Isabel Cuadrado Gordillo
University of Extremadura
Connectivity, social networks and adolescents: from psychosocial adjustment to the normalization of maladjusted behaviour interplay
Participants: Inmaculada Fernández Antelo1; Gonzalo del Moral Arroyo2; Guadalupe Martín-Mora Parra1; Isabel Borrego Hernández1
1University of Extremadura; 2Pablo de Olavide University
Symposium Summary
The coexistence and convivencia of face-to-face and virtual environments have changed the patterns of interaction and relationship among peers, especially among the adolescent population. The feeling of belonging to social groups and the creation of support networks no longer depend exclusively, or sometimes primarily, on the personal contacts that young people make in their physical spheres, but on the use that they make of virtual social networks. All this means that the number of hours that adolescents spend in front of their electronic devices with an Internet connection increases considerably, in many cases creating dependence situations. On the other hand, this search for social connectivity through the Internet is generating important psychosocial imbalances among which are depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, inability to regulate emotions, addictions, etc. These new forms of relationships, together with possible behavioural and social disorders, are causing the normalization of maladjusted behaviours. All this makes difficult the construction of social identity and increases the complexity of the aggression and victimization processes, both in face-to-face or virtual environments, and in the interplay of both.
Short CV
Professor of Psychology at the University of Extremadura. She has a research career of more than 30 years. The main lines of research she has worked on are gender violence in adolescent couples and public health; bullying, harassment, cyber-bullying and mediation in conflicts resolution; analysis of dialogical communication processes and verbal and non-verbal discursive strategies; evaluation and intervention in reading and writing difficulties. She has a scientific production of more than 200 publications collected both in scientific journals in the field of Psychology and in books and manuals from international and national publishers (Publibook; NOVA Publishers, Wolters Kluwer, EOS, Académica Española, etc.). Likewise, the dissemination of research results has materialized with the participation in more than a hundred specific international congresses in the area of Psychology. PI of competitive and funded Research Projects at European, National and Regional level.
She is PI of the Educational Research and Innovation Group (GRIE) (group cataloged by the Junta de Extremadura, key number SEJ032). Director of the University Institute for Educational Research and Innovation (INPEX) of the University of Extremadura. She has designed and is the director of the Doctorate Program in Psychology at the University of Extremadura. Guest Member of the Doctorate Program in Psychology "Psychology of communication: social interaction and human development" of the Department of Basic, Developmental and Educational Psychology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Member of editorial committees of several scientific journals. She has been Dean of the Faculty of Education of the UEX and Director of the Department of Psychology and Anthropology of the University of Extremadura. She has been a member of the Observatory on School Violence of the Regional Government of Extremadura (2007-2012).