Social networks have become a place of entertainment, but also of meeting for millions of adolescents in the world. Most young people have at least one account on platforms such as Tiktok or Instagram, which makes many cultivate and keep friends online. These types of ties are crucial in this period, since there is a change of reference figures of the parents towards the pairs. In the long run, however, the constant use of these platforms as mediators in interaction increases the risk that boys and girls suffer from digital stress, since these platforms force them to be constantly available with their peers.
A new study published Tuesday in the magazine Frontiers in Digital Health He detected that feelings of sadness, anger or frustration can arise when adolescents discover that their close ones are not available, which can foster conflicts and misunderstandings. The main author and researcher at the University of Padua (Italy), Federica Angelini with her colleagues conducted a survey of more 1,185 Italian adolescents between 13 and 18 years through subscales that measured the degree of conflict and behavior against rejection in two phases six months of difference.
“The disappointment for unattered expectations on social networks is a stronger predictor of friendship conflicts than the pressure of being constantly available,” Angelini explains in a statement. Thus, the feeling of regret caused by disappointment became the aspect that is most likely to cause fights among young people.
The researchers discovered that images and videos published on social platforms can play an especially important role in the way the use of social networks can cause fights. For Jesús Conde, professor at the Faculty of Education Sciences at the University of Seville, in adolescence social acceptance is key to the development of people.
“The use of social networks as a mediating element among adolescents has caused these digital scenarios to be transferred to this search for acceptance.
The effects of the use of social networks and digital stress during adolescence, however, have not been investigated in depth. An earlier analysis of Nature Communications He warned in 2022 that the adolescents who use the networks most, are the most vulnerable to their negative consequences and those who run the most risk of losing social welfare and vital satisfaction. Another study of Journal of Adolescent Health He found an association between the digital stress of adolescents and depressive symptoms. These analyzes have focused specifically on conflicts between friends on social networks over time.
On the other hand, the study indicates that if adolescents perceive that their friends are active online or spend time with other people while ignoring their messages, they can feel excluded or even jealous. “This greater awareness can intensify negative emotions and contribute to tension in friendships,” adds the expert. Scientists argue that while women can have greater expectations of availability, relational dynamics among men is characterized by “a greater acceptance to maintain a more asynchronous communication style, allowing delayed responses.”
“It is time to continue investigating the phenomenon and in parallel from education you have to train adolescents for the use of healthier and more positive social networks,” says Conde.
How to avoid digital stress?
Young people are connected because Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube or X have become the crucial space and why not say it, fashionable. Identifying key stressful factors, for example, visual content and expectations of availability, and understanding the dynamics of online interactions between friends can help educators, parents and legal guardians develop healthier habits.
One of those habits for teenagers could be to establish limits, for example, schedule without connection or administer schedules. When done in a conversation with friends, they maintain the authors of the analysis, this can also help reduce misunderstandings.
