Despite increasing attention to the role of social media in adolescents’ lives, studies focusing on the Global South remain scarce. Even less is known about how adolescents in low-income communities experience online risks and apply digital literacy skills to navigate these challenges. In this context, online risks, broadly categorised under the 4Cs framework (content, contact, conduct, and contract risks), include exposure to harmful or misleading content, unwanted contact from strangers, engagement in risky online behaviors, and exploitative commercial practices. Understanding adolescents’ exposure to these risks is paramount, particularly in contexts where digital literacy skills are not systematically developed. Digital literacy includes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to use digital technologies in ways that enable adolescents to foster positive digital experiences.

Against this backdrop, we conducted an exploratory-descriptive qualitative study which aimed to provide a rich account of high school-aged adolescents in a semi-rural village in the Western Cape of South Africa, focusing on their encounters with online risks, and their application of digital literacy skills. The research addresses three questions: (1) What types of online risks do they encounter? (2) What digital literacy skills do they possess, and in what ways do they use these skills to manage online risks? (3) Which factors shape the development and application of digital literacy skills?

To address these questions, we interviewed 20 adolescents from low-income households, recruited through local community organisations. Substantial effort was made to locate, follow up, and arrange suitable access for this hard-to-reach population. We used thematic analysis to analyse the qualitative data, employing a reflexive approach to capture participants’ experiences while acknowledging our potential biases as adults interpreting adolescent perspectives. The qualitative data provides meaningful insight into these adolescents’ experiences on social media, their exposure to online risks, and the skills that they have to manage these experiences.

Social media offer constant social interactions, but young people do not necessarily benefit from these regarding social connectedness. Social media can help to extend relationships and create social capital, but can equally link to increased loneliness and isolation. Until now, it was not investigated if there are digital competences that influence whether individuals engage in beneficial or detrimental social interactions online. We tested whether adolescents with higher digital maturity (Laaber et al., 2023) benefit more from online social interactions than others.

Digital maturity captures adolescents’ abilities and attitudes to engage with digital technologies in self-determined ways benefitting personal growth and social integration. It relates to the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness from self-determination theory. Therefore, one important aspect of digital maturity is the adequate interaction with others, enabling social integration. We expected that with higher digital maturity, individuals would use digital devices to engage with others in ways which benefit rather than impede their social connectedness.

We tested three mechanisms 1) how, 2) who and 3) why individuals engage with others online. First, adolescents with higher digital maturity should show more active use behavior, which benefits social connectedness. Second, with higher digital maturity adolescents should rather use devices to strengthen relations with real-life friends than engage with virtual-only contacts. Third, digital maturity should relate to stronger compassionate goals towards others, benefitting social connectedness.

These assumptions were tested in one longitudinal and one cross-sectional study with adolescent-parent dyads from three European countries. The longitudinal study examined the link between digital maturity and social connectedness one year later, and relied on parent and adolescent report to test the first potential mechanism. The cross-sectional study verified the results and tested further mechanisms. The research advances digital maturity theory as it examines via which mechanisms digital maturity relates to outcomes relevant to well-being.

Concerns about possible repercussions have been voiced as teenagers and young adults spend more time on social media. While social networking sites (SNS) can be a safe environment for practicing social behavior, the absence of nonverbal cues might hinder emotional understanding (Nesi et al., 2018; Moreno & Uhls, 2019). In addition, fluctuating empathy scores in young people have raised debates about the role of social media in these developments (Konrath et al., 2011). While previous studies have found both negative (e.g. Uhls et al., 2014) and positive effects (e.g. Vossen & Valkenburg, 2016) of SNS use on empathy skills, research in this area still lacks methodological quality (Orben, 2020). The theoretical background reviewed points to possible moderating variables, namely personality traits, media richness and gender, that may have contributed to the variance in results. Viewing empathy as a multidimensional construct in line with Davis (1983) and other well-established definitions, this review takes into account both affective and cognitive components. In summary, the following research questions are addressed: Which theoretical frameworks and study designs are used in research on empathy in SNS contexts? How is empathy measured and defined? How is SNS use measured and defined? What are the findings regarding the influence of SNS use on adolescents’ empathy skills? Are there moderating effects of personality traits, media richness or gender?

A systematic search was performed in eight scientific databases (World of Science, PubMed, Taylor & Francis, Springer Link, Scopus, Science Direct, Jstor, ACM). Based on the PICO scheme, the search query ("Social Media" OR "Social Networking Site" OR SNS OR Facebook OR TikTok OR Instagram) AND (Empathy) AND ("Adolescen*" OR Teenagers OR Teenager) was used. In total, 2347 studies were screened for eligibility by three independent coders, resulting in a final sample of 34 studies.

Visually-oriented social media play a key role in adolescents’ body image concerns. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok generate pressure by routinely showcasing idealized appearances and enabling adolescents to engage with them through likes, comments, and (re)posts. This so-called appearance activity, in which adolescents frequently participate, reinforces unattainable beauty standards and exacerbates body image concerns (Jarman et al., 2024). Yet, adolescents can experience these concerns to differing extents depending on their differential susceptibility (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013). Therefore, it is crucial to identify the protective characteristics that can buffer adolescents from the negative effects of social media in order to inform both research and preventive efforts. This study focuses on resilience to media ideals and resilience to negative appearance feedback, such as criticism and teasing, as potential protective factors for adolescents’ body image. The study examines whether resilience moderates the relationship between appearance activity on social media, body esteem, and self-objectification. We analyze data from 927 adolescents aged 15 to 19 (M = 16.97, SD = 1.19; 59% girls, 38% boys, 4% other genders) collected in secondary schools in Czechia in 2022. Multi-level regression models will be employed to explore these relationships while accounting for school- and class-level influences. Given the significant role of gender in body image and social media engagement, differences between girls and boys will also be examined. At the conference, we will present our findings and discuss their implications for research and policy.

Different affordances of computer-mediated communication shape users’ interaction, which affects how the communication partners perceive each other. In prior studies, anonymity has been frequently debated as a salient factor that can substantially influence online interaction (e.g., referring to the online disinhibition effect, Suler, 2004). However, with few exceptions (Tsikerdekis, 2013), we lack evidence about the effect of specific online conditions on perceived anonymity, that is a subjective feeling of lack of identifiability of oneself or others (Scott & Rains, 2020). This preregistered study thus uses an experimental design to investigate the effect of different modes of communication (visual-textual vs. audio-video) on the perception of anonymity of another person. Moreover, considering that it is not only the mode of communication, but also a number of shared information that may affect this perception (Walther et al., 2015), we also investigate the effect of personal information shared by the other person (high vs. low). Finally, we also investigate the indirect effect of these conditions via perceived anonymity on the evaluation of another person in computer-mediated communication, specifically their trustworthiness and social attractiveness.

Utilizing three consequential short stimuli introduced as content developed by an applicant for a job in media, we used 2 (audio-video vs. textual-visual mode) x 2 (personalized information: high. vs. low) between-subject design to manipulate the objective conditions of anonymity - i.e., manipulated anonymity. The participants’ task was to watch/read the materials and report their perception of the person presenting the information, including their subjective assessment of their anonymity - i.e., perceived anonymity. Data was collected online via a professional agency that recruited participants from its online panel. The sample consisted of 500 Czech adolescents (13-18 years old, M=15.4, 51.2% girls,). Controlling for gender, age, and disposition to trust, we analyzed the data within the structural equation modeling (SEM) framework.