Journal of K-12 Educational Research 71 (DESY) and the Social and Emotional Competency Survey for Students (SEL-C), to measure the students’ perceptions in areas surrounding their digital environment and their social emotional skills (Tripod Education Partners, 2018). The current study involved eighth graders in six middle schools of one North Texas school district. Of 1,916 eighth grade students, 1,617 students entered the survey to the opening introduction and implied consent statements. The participants completed one survey instrument with combined questions from the DESY and the SEL-C. Students self-reported on the survey instrument answering on a scale of 1 to 5. Once responses were received, Pearson r correlation coefficients were calculated to determine if relationships existed between the three digital environment domains and the students’ social-emotional skills. The research questions were as follows: Research Question 1 (RQ1) Is there a relationship between the presence of digital devices and students’ social- emotional skills? Research Question 2 (RQ2) Is there a relationship between students’ preferred communication methods and abilities and their social-emotional skills? Research Question 3 (RQ3) Is there a relationship between students’ ability to control the amount of time spent on digital devices and students’ social-emotional skills? Determining if there are correlations between the digital environment and students’ social-emotional skills may assist districts in addressing students’ SEL skills. Since school-issued devices and 1:1 devices are common in the learning environment, schools may evaluate their policies related to digital devices in the classroom. Additionally, if correlations exist, the current study may bring increased awareness to parents and the community regarding the relationship between the students’ digital environment and their social-emotional skills. Teaching digital citizenship in schools and at home may assist students in creating healthier boundaries with the use of digital devices. For future success, students must be able to strike a balance between technology and positive social-emotional skills. Literature Review Overview Digital Devices and Digital Media Socio-economic status no longer determines who owns smartphones and other devices (Twenge, 2017). Children and youth use digital devices for activities such as accessing the Internet, connecting with others via social media, texting, video gaming, and media watching. Technology has infiltrated homes, classrooms, and the environment with the ease and portability of the digital devices. In evaluating the effects of digital devices and digital media, researchers have considered the displacement of time for other activities, the content of the digital medium, and the characteristics of the technology user (Carr, 2010; Sharif et al., 2010). Additionally, Carr (2010) questioned how a medium such as the Internet affects one’s central nervous system. With any new technology or medium, pros and cons may exist. The Digital Environment With digital devices readily accessible all hours of the day, the devices may not only affect the user, but also friends, family, or those who are close in proximity to the user. Boredom has possibly decreased; however, constant access permits loved ones and strangers alike to be distracted and forever elsewhere (Turkle, 2015). Recently, researchers have investigated the parent-child relationship by requesting parents to ignore their child while focusing on their cell phones for two straight minutes (Sloan & Weinraub, 2019, 1:12). This experiment was designed to simulate real life parent-child interactions. Although individuals may have always been distracted, digital devices and their contents, including social media and gaming, are engineered to grab the attention of the user and to encourage continued use of the digital platform (Sloan & Weinraub, 2019, 3:03). Addiction to digital devices and its contents has been compared to other addictions such as drugs and gambling (Dunckley, 2015; Kardaras, 2016). Thus, others’ decisions and boundaries with digital devices potentially affect not only the user, but also those around the user. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Many terms have been used to describe SEL-type skills including soft skills, emotional intelligence, and 21st-
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