Understanding Emotional Intelligence in the Age of Social Media: Insights from Adolescents and Preadolescents

The year 1989 marked the establishment of a document of fundamental importance for the generation's future: the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This treaty recognized for the first time children and adolescents as subjects with specific rights, providing the basis for their protection and development in all areas of life. Concurrently, in the same years, Tim Berners-Lee was laying the groundwork for what would become the largest global information and communications network: the World Wide Web, officially launched in 1991. Initially conceived as a tool for the dissemination of scientific data, the web has undergone a rapid transformation, profoundly impacting the ways in which people work, learn, communicate and interact. Today, decades later, the generation that grew up with the internet and social media finds itself navigating a digital environment full of opportunities but also potential threats. Adolescents are immersed in these dynamics, using social platforms to socialize, express themselves, get information and build their own identity. While the Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrined fundamental principles such as the right to protection, education, participation and well-being, the advent of social media poses new and complex challenges to their effective implementation in the digital context. Phenomena such as cyberbullying, the dissemination of inappropriate content, social pressure related to body image and potential addiction to platforms raise crucial questions about the protection of adolescents' rights online. In this scenario, the present cumulative thesis explores the relationship between social media use and emotional intelligence among preadolescents and adolescence, with a focus on the sociocultural factors that influence digital engagement and its impact on socio-emotional development. The research encompasses a systematic literature review and three empirical studies, including two cross-sectional analyses and a longitudinal investigation. The systematic literature review provided a theoretical foundation, identifying significant gaps in existing research and offering insights into the role of emotional intelligence in moderating social media experiences. The review highlights that low emotional intelligence levels are associated with problematic social media use, and that social media use has a negative correlation with adolescent self-esteem. Furthermore, difficulties in emotion regulation were associated with problematic social media use, while social media use was positively correlated with empathy. The first cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence, problematic social media use, and image-related activities on social media among adolescents. The findings reveal a significant negative correlation between emotional intelligence and problematic social media use. It also found that adolescents who report a high propensity to engage in image-centered interactions on social media are at greater risk of developing social media addiction. Furthermore, the study identifies image-related activities as a partial mediator between emotional intelligence and problematic social media use. The second cross-sectional study showed a negative correlation between social media addiction and emotional intelligence in both males and females. Additionally, among males, there was a positive association between social media addiction and certain subscales of social pressure, particularly those related to pressure from family, peers, others, and the media, as well as the internalization of thin and muscular body ideals. For females, there was a positive correlation between social media addiction and the internalization of appearance ideals and thin body standards, along with correlations between social media addiction and social pressure from family, peers, others, and the media. The subscales of social pressure exhibited a significant negative correlation with emotional intelligence for both genders, whereas subscales related to internalization showed a significant negative correlation only for females. The longitudinal study tracked changes in social media use over time and revealed a growing dependence on these platforms. The results showed a significant link between social media use and addictive behaviours, the reinforcement of appearance ideals, and an inverse relationship with emotional intelligence. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge by offering practical implications for educators, parents, and policymakers. Educational interventions aimed at enhancing emotional intelligence, promoting critical digital literacy and encouraging conscious use of social media appear essential to ensure that the rights guaranteed by the Convention are protected in the digital world, and to promote a safer online environment that supports the socio-emotional well-being of young people.