the common belief that active engagement with digital platforms is socially beneficial,” PsyPost said. “It appears that how and why adolescents engage online — such as with whom they interact and the goals they pursue — matter more than the sheer act of active participation.”

The research also demonstrates that teens from families who had better socioeconomic backgrounds had more digital maturity.

“This effect can be fully explained by active parental involvement,” Digymatex reported. “Active parental mediation means that parents are involved in their child’s use of digital devices, explain the risks and benefits, and encourage exploration. The suggest that parents with higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to engage in this behavior, which benefits adolescents.”

While the research shows a relationship between digital maturity and social connections, the correlational elements of the study don’t assure whether digital maturity leads to social connectedness or the other way around.

“One important consideration is that the findings of this study are all correlational,” Koch said. “While they can establish a temporal link of digital maturity to social connectedness one year later, no causal conclusions can be drawn whether digital maturity causes higher social connectedness.”

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