If you think this will be a depressing post, just read on. This new study, co-authored by Sophie Janicke-Bowles, an associate professor in Chapman University’s School of Communication, sheds light on the role that new and traditional media play in promoting and affecting character development, emotions, prosocial behaviour, and well-being (aka happiness) in youth and a key element are… the parents.

From the press release:

Her research and teaching focus on positive psychology, media and new communication technologies, and media and spirituality. The study, published April 13 in Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), investigates how adolescents perceive and engage with digital communication, including connectedness, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, civil participation and self-control.

“This was such an amazing research study to be part of as we all are craving more nuanced answers on how digital technologies affect our children,” said Janicke-Bowles.

Janicke-Bowles’ research contributes to the understanding of digital flourishing (positive social media experiences) among adolescents, highlighting the importance of supportive parental mediation and digital skills in promoting positive digital engagement. Moving forward, interventions aimed at enhancing digital flourishing should consider the role of parental guidance and support in shaping adolescents’ online experiences.

• Adolescents who flourish in their digital communication over time are more likely to have parents who know their way around technology and who actively support their children to positively communicate online.
• For adolescents who digitally flourish less, their self-control over digital communication decreases.
• To increase digital flourishing, interventions can aim in assisting adolescents in their control over their digital communication and encourage parents to take an active role in their young adults’ digital communication.

These findings underscore the significance of parental influence and support in fostering positive digital communication experiences among adolescents.

Abstract of the study:

Digital flourishing refers to the positive perceptions of digital communication use in five dimensions: connectedness, positive social comparison, authentic self-presentation, civil participation, and self-control. This three-wave panel study among 1081 Slovenian adolescents (M_age = 15.34 years, 53.8% boys, 80.7% ethnic majority) explored the trajectories of their digital flourishing dimensions over 1 year (2021–2022). Latent class growth analysis identified two classes. Adolescents in the first class reported high levels of digital flourishing, which remained stable over time, whereas those in the second class reported low levels of digital flourishing with decreased self-control over time. Autonomy-supportive restrictive, autonomy-supportive active, and controlling active parental mediation styles, together with high parental digital skills, predicted adolescents’ belongingness to the (more digitally flourishing) first class.