What happens in the system when a new element is inserted into a linked list?

When inserting a new element into a linked list, the following steps occur:

1. A new node is created with the desired value.
2. The new node's reference is set to point to the next element in the list (for a singly linked list — the current next node).
3. The reference of the previous node is updated to point to the new node.

For example, to insert at the beginning of a singly linked list:

class Node {
    int value;
    Node next;
    Node(int value) { this.value = value; }
}

Node head; // start of the list

void insertAtHead(int val) {
    Node newNode = new Node(val);
    newNode.next = head;
    head = newNode;
}

Thus, the new element becomes part of the list, and references are updated to maintain the structure.