Study Explores How Digital Maturity Shapes Social Media Connections in Teens

According to a new research published in Computers in Human Behaviour, digital maturity in adolescents can lead to how connected they feel on social media. The research says that teens that are more digitally mature can make more deep connections on social media and it doesn't mean that they have to be more active on social media. This can help them make more friends inline as well as make goals in their social interactions. This raises many questions about social connectedness in adolescents and the use of digital media in their everyday lives. There has been much research done on the use of social media and its effects on the personality of adolescents. But there were only a few studies which talked about digital maturity and its role in social connectedness.

The author of the study, Teresa Koch, said that she aimed to provide an insight about how young people are using social media and digital literacy to form connections in the online world. Many young people are using the concept of digital maturity to learn new things about themselves and the world on the internet. The researchers did two studies, cross sectional one and longitudinal study. In the cross sectional study, there were 257 adolescent participants from Spain and the researchers studied how these adolescents are engaging with their real life friends and holding their goals between social connectedness and digital maturity. The second study was longitudinal study with 316 adolescents and their parents. The study spanned over one year and the researchers studied respectful online behaviour and emotional regulation in adolescents. Parents help in the evaluation of their teens’ online activities like scrolling, posting or commenting.

Digital Maturity Inventory, which assesses respect towards others, regulation of negative emotions and individual growth in digital settings, was used and all the participants in the research were given scores. The adolescents who scored high in the test were found to have more digital maturity, and used online platforms to make their relationship stronger with their in real life friends. This shows that adolescents who are digital mature can keep up with their offline relationships all while being online. It was also found that adolescents who had high scores in digital maturity were also likely to have compassionate goals as they aim to provide emotional support to others. Researchers also found that digital maturity isn't linked with active use of social media, and doesn't always lead to social connectedness.

Image: DIW-Aigen

Read next: Disrupted Sleep Cycles Harm Mental Health, Reveals Intern Health Study
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World