Opgroeien in een digitale wereld: Inzichten in de gepercipieerde positieve ervaringen van digitaal mediagebruik bij (kwetsbare) adolescenten

The impact of adolescents' ubiquitous digital media use on their development has drawn considerable attention from the public and scientific community. Public discourse tends to adopt a predominantly negative stance on this matter. However, research has demonstrated a complex relationship between digital media use and areas important for adolescents' development. Quantitative studies have primarily investigated associations between digital media use (measured by screen time or, less frequently, content) and developmental outcomes. In contrast, qualitative studies have explored adolescents' perceived effects of digital media use. While quantitative findings often show non-significant or small negative and positive effects, qualitative research suggests that adolescents subjectively perceive strong struggles or benefits of digital media use. Although some quantitative research has examined perceived negative experiences, such as digital stress, considerably less attention has been paid to perceived positive digital experiences, particularly among developmentally vulnerable adolescents. Yet, such research is necessary to bridge and understand the differential conclusions drawn from quantitative and qualitative research. This gap is partly due to the absence of a robust conceptual framework and limited measurement instruments to assess such experiences. The first objective (O1) of this dissertation was to address this conceptual and methodological gap by developing frameworks and validated measures that move beyond screen time to capture adolescents' positive digital experiences. Therefore, Chapter 1 focused on adolescents' exclusively positive digital experiences by conceptualizing and developing a measure of digital flourishing in adolescence. This construct was adapted from adult digital flourishing literature, grounded in positive media psychology, specifically self-determination theory. Additionally, drawing on digital inequality theory, this chapter provided preliminary insights into how digital inequality determinants (i.e., gender, age, educational track, and parental education) relate to digital flourishing. Chapter 1 used a pilot cognitive interview and two cross-sectional online surveys with Slovenian adolescents (n1 = 147; n2 = 1,046). To further address O1, Chapter 3 introduced the concept of perceived digital well-being, considering the balance between simultaneous positive and negative self-perceived effects of smartphone use in the social, emotional, and cognitive domains. The developed measure was informed by uses and gratifications theory, media effects literature, digital well-being literature, and social constructivism theory. This chapter also preliminarily explored the relationships between digital inequality determinants (e.g., gender, age, educational track) and perceived digital well-being. It used a pilot cognitive interview study (n = 5) and two cross-sectional online surveys among Slovenian adolescents (n1 = 161; n2 = 1,040). The second objective of this dissertation was to apply these concepts and instruments in (intensive) longitudinal designs to examine predictors of adolescents' digital flourishing (O2a) and the long-term and short-term effects of perceived digital well-being (O2b). Chapter 2 addressed O2a by applying the newly developed digital flourishing measure in a one-year, three-wave panel study with 1,081 Slovenian adolescents. Two distinct, equally distributed developmental trajectories emerged. The first group exhibited consistently high levels of digital flourishing dimensions over time, while the second reported lower levels, with a decline in self-control over time. The predictive role of developmental changes (i.e., age) and digital inequality determinants (i.e., parental education, ethnicity, parental mediation style, and parental digital skills) was studied to understand which adolescents flourish digitally over time. Adolescents whose parents were more digitally skilled and used more active and autonomy-supportive mediation styles were more likely to belong to the first, flourishing group. Chapter 4 addressed O2b by exploring the between-person and longitudinal reciprocal within-person cross-lagged relationships between adolescents' perceived digital well-being and offline identity and resilience for well-being (i.e., self-esteem). Using the same three-wave panel dataset (n = 1,081), between-person correlations revealed that high perceived digital well-being in the emotional domain (but not in the social and cognitive domains) was associated with high self-esteem. However, long-term within-person cross-lagged relationships were inconsistent. Digital inequality determinants (i.e., gender and parental education) and objectively measured smartphone screen time were considered as moderators of the explored relationships. Unstable differences were observed in the relationships between gender and the social domain, as well as between smartphone screen time and the cognitive domain. Parental education did not moderate the relationships. Given that digital media use effects can vary across the time spans of the study, Chapter 5 used a 14-day daily diary study data among 303 Slovenian adolescents to examine the between-person and short-term, within-person relationships between adolescents' perceived digital well-being and offline well-being (i.e., affective well-being) and its resilience factors (i.e., state self-esteem) (O2b). Daily increase in perceived digital well-being was significantly associated with an increase in both outcomes. Digital inequality determinants (i.e., gender and maternal education) were again tested as moderators. Girls had a stronger positive relationship between perceived digital well-being in the emotional domain and state self-esteem/affective well-being than boys. No (consistent) moderation was observed for maternal education or other (negative) perceptions about smartphone use (i.e., adolescents' perceived smartphone addiction). The findings revealed that adolescents generally report high digital flourishing. Short-term but not long-term perceptions of digital well-being were positively linked to offline well-being and resilience. However, results underscored the complexity of perceived positive and balanced digital experiences, which varied based on social, cognitive, and emotional components of digital use, temporal frame (i.e., short-term versus long-term), analytical level (i.e., between-person versus within-person), and digital inequalities determinants (i.e., gender and parental behavior). Boys appeared to benefit less emotionally and socially from digital media uses, whereas girls reported stronger social and emotional benefits, albeit with greater vulnerability to emotion regulation challenges posed by digital media uses. Adolescents with digitally skilled parents and parents using autonomy-supportive parents who communicate with their children about digital media uses reported higher digital flourishing. Theoretically, the findings call for an expansion of digital media use theoretical frameworks to incorporate adolescents' perceptions of positive digital experiences. Practically, they highlight the need for digital platforms to take measures toward adolescent uses, policy initiatives and educational interventions to go beyond a one-size-fits-all, risk-prevention approach and recognize the nuanced, potentially beneficial aspects of adolescents' digital uses. Interventions should also aim to diminish digital inequalities based on gender and enhance parents' digital literacy and promote autonomy-supportive, active parental mediation strategies to empower adolescents in their digital lives.