Digital environments have become an essential part of adolescents’ daily lives, no longer limited to communication or entertainment, but evolving into social and psychological spaces where relationships, identity, and emotional expression are shaped. Interaction through social media platforms, artificial intelligence applications, and electronic games places adolescents in situations that require abilities beyond technical skills, including understanding emotions, regulating them, and managing emotional responses in fast-paced and complex digital contexts. From this perspective, the concept of digital emotional intelligence has emerged as the ability of individuals to recognize and manage their own emotions, understand others’ feelings, and interact with them in an ethical and responsible manner while using digital technologies.
Recent studies confirm that adolescence represents a critical stage in the development of emotional and social competencies, coinciding with increased use of digital media. The literature indicates that the relationship between social media use and emotional intelligence is not linear, but rather depends on the nature and quality of use. Active and positive use, based on constructive social interaction and mutual support, is associated with higher levels of emotional awareness and empathy. In contrast, excessive or negative use, such as social comparison and continuous exposure to negative content, is linked to reduced emotional regulation and increased psychological stress.
With the growing spread of artificial intelligence applications, digital emotional intelligence also includes adolescents’ ability to interact consciously with intelligent systems. Studies suggest that safe and effective use of AI applications is associated with higher levels of emotional intelligence, and that parental involvement and guidance contribute to promoting responsible use of these technologies. Adolescents who are more capable of recognizing and regulating their emotions tend to be more aware of the risks of overreliance on AI tools and better able to use them for learning and problem-solving without allowing them to replace human interaction.
The literature also emphasizes that developing digital emotional intelligence does not depend solely on everyday technology use, but can be enhanced through purposeful digital educational practices. Research has shown that integrating digital storytelling in educational settings contributes to improving certain aspects of emotional intelligence among adolescents by allowing them to express personal experiences, reflect on their emotions, and understand others’ perspectives. These findings indicate that digital technologies, when used in reflective and socially interactive learning activities, can serve as tools for developing emotional skills rather than merely consuming content.
From a social perspective, research indicates that the relationship between internet use and emotional intelligence is influenced by adolescents’ level of social adjustment. Balanced internet use, accompanied by positive social relationships within the family and school, is associated with higher levels of emotional intelligence and social adaptation. In contrast, excessive or unregulated use leads to increased social isolation and difficulty in managing emotions, negatively affecting the quality of both real-life and digital relationships.
These findings highlight the importance of viewing digital emotional intelligence as a set of competencies that include awareness of emotions during digital interaction, the ability to regulate emotional responses, empathy toward others in virtual environments, and making ethical decisions when sharing content, information, or using AI technologies. It also involves the ability to resist pressures resulting from social comparison, manage cyberbullying, and reduce the impact of emotionally triggering content, thereby enhancing adolescents’ psychological and digital well-being.
In light of this, developing digital emotional intelligence has become an educational and psychological necessity in the digital age. The goal is no longer limited to improving adolescents’ technical skills, but extends to preparing them for responsible and conscious interaction within digital environments. This requires the integration of efforts by families, schools, and educational institutions to design programs that promote emotional awareness, critical thinking, and responsible digital behavior, enabling adolescents to benefit from modern technologies while minimizing their potential psychological and social risks.
