Social and Emotional Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Adults Living in Rapidly Changing Real and Virtually Constructed Worlds

We live in an uncertain and tense world of COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, conflict, war, and division over political systems and ethnic groups in various parts of the world, and potential disparity and oppression. On the other hand, we are living in a virtual world that has been dramatized by social media, and a relational world that has been connected by social media. These modern social characteristics have different impacts on people at different stages of their life course.

UNICEF (https://www.unicef-irc.org/research/adolescent-wellbeing/) has focused on the social well-being of youth, however, it has been pointed out that the improvement of wellbeing in adolescent and young adult is lagging due to social conditions. This is because they are a vulnerable group, exposed and susceptible to social structural factors such as violence and abuse, early marriage, young carers, dropout from secondary education, global economic stagnation, child poverty and isolation.

During adolescence and young adulthood, it is important to foster resources to overcome obstacles such as negative abilities, positive youth development, and neighborhood environments rich in social capital in order to build a foundation for a lifetime. However, the social environments and cultural contexts in which young people live are diverse, and the problems they experience are different.

How do rapidly changing societies in different contexts affect the social wellbeing of adolescents and young adults? What role does social media play in the social wellbeing of adolescents and young adults in developed and developing societies?