Socially (dis)connected in a connected world: The role of young people's digital maturity

IF 9 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL

Computers in Human Behavior Pub Date : 2024-10-18 DOI:10.1016/j.chb.2024.108473

Teresa Koch , Franziska Laaber , Alvaro Arenas , Arnd Florack

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Social media offer constant social interactions, but young people do not necessarily benefit from these regarding social connectedness. We investigated whether adolescents with higher digital maturity (Laaber et al., 2023) are better able to use social media to enhance social connectedness, and tested three mechanisms of how, who and why individuals engage with others online. The results of a longitudinal and cross-sectional study with adolescent-parent dyads from three European countries (N_total = 573) showed that with higher digital maturity, adolescents report higher social connectedness. The relation was not explained by higher active use, but engaging with real-life rather than virtual friends online and holding compassionate goals for others mediated the positive relationship between digital maturity and social connectedness. The findings support digital maturity as an important ability when using digital technologies, as it relates to beneficial social interactions, and suggest potential mechanisms to be strengthened to help adolescents experience positive interactions online.

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互联世界中的社会（失）联：青少年数字成熟度的作用

社交媒体提供了持续不断的社交互动，但青少年并不一定能从这些社交互动中获益。我们调查了数字成熟度较高的青少年（Laaber 等人，2023 年）是否能更好地利用社交媒体增强社会联系，并测试了个人如何、由谁以及为何与他人进行在线互动的三种机制。对来自三个欧洲国家的青少年-家长二人组（总人数 = 573）进行的纵向和横向研究结果表明，数字成熟度越高，青少年报告的社会联系度就越高。这种关系并不能用更高的主动使用率来解释，但与现实生活中的朋友而不是虚拟朋友在线交往，以及对他人抱有同情的目标，则是数字成熟度与社会关联度之间正向关系的中介。研究结果支持数字成熟度是使用数字技术时的一项重要能力，因为它关系到有益的社会互动，并建议加强潜在机制，帮助青少年体验积极的网上互动。

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来源期刊

Computers in Human Behavior Multiple-

CiteScore

19.10

自引率

4.00%

发文量

381

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： Computers in Human Behavior is a scholarly journal that explores the psychological aspects of computer use. It covers original theoretical works, research reports, literature reviews, and software and book reviews. The journal examines both the use of computers in psychology, psychiatry, and related fields, and the psychological impact of computer use on individuals, groups, and society. Articles discuss topics such as professional practice, training, research, human development, learning, cognition, personality, and social interactions. It focuses on human interactions with computers, considering the computer as a medium through which human behaviors are shaped and expressed. Professionals interested in the psychological aspects of computer use will find this journal valuable, even with limited knowledge of computers.