An attachment perspective on digital youths after the COVID-19 pandemic: research findings, challenges, and opportunities.

Young people today are known as Generations Z and Alpha because the internet has existed since their birth, and they cannot have memories outside of the digital age. Attachment-oriented research and practice find new challenges to face with the young people of these generations, given potential misunderstandings and relational difficulties that could arise in the relationship between caregivers and professionals who have developed their attachment pattern in the non-digital world, and young people who have developed their attachment patterns in a digital-only world. The lecture will focus on the phenomena of attachment in digital youths from multiple points of view: First, ongoing studies on the effects of digital abuse by parents on childhood attachment will be illustrated. Second, recent findings on multiple facets of attachment in digital youths will be reviewed, including their attachment to parents, peers, and within romantic relationships, aiming to reflect on similarities and differences with non-digital peers of past generations. In particular, recent findings on relationships between attachment and social media misuse during and after the COVID-19 pandemic will be compared to pre-pandemic ones. Third, risk pathways connecting attachment patterns of children and adolescents with their use of the internet and social media will be illustrated. Particular attention will be paid to highlighting the protective factors, mediators, and moderators of the harmful effects of insecure or disorganized attachment on the risk of presenting symptoms from the internet or social media disorder. Lastly, the applicative potential of the digital age for attachment-oriented interventions dedicated to adolescents will be illustrated.