Introduction

Recent technological advancements have led to the emergence of new forms of digital media, such as social networks and various electronic applications. The scope of the media and communication has expanded with the growth of the Internet and the diversity of digital platforms, enabling individuals to communicate and interact globally across geographical and cultural boundaries. This has allowed digital media to become more influential and effective in shaping societal thoughts, values, and beliefs.

Digital media has successfully attracted many users including children, adolescents, and young people who find it an enjoyable means to fulfil many of their desires and express their personalities. Notably, applications such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram are highly popular due to their ease of use and flexible subscription restrictions. The human nature of forming relationships with peers, coupled with the ample free time available to children, adolescents, and youth, and the limited opportunities to meet others outside the home, have facilitated the infiltration of these applications into people’s lives, thereby altering the social fabric at both the family and community levels. For example, Khalid (2008) asserts that Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are among the most well-known social network sites on the Internet, representing the latest and most popular products of communication technology.

Thus, a question arises about the role that the digital media system plays in fulfilling its functions in society. Does it enhance positive social values, or does it support a range of negative or contradictory values? This contradiction may stem from the diversity of its sources and the varying intellectual and cultural foundations on which they are based. The digital media system may address psychological and social needs that do not align with the cultural and traditional particularities established by society.

The family is the primary social institution in which an individual grows up, acquiring many attitudes and values through socialization, typically through imitation and intentional learning from adults. Children learn various values, beliefs, ideas, and skills. In this context, opinions about electronic social networks vary. One perspective sees these platforms as an opportunity for humanity to exchange communication and knowledge, transcending time and space, thereby contributing to human closeness and interaction, and forming new social relationships. Another perspective views social media as a threat to social relationships, intersecting with societal traditions and values, leading to isolation and the disintegration of the family and social fabric, as it invades family life and reduces opportunities for interaction and communication among its members (Bouchleby, 2006, p. 143).

With the widespread and increasing use of digital media by both young and old, there may be a disparity, possibly reaching the point of conflict, between the values that the family seeks to instil in its children, such as sound religious and cultural values, and the values encountered on these digital platforms. These platforms have become an alternative to other socialization institutions by providing attractive content to a broad audience, facilitating acceptance, imitation, and reinforcement of the value system they offer. The impact of these media varies according to the psychological makeup of their users, their actual family environment, needs, beliefs, ages, and educational levels. This has led to a massive influx of a new system of ideas and values, influencing societies and promoting unconscious emulation of Western societies (Yahyaoui, 2019).

In a study on Bahraini youth, Abdul Sadiq (2014) found that they use social networking sites to search for information, obtain social support, freely express emotions and political opinions, make newfriends, shop, chat, entertain, fill free time, learn about current developments in society, and understand other cultures.

Similarly, young people who spend their time without a goal or productive activity, whether to relax with purposeful programs or engage in beneficial work, will feel a psychological void. This void can lead to personality stagnation and the suppression of potential energies, which remain unchanneled into correct paths. Consequently, unutilized free time becomes a breeding ground for numerous behavioral deviations, causing problems for the individual, including self-issues, family issues, and societal issues (Ahmed, 2020).

Excessive use of social networks by youth leads to isolation from their family reality and participation in community events. It also results in a lack of privacy and immersion in virtual communication at the expense of real relationships, causing moral, psychological, and material harm (Salam, 2015).

The excessive use of social media by university students negatively affects their ability to form positive social relationships, leading to social isolation, time wastage, and a preference for virtual over real-world communities (Niemz & others, 2005).

In a study by Sapsaglam (2018) titled "Social Media Awareness and Usage in Preschool Children," it was revealed that most preschool children are familiar with social media applications and try to access them through their parents' smartphones. The study found that YouTube is the most used application, as children watch cartoons and video clips through it.

Another study by Marengo, Longobardi, Fabris, & Settanni (2018) titled "Highly-visual Social Media and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescence: The Mediating Role of Body Image Concerns" indicated that constant use of these applications may lead to increased concern with body image changes among adolescents, contributing to poor psychological adjustment during this developmental stage.