Digital Life and Youth Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism

Abstract

Youth well-being, social connectedness, and personality traits, such as empathy and narcissism, are at the crux of concerns often raised about the impacts of digital life. Understanding known impacts, and research gaps, in these areas is an important first step toward supporting media use that contributes positively to youth's happiness, life satisfaction, and prosocial attitudes and behaviors. By examining existing work addressing these issues across domains, we found that a complex interplay of individual factors, type of digital media engagement, and experiences in media contexts informs outcomes related to well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism. We argue that further research is needed to uncover how, where, when, and for whom digital media practices support positive well-being and social connectedness outcomes. Specifically, research needs to move beyond correlational studies to uncover causal connections between traits like narcissism and media use. Longitudinal studies are also needed to explore patterns of media use over time and related impacts. Further research is needed to explore how specific technologies can be designed to support positive well-being, social outcomes, and prosocial personality traits. Finally, research is needed regarding parenting, educational practices, and policies that support positive digital media use and related outcomes. Although existing research suggests that digital life has mixed potentials and effects for well-being, social connectedness, empathy, and narcissism, we provide recommendations for clinicians, policy makers, and educators in partnering with caregivers and youth to support media use that promotes positive outcomes in these areas.

The impact of the digital revolution on human brain and behavior: where do we stand?

“…In this respect, it is noteworthy that in empathy studies in young adults, a correlation between time spent with digital media and a lower cognitive empathy with other humans has been reported. 20 , 21 Whether due to lack of insight into what other people might think (theory of mind) or to problems with facial recognition or lack of exposure to peers (due to excessive online time) is not currently clear. It should be emphasized that some studies reported no correlation between online time and empathy (for reviews, see refs 22 and 23).…”

Problematic Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescence: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Family Life Satisfaction

“…Therefore, it can be said that there is a mutual relationship between family life satisfaction and community satisfaction. Social connectedness is one of the most basic needs of a human being (James et al 2017). Calmeiro et al (2018) investigated the effects of social and individual factors on life satisfaction (n = 3494 adolescents).…”

Young people, social workers and social work education: the role of digital skills

“…From an intrapersonal perspective, ICT is changing social interactions. Social media involves creating a digital life and personality which can affect young people's well-being (James et al, 2017). To respond to these challenges, digital skills now form part of the curriculum of schools and higher education institutions.…”