Emociones, uso problemático de Internet y exposición de la intimidad en redes sociales en jóvenes

  1. Fernández-García, Esther
  2. Cava Caballero, María Jesús 1
  3. Buelga Vázquez, Sofía 1
  4. Carrascosa, Laura 23
  1. 1 Universitat de València
    info

    Universitat de València

    Valencia, España

    ROR https://ror.org/043nxc105

  2. 2 Universidad Internacional de Valencia (2020) (Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas)
  3. 3 Universitat de València (Facultat de Psicologia i Logopèdia)
Journal:
Anuario de Psicología/The UB Journal of Psychology

ISSN: 1988-5253 0066-5126

Year of publication: 2024

Volume: 54

Issue: 2

Pages: 50-62

Type: Article

DOI: 10.1344/ANPSIC2024.54.2.5 GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openOpen access editor

More publications in: Anuario de Psicología/The UB Journal of Psychology

Abstract

Public exposure of intimacy on social networks (extimacy) is frequent in young people, and could be associated with the emotions they experience before connecting and problematic use of the internet (addictive use, preference for online social interaction, and use to regulate emotions). However, these links have scarcely been investigated. The aims of this study were to: (1) analyze the prevalence of different emo-tions experienced by young people before connecting to the internet, (2) explore their correlations with problematic internet use and extimacy, (3) analyze possible differences in emotions and problematic internet use based on greater or less extimacy, and (4) explore the predictive capacity of emotions and problematic internet use with respect to extimacy. Participants were 312 young people, aged 18–28 years old (M = 21.22, SD = 2.45). The results indicated that the emotion most experienced by young people before connecting to the internet is boredom, although the prevalence observed in positive emotions, such as joy or excitement, was considerable. Significant correlations were found between the emotions experienced before connecting, prob-lematic internet use, and extimacy. Young people with high levels of extimacy showed significantly higher scores in the emotions of boredom, excitement, stress, joy and happiness, as well as in addictive use of the internet and use to regulate their mood. The emotions of joy, excitement, and boredom, along with addictive internet use, were significant predictors of extimacy.