Abstract

HERNANDEZ CAMBLOR, Claudia  and  MORAL JIMENEZ, María de la Villa. Use of Virtual Social Networks and its Relationship with the Perception of Loneliness and Social Skills Among Spanish Young Adults of Generation Z and Y. Act.Colom.Psicol. [online]. 2024, vol.27, n.1, pp.1-.  Epub May 28, 2024. ISSN 0123-9155.  https://doi.org/10.14718/acp.2024.27.1.13.

Virtual social networks are attracting different types of users thanks to the multiple potentialities and impacts characteristic of this technological society. The aim of this study is to identify the virtual social networks most used by young people, as well as the personal reasons for use and their negative effects in relation to the perception of loneliness and their self-expression skills in social settings. As specific objectives, it is proposed to determine the differences in such uses depending on age, level of education and gender. A non-probabilistic convenience sampling was carried out so that 251 young Spanish adults between the ages of 18 and 40 years old participated (X = 26.33, DT. = 5-91). It has been verified that the use of social networks is increased when presenting low social skills, having high levels of loneliness and the younger one is. The reasons for boredom and evasion or escape in the use of these digital spaces stand out, and a tendency is observed in the young people of Generation Z (young people between 18 and 28 years old) to use VSN more in comparison with the previous Generation Y (with a range of 29 to 40 years old). It emphasizes the convenience of controlling the problematic use of social networks, training social skills to improve interpersonal relationships and strengthening emotionally.

Keywords : Social networks; reasons for use; social skills; loneliness; young adults.

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