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The Longitudinal Association Between Social-Media Use and Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Empirical Reply to Twenge et al. (2018)
Abstract
Research by Twenge, Joiner, Rogers, and Martin has indicated that there may be an association between social-media use and depressive symptoms among adolescents. However, because of the cross-sectional nature of this work, the relationship among these variables over time remains unclear. Thus, in this longitudinal study we examined the associations between social-media use and depressive symptoms over time using two samples: 594 adolescents (Mage = 12.21) who were surveyed annually for 2 years, and 1,132 undergraduate students (Mage = 19.06) who were surveyed annually for 6 years. Results indicate that among both samples, social-media use did not predict depressive symptoms over time for males or females. However, greater depressive symptoms predicted more frequent social-media use only among adolescent girls. Thus, while it is often assumed that social-media use may lead to depressive symptoms, our results indicate that this assumption may be unwarranted.
... The theory argues that adolescents with psychosocial distress are likely to have an increased preference for social media interactions as it provides them opportunities to express themselves anonymously and safely and that may facilitate the compulsion towards social media over time. Recent findings support a negative relationship between psychosocial well-being and PSMU, especially in adolescence (e.g., Boer et al., 2020;Heffer et al., 2019;Twenge, 2019). For example, Heffer et al. (2019) investigated adolescents' and college students' daily social media use and depressive symptoms over two years. ...
... Recent findings support a negative relationship between psychosocial well-being and PSMU, especially in adolescence (e.g., Boer et al., 2020;Heffer et al., 2019;Twenge, 2019). For example, Heffer et al. (2019) investigated adolescents' and college students' daily social media use and depressive symptoms over two years. Importantly, Heffer et al. tested both directional effects of the relationship (from depression to later frequent social media use and from social media use to later depressive score) to address the debate regarding whether psychosocial distress precedes PSMU or vice versa (see Keles et al., 2020;Orben, 2020). ...
... Cyberbullying involvement is complex (Lozano-Blasco et al., 2020), and risk factors for perpetration and victimization are somewhat similar Feijóo et al., 2021), previous studies have tended to separately investigate cyber-perpetration (e.g., Kircaburun et al., 2019), or victimization (e.g., Zsila et al., 2018). Although there are clearly established links between lower psychosocial wellbeing and PSMU Caplan, 2010;Heffer et al., 2019), as well as PSMU and cyberbullying involvement Giordano et al., 2021;Lee et al., 2018), only a few studies investigated the relationships among all three variables simultaneously (e.g., Kircaburun et al., 2019). Specifically, previous studies seem to have been overly focused on PSMU in fighting cyberbullying, as it has been repeatedly found to be a strong predictor, through methods such as reducing time spent on social media using parental monitoring (e.g., Brighi et al., 2019). ...
Cyberbullying among adolescents has been increasingly studied throughout the world as it has become a significant public health concern. However, there is a dearth of research on cyberbullying in Mongolia. This study investigated cyber-perpetration and cyber-victimization experiences among Mongolian adolescents aged 14 to 18 (n = 676) and the relationship between psychosocial well-being, social media use, and cyber-perpetration and victimization. The data were analyzed with SPSS 25 (IBM Corp, 2017; Hayes, 2013). Results showed that 30.2% of participants experienced pure cyber-victimization, 19.0% experienced both perpetration and victimization, and 6.7% experienced pure cyber-perpetration often or occasionally in the past 12 months. Being male significantly predicted cyber-perpetration, and no such gender difference was observed for victimization. Age was not related to either cyber-perpetration or victimization. As hypothesized, the results showed that psychosocial well-being directly predicted cyber-perpetration and victimization and indirectly predicted them through problematic social media use (PSMU). The recommendations, implications, and limitations are discussed regarding these findings.
... social media, texting, video-chatting) on adolescents' emotional health (e.g., Cauberghe et al., 2021;Charmaraman et al., 2022;Jensen et al., 2019;Massing-Schaffer et al., 2022;Riehm et al., 2019). Specifically, prior research suggests both positive and negative effects of social technology use on teen emotional health, which need to be investigated further with more nuanced approaches (Heffer et al., 2019;Ivie et al., 2020;Odgers & Jensen, 2020;Seabrook et al., 2016;Valkenburg et al., 2022). The sudden, dramatic, and near-universal shift toward reliance on social technology use for peer interaction during the COVID-19 lockdown created a "naturalistic experiment," and offered a unique opportunity to better understand the mechanisms through which social technology use may be related to dayto-day emotional functioning in teens. ...
... As previously noted, social technology has been found to have both positive and negative effects on mental health (Heffer et al., 2019;Ivie et al., 2020;Odgers & Jensen, 2020;Seabrook et al., 2016;Valkenburg et al., 2022). Social technologies may have positive effects on emotional health through enhanced social support and connectedness (Baker & Algorta, 2016;Best et al., 2014;Gilmour et al., 2020;Massing-Schaffer et al., 2022), potentially compensating for lost in-person experiences with peers. ...
... Although some have argued that the rise in social technology use may help account for increasing mental health problems in teens, empirical reports have been conflicting, with more recent data pointing to both positive and negative effects of social technology use on teen emotional health that need to be investigated using more detailed and nuanced approaches (Heffer et al., 2019;Ivie et al., 2020;Odgers & Jensen, 2020;Seabrook et al., 2016;Valkenburg et al., 2022). ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, adolescents relied on social technology for social connection. Although some research suggests small, negative effects for quantity of social technology use on adolescent mental health, the quality of the interaction may be more important. We conducted a daily diary study in a risk-enriched sample of girls under COVID-19 lockdown to investigate associations between daily social technology use, peer closeness, and emotional health. For 10 days, 93 girls (ages 12–17) completed an online daily diary (88% compliance) assessing positive affect, symptoms of anxiety and depression, peer closeness, and daily time texting, video-chatting and using social media. Multilevel fixed effects models with Bayesian estimation were conducted. At the within-person level, more daily time texting or video-chatting with peers was associated with feeling closer to peers that day, which was associated with more positive affect and fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms that day. At the between-person level, more time video-chatting with peers across the 10 days was indirectly associated with higher average positive affect during lockdown and less depression seven-months later, via higher mean closeness with peers. Social media use was not associated with emotional health at the within- or between-person levels. Messaging and video-chatting technologies are important tools for maintaining peer connectedness during social isolation, with beneficial effects on emotional health.
... High levels of social media interaction in early adolescence have implications for wellbeing or depression in later adolescence, particularly for females (13,14). According to Heffer et al., social-media use did not predict depressive symptoms over time for males or females (25). ...
... The variable were recorded in to 4 categories i.e. (a) No depression (0-4), (b) Mild (5-9), (C) Moderate (10)(11)(12)(13)(14) and (d) Severe (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27). Severe includes moderately severe and severe. ...
Introduction: In an online era like today, the relationship between social media and depression among adolescents and young adults is erratic and still continues to be a debatable subject. The study aims to examine the association and bi-directional relationship between social media usage and depressive symptoms among the adolescent boys and girls in India.
Methods: The study uses data from two waves of Understanding the Lives of Adolescents and Young Adults (UDAYA) project survey conducted in two Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Depression was measured by a Patient Health Questionnaire. Logistic regression has been used for analyzing the data comprising the same time period, whereas the bidirectional relationship between two time periods has been evaluated by Cross-Lagged Path Model.
Result: Findings suggest that the percentage of moderate depressive symptoms increased from 1.7% to 3.0% from Wave 1 to Wave 2. Depression among adolescent girls increased slightly from wave 1 to wave 2 whereas a slight decrement was noticed in the moderate form of depressive symptom among adolescent girls using social media for the two waves. Socioeconomic factors like education, age, gender played an important role in affecting depression among adolescents in both the Wave of the survey. The path relationship reveals that social media users in Wave 1 [β=0.22, p<0.001] were positively associated with social media users in Wave 2. Similar patterns were observed for depressive symptoms at both the waves of the survey. However, cross lagged relations between social media use and depression could not be established between the survey periods.
Conclusion: A significant degree of association was found between social media use and depression among adolescent boys and girls in the study. The present study concludes that factors like age, gender and education showed significant relationships with social media use and depression.
... A recent statement by the US Surgeon General recommends consistently examining the possibility of bidirectionality when examining associations between screen media use and youth mental health (U.S. Surgeon General, 2023). The reason for this is that the direction of this association should never be assumed because youth experiencing more symptoms of anxiety may choose to spend more time online as a form of avoidance or self-medication (Heffer et al., 2019;Sagioglou & Greitemeyer, 2014). ...
... In another recent study, Orben et al. (2022) found bidirectional associations between social media use and lower life satisfaction among adolescents aged 10 to 19, suggesting that bidirectional associations could have emerged if it was possible to observe a larger time frame. However, it is worth considering that adolescents with higher anxiety levels may not necessarily use more internet, contrary to hypotheses proposing that individuals perceive the internet as a coping mechanism for anxiety (Heffer et al., 2019;Sagioglou & Greitemeyer, 2014). Nonetheless, our statistical design accounts for reverse causation and temporal precedence of variables, rendering one of the closest approaches to a fully causal design when working with observational data. ...
Past research suggests that internet use can increase the risks of internalizing symptoms in adolescents. However, bidirectional relationships between adolescent internet use and anxiety symptoms have received very little attention. Furthermore, few studies have examined these links according to sex. The present study attempts to fill this gap by investigating longitudinal associations between Canadian boys’ and girls’ internet use and symptoms of generalized anxiety and social anxiety using data from the Quebec longitudinal Study of Child Development. A sample of 1324 adolescents (698 girls, 626 boys) self-reported the number of hours per week they spent on the internet and their symptoms of generalized and social anxiety at ages 15 and 17. We estimated two cross-lagged panel models with social or generalized anxiety symptoms and internet use at age 15 predicting those same variables at age 17. Sex was used as a grouping variable and socioeconomic status was included as a control variable. Internet use at 15 predicted generalized and social anxiety symptoms at age 17 in girls, but not boys. Social and generalized anxiety symptoms at age 15 did not predict internet use at age 17 for both boys and girls. These results suggest that internet use can be a significant risk factor for the development of anxiety symptoms in adolescent girls. Girls may be more vulnerable to the negative effects of internet use due to increased sensitivity to social comparisons. Thus, helping girls develop healthier internet use habits should be a target for promoting their mental health.
... However, the relationships between social media use and these adverse outcomes are not clearly established due to the complex nature of the variables involved. For example, Heffer et al. (2019) found that social media use may not lead to depression. Similarly, Jensen et al. (2019) found no association between adolescents' frequency of social media use and depression, anxiety, or inattention/ hyperactivity symptoms. ...
... The inclusion of other variables in the regression analyses suggests that other variables may also explain the relationship between PMSU and depression and that the true effect of this relationship may be lower. Many studies indicate that the relationship between PSMU and depression may be weak, or there may be no relationship between them (e.g., Heffer et al., 2019;Jensen et al., 2019;Orben et al., 2019). Therefore, it is believed that including more variables in the model in studies examining the relationship between PSMU and depression would be useful in determining the real effects. ...
In the digital age, people interact face-to-face and through social media tools such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The transformation of social media into problematic use has become a global concern. Studies show that problematic social media use (PSMU) is associated with many sociological, psychological, and physiological problems. One of the factors associated with PSMU is depression. This meta-analysis study aimed to systematically synthesize the relationship between PSMU and depression through existing research. This study was conducted on the Turkish population, and as a result of a screening of 10 databases, 38 studies with a total of 14,935 participants were found. The findings of the random effects meta-analysis showed that there was a positive and small association between PSMU and depression (r = 0.321 [0.283, 0.358], p < .05). The corrected effect size according to the PET/PEESE method similarly supports the idea of a small effect between PMSU and depression (r = 0.277 [0.183, 0.372], p < .05). The results of moderator analyses show that there is heterogeneity by type of publication, with theses reporting larger effect sizes than articles. Type of publication, sample group, data collection method, type of coefficient, year of publication, gender ratio, and sample size variables were not found to be significant sources of heterogeneity. These results suggest the importance of focusing on more specific variables in causal and intervention-prevention research to reveal real effects when examining the relationship between PSMU and depression in the future.
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. ...
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. Other studies have also explored the direction of the effect and found some evidence of a reciprocal relationship, in which poor mental health may encourage greater social media use and social media use itself may also lead to poorer mental health [17]. ...
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. ...
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. Other studies have also explored the direction of the effect and found some evidence of a reciprocal relationship, in which poor mental health may encourage greater social media use and social media use itself may also lead to poorer mental health [17]. ...
Background: Cross-sectional studies have found a relationship between social media use and depression and anxiety in young people. However, few longitudinal studies using representative data and mediation analysis have been conducted to understand the causal pathways of this relationship.
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. ...
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest or no evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being [16][17][18]34,35]. For example, a Canadian longitudinal study found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms in female or male adolescents, but higher depressive symptoms predicted increased use of social media among girls [35]. Other studies have also explored the direction of the effect and found some evidence of a reciprocal relationship, in which poor mental health may encourage greater social media use and social media use itself may also lead to poorer mental health [17]. ...
Background:
Cross-sectional studies have found a relationship between social media use and depression and anxiety in young people. However, few longitudinal studies using representative data and mediation analysis have been conducted to understand the causal pathways of this relationship.
Objective:
This study aims to examine the longitudinal relationship between social media use and young people's mental health and the role of self-esteem and social connectedness as potential mediators.
Methods:
The sample included 3228 participants who were 10- to 15-year-olds from Understanding Society (2009-2019), a UK longitudinal household survey. The number of hours spent on social media was measured on a 5-point scale from "none" to "7 or more hours" at the ages of 12-13 years. Self-esteem and social connectedness (number of friends and happiness with friendships) were measured at the ages of 13-14 years. Mental health problems measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were assessed at the ages of 14-15 years. Covariates included demographic and household variables. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the association between social media use and mental health. We used path analysis with structural equation modeling to investigate the mediation pathways.
Results:
In adjusted analysis, there was a nonsignificant linear trend showing that more time spent on social media was related to poorer mental health 2 years later (n=2603, β=.21, 95% CI 0.43 to 0.84; P=.52). In an unadjusted path analysis, 68% of the effect of social media use on mental health was mediated by self-esteem (indirect effect, n=2569, β=.70, 95% CI 0.15-1.30; P=.02). This effect was attenuated in the adjusted analysis, and it was found that self-esteem was no longer a significant mediator (indirect effect, n=2316, β=.24, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.66; P=.22). We did not find evidence that the association between social media and mental health was mediated by social connectedness. Similar results were found in imputed data.
Conclusions:
There was little evidence to suggest that more time spent on social media was associated with later mental health problems in UK adolescents. This study shows the importance of longitudinal studies to examine this relationship and suggests that prevention strategies and interventions to improve mental health associated with social media use could consider the role of factors like self-esteem.
... The decline in well-being and mental health of Generation Z has been welldocumented before the pandemic (Heffer et al., 2019;Twenge, Joiner, et al., 2018; as well as during it (American Psychological Association, 2020;Czeisler et al., 2020). Three sources of malaise in Gen Z's environment are present in ways that previous generations have not had to face: social media (especially affecting females), pornography and video games (especially affecting males), and changes in higher education, all amplified by the lockdown and restrictions in face-to-face communication. ...
... The decrease in psychological well-being is associated with greater use of social media, especially in teenage girls (Heffer et al., 2019;. Social media strongly affects girls' body image, because they tend to follow the most attractive people on Instagram and other visually-oriented social media platforms. ...
In North America, members of Generation Z (people born since 1995) are facing struggles and obstacles that previous generations have not had to face, resulting in higher rates of depression and suicide and lower levels of life satisfaction. These struggles are likely to have a negative impact on the future generation of missionaries and mission organizations. Psychological struggles due to social media, addiction related to online gaming and pornography, and fragility due to changes in parenting and education have all been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, these challenges may make North American Generation Z missionaries less effective unless mission structures change to provide the support and accountability necessary to minimize the effects of the new cultural context.
... The decline in well-being and mental health of Generation Z has been welldocumented before the pandemic (Heffer et al., 2019;Twenge, Joiner, et al., 2018; as well as during it (American Psychological Association, 2020;Czeisler et al., 2020). Three sources of malaise in Gen Z's environment are present in ways that previous generations have not had to face: social media (especially affecting females), pornography and video games (especially affecting males), and changes in higher education, all amplified by the lockdown and restrictions in face-to-face communication. ...
... The decrease in psychological well-being is associated with greater use of social media, especially in teenage girls (Heffer et al., 2019;. Social media strongly affects girls' body image, because they tend to follow the most attractive people on Instagram and other visually-oriented social media platforms. ...
In North America, members of Generation Z (people born since 1995) are facing struggles and obstacles that previous generations have not had to face, resulting in higher rates of depression and suicide and lower levels of life satisfaction. These struggles are likely to have a negative impact on the future generation of missionaries and mission organizations. Psychological struggles due to social media, addiction related to online gaming and pornography, and fragility due to changes in parenting and education have all been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, these challenges may make North American Generation Z missionaries less effective unless mission structures change to provide the support and accountability necessary to minimize the effects of the new cultural context.
... Jelenchick et al., 2013). This inconsistency persisted with longitudinal findings (Heffer et al., 2019;Tandoc Jr. & Goh, 2021;Twenge et al., 2018), implying that the mixed findings are robust across research designs. These mixed findings have obscured the interpretation of the relevance of Facebook depression; whether prolonged use of Facebook truly presents a concern for users' psychological well-being. ...
... Therefore, as indicated previously, mediation analysis with cross-sectional data may provide biased results (e.g. Maxwell et al., (Heffer et al., 2019;Scherr et al., 2019;Tandoc Jr. & Goh, 2021;Twenge et al., 2018). ...
This research aimed to examine the relationships between Facebook addiction, depressive experiences (self-criticism and dependency), and the severity of depression. To increase the validity of the findings, this longitudinal research with two waves was conducted with a sample of depressed Facebook users. This research has successfully recruited 250 Facebook users in Malaysia who have been diagnosed with depression. This longitudinal survey with two waves was conducted with a gap of six months, measuring the respondents’ addictive tendencies toward Facebook, depressive experiences, and the severity of depression. Overall, this research found that Facebook addiction escalates the severity of current and upcoming states of depression. Without the time lag, Facebook addiction escalates the sense of self-worthlessness, as reflected by depressive experiences, which eventually manifest into depression. These indirect effects did not last over six months, rendering Facebook addiction a direct predictor of the upcoming state of depression. Theoretical and practical implications are further discussed in this manuscript.
... According to the second argument, teenagers with pre-existing mental health issues may use social media to relieve themselves of stressful symptoms via online connections [22]. For instance, a recent large-scale longitudinal study indicated that early mental health issues in young teenage girls predicted subsequent social media usage but not the other way around [23,24]. Social media use did not predict depressive symptoms over time for males or females. ...
... Social media use did not predict depressive symptoms over time for males or females. [9,23]. ...
Social media is used daily by a significant number of young people and can have an important influence on the well-being of its users. The aim of this study was to determine the motives for social media use among Chinese youth and whether social media addiction associates with depression. Another objective was to analyze possible mediating and moderating effects in explaining the association between social media addiction and depression. Participants were 1652 secondary school students (51.5% boys and 48.5% girls) aged 12–18 years in China. The results showed that attention bias mediated the association between social media addiction and depression when adolescents’ socio-emotional competencies were low, but not as strong when their socio-emotional competencies were high. The findings not only provided theoretical support for preventing the negative effects of mobile social media addiction, but could also directly contribute to improving adolescents’ quality of life.
... There are too few longitudinal studies available today to make well-founded conclusions regarding this phenomenon. The few longitudinal studies conducted observe that psychosomatic symptoms, such as depression, are also risk factors for internet and social media addiction (Gámez-Guadix, 2014;Heffer, Good, Daly, MacDonell & Willoughby, 2019). The argument then proceeds that young people seek online relationships to compensate for problems in personal relationships and thus use social media as a strategy for emotion regulation. ...
Despite the sharp rise of studies on social media, there is still little consensus concerning the impact of social media use on adolescents’ well-being. We argue that this is due to the narrow focus on quantitative aspects of social media (e.g. frequency of use) and the use of very specific indicators of well-being. This research contributes to the literature by (1) looking at both quantitative indicators of social media use (frequency of use) and qualitative indicators (compulsive use and motives of use) and (2) covering diverse aspects of adolescents’ well-being (overall life satisfaction -SWLS, emotional well-being (SPANE-N and SPANE-P), satisfaction with mental health and with social contacts). Multiple regression analyses are carried out on cross-sectional data gathered in 2018 based on a representative sample among Flemish adolescents aged 14 to 25 (n = 1406; 52.6% girls; Mage = 18.96). Results show that more intensive use of social media coincides with more negative emotions, less overall life satisfaction, and less satisfaction with mental health. Especially for boys, the use of social media was associated with more negative emotions. In addition, we observed that compulsive social media use leads to more negative and less positive emotions and satisfaction with mental health. However, using social media for interpersonal contact was positively related to higher well-being (all indicators). The findings underscore the importance of a nuanced debate on the potential impact of social media use on adolescents’ well-being in which both its positive and negative consequences are considered.
... This makes Facebook the most popular social media platform in both North America and the world (excluding YouTube which has much less of a social component; Auxier & Anderson, 2021). Although there are several negative phenomena associated with social media in general, and Facebook in particular (Chow & Wan, 2017;Dunaetz, 2019b;Heffer et al., 2019;Phu & Gow, 2019), many, if not most, churches have felt the need to use Facebook to communicate both to members of their community and those who are outside of it (Brubaker & Haigh, 2017;Lee, 2018). However, little research has focused on what types of posts churches should make to maximize their impact, a gap in our knowledge that has been repeatedly noted (Caers et al., 2013;Lee, 2018). ...
Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the world and is used by many churches. This study seeks to discover the type of Facebook posts that most contribute to the perceived spiritual formation of church attenders as defined by typical church mission statements. A broad range of church attenders who use Facebook (N = 161) completed an online survey focusing on their church's Facebook page. They indicated the degree to which they believe various types of their church's Facebook posts contributed to their spiritual formation, specifically, their relationship with God, their relationship with fellow believers, their personal spiritual growth, and their involvement in ministry or service. They also indicated what type of posts they would like to see more frequently from their church. An exploratory analysis found that posts that had greater cognitive content (specifically, live broadcasts, video recordings, announcements, and devotionals) were perceived to contribute more to church attenders’ spiritual formation than did posts with less cognitive content (humorous memes, photos, inspirational quotations, and external links). Confirming these results, participants also expressed a preference for their church to make more posts with high cognitive content than posts with low cognitive content. These results lead to several applications of how churches can better use Facebook to contribute to their mission.
... Notably, all the above issues can be particularly detrimental for the youngest social media users, which may have contributed to the drastic increase in teen depression and other mental health issues in the recent decade (Heffer et al., 2019;Twenge & Campbell, 2018). ...
Autobiographical memories for significant personal experiences constitute our sense of self and identity and have critical emotional impact on our mental health. In this chapter, we discuss the relation between memory, emotion, and mental health in developmental, cultural, and digital contexts. We first examine various cognitive processes involved in autobiographical memory, and emotionally salient autobiographical memory in particular, that are related to mental health. We then delineate a developmental perspective, discussing the relation between memory, emotion, and mental health across the lifespan. We further present a cultural perspective, showing that the structure, accessibility, content, and function of memory are conditioned by cultural values and practices, which in turn, shapes individuals’ mental health and well-being. Lastly, we introduce a digital perspective and discuss the impact of the Internet and social media on the interplay between memory, emotion, and mental health. We end the chapter by highlighting open research questions and providing recommendations for future research.
... In that line, PSMU impact has been demonstrated by its significant associations with mood disorder symptoms, low self-esteem, disrupted sleep, reduced physical health and social impairment [3,4]. Given that PSMU prevalence has been estimated to vary globally between 5%-10% of the social media users' population [1,5,6], which exceeds 80% among more developed countries, such as Australia, and has the prospective to rise [7,8], PSMU related mental health concerns present compelling. Despite these, a rather disproportional paucity of longitudinal research regarding the nature, causes and treatment of PSMU has been repeatedly illustrated [1,9]. ...
Background
Problematic social media use has been identified as negatively impacting psychological and everyday functioning and has been identified as a possible behavioural addiction (social media addiction; SMA). Whether SMA can be classified as a distinct behavioural addiction has been debated within the literature, with some regarding SMA as a premature pathologisation of ordinary social media use behaviour and suggesting there is little evidence for its use as a category of clinical concern. This study aimed to understand the relationship between proposed symptoms of SMA and psychological distress and examine these over time in a longitudinal network analysis, in order better understand whether SMA warrants classification as a unique pathology unique from general distress.
Method
N = 462 adults (Mage = 30.8, SDage = 9.23, 69.3% males, 29% females, 1.9% other sex or gender) completed measures of social media addiction (Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale), and psychological distress (DASS-21) at two time points, twelve months apart. Data were analysed using network analysis (NA) to explore SMA symptoms and psychological distress. Specifically, NA allows to assess the ‘influence’ and pathways of influence of each symptom in the network both cross-sectionally at each time point, as well as over time.
Results
SMA symptoms were found to be stable cross-sectionally over time, and were associated with, yet distinct, from, depression, anxiety and stress. The most central symptoms within the network were tolerance and mood-modification in terms of expected influence and closeness respectively. Depression symptoms appeared to have less of a formative effect on SMA symptoms than anxiety and stress.
Conclusions
Our findings support the conceptualisation of SMA as a distinct construct occurring based on an underpinning network cluster of behaviours and a distinct association between SMA symptoms and distress. Further replications of these findings, however, are needed to strengthen the evidence for SMA as a unique behavioural addiction.
... However, although one study capturing yearly lags found increased time spent on social media to predict a small increase in self-reported depression (Boers et al., 2019), the majority of studies examining yearly lags within-person relations have not (Beeres et al., 2021;Coyne et al., 2020;Heffer et al., 2019;Puukko et al., 2020). Such null findings have also been reported in adolescent studies using even shorter time spans (Jensen et al., 2019;Orben & Przybylski, 2019). ...
... A recent meta-analysis demonstrated a small positive correlation between depressive symptoms and SMU but a stronger relationship with PSMU (Cunningham et al., 2021). Longitudinal research on these connections have mixed results, with studies suggesting increased SMU precedes depression (Thorisdottir et al., 2020;Twenge et al., 2018), no relationship (Coyne et al., 2020) and that depression precedes increased SMU in girls (Heffer et al., 2019;Raudsepp & Kais, 2019). PSMU has also been found to be associated with other psychiatric disorders including symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Andreassen et al., 2016), obsessive-compulsive disorder (Andreassen et al., 2016), perceived stress (Wartberg et al., 2021), anxiety and worry (Andreassen et al., 2016;Meshi & Ellithorpe, 2021) and decreases in long-term wellbeing and self-esteem (Boer et al., 2020;Malik & Khan, 2015). ...
While many studies have examined the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU) and mental health disorders, little is known about reward responsiveness mechanisms that might be driving this relationship and the neurophysiological characteristics of PSMU. We surveyed 96 undergraduate students at a private liberal arts college in upstate NY. PSMU was assessed using the Social Media Disorder Scale. Fourteen Individuals endorsing in five or more and three or less categories on the Social Media Disorder Scale were offered and underwent resting state QEEG. Mental health was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Short Form, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, and a locally developed measure of Substance Use Disorder. Reward and motivational systems were studied using the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale, Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scale, and Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale. SMDS scores were associated with poorer mental health on all measures except substance use. SMDS scores were positively associated with the behavioral inhibition scale, and the anticipatory pleasure scale. QEEG results revealed a negative association of high PSMU and right central and frontal lobeta, right central beta, and a positive association with frontal alpha asymmetry. The study replicates findings that PSMU is associated with mental health issues. Further the pattern of reward response is different compared with other addictive behaviors. QEEG results are consistent with previous work in substance use and depression.
... Previous studies on social media use and adolescents' mental health provides some evidence regarding the nature of the association (13,14,16,24,(28)(29)(30)(31). However, results were mixed, resulting in an inconclusive understanding to date. ...
Background
Despite increasing evidence that social media use is associated with adolescents’ mental well-being, little is known about the role of various factors in modifying the effect of this association during adolescence. This study examined the association between social media use and psychological distress among adolescents and explored whether sex, age, and parental support moderate this association.
Methods
Data came from a representative sample of middle and high school students in Ontario, Canada. Cross-sectional analyses included 6,822 students derived from the 2019 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.
Results
Our results showed that 48% of adolescents used social media for 3 h or more per day, and 43.7% had moderate to severe psychological distress, with a higher prevalence among females (54%) than males (31%). After adjustment for relevant covariates, heavy social media use (≥3 h/day) was associated with increased odds of severe psychological distress [odds ratio (OR): 2.01; 95% confidence interval (CI):1.59–2.55]. The association of social media use with psychological distress was modified by age ( p < 0.05) but not sex or parental support. The association was stronger among younger adolescents.
Conclusion
Heavy social media use is associated with higher levels of psychological distress, with younger adolescents being the most vulnerable. Longitudinal studies are recommended for future research to examine in more depth the role of sex, age, and parental support in the association between social media use and psychological distress to better determine the strength and of the association.
... Ähnliches gilt auch für die Nutzung sozialer Netzwerke. So ist umstritten, ob tatsächlich ein Zusammenhang zwischen Isolation und gesteigerter Medienaktivität besteht, der in einer Abwärtsspirale bis hin zu Depressionen führen können soll (Heffer et al. 2019;Twenge et al. 2018). Kurz nach dem Ausbruch des neuartigen Coronavirus konnte in China jedoch ein Zusammenhang zwischen Angst und der Nutzungshäufigkeit sozialer Medien beobachtet werden (Gao et al. 2020). ...
... This makes Facebook the most popular social media platform in both North America and the world (excluding YouTube which has much less of a social component; Auxier & Anderson, 2021). Although there are several negative phenomena associated with social media in general, and Facebook in particular (Chow & Wan, 2017;Dunaetz, 2019b;Heffer et al., 2019;Phu & Gow, 2019), many, if not most, churches have felt the need to use Facebook to communicate both to members of their community and those who are outside of it (Brubaker & Haigh, 2017;Lee, 2018). However, little research has focused on what types of posts churches should make to maximize their impact, a gap in our knowledge that has been repeatedly noted (Caers et al., 2013;Lee, 2018). ...
Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the world and is used by many churches. This study seeks to discover the type of Facebook posts that most contribute to the perceived spiritual formation of church attenders as defined by typical church mission statements. A broad range of church attenders who use Facebook (N = 161) completed an online survey focusing on their church's Facebook page. They indicated the degree to which they believe various types of their church's Facebook posts contributed to their spiritual formation, specifically, their relationship with God, their relationship with fellow believers, their personal spiritual growth, and their involvement in ministry or service. They also indicated what type of posts they would like to see more frequently from their church. An exploratory analysis found that posts that had greater cognitive content (specifically, live broadcasts, video recordings, announcements, and devotionals) were perceived to contribute more to church attenders' spiritual formation than did posts with less cognitive content (humorous memes, photos, inspirational quotations, and external links). Confirming these results, participants also expressed a preference for their church to make more posts with high cognitive content than posts with low cognitive content. These results lead to several applications of how churches can better use Facebook to contribute to their mission.
... On the other hand, other studies found no longitudinal links between initial frequency of social media use and depression [104][105][106]. It has also been suggested that adolescents differ in their susceptibility to the effects of social media use. ...
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for adolescents’ interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, education, recreational activities and well-being. An understanding of the impact of the pandemic on their mental health is crucial in measures to promote the post-pandemic recovery. Using a person-centered approach, the current study aimed to identify mental health profiles in two cross-sectional samples of Finnish adolescents before and after the peak of the pandemic, and to examine how socio-demographic and psychosocial factors, academic expectations, health literacy, and self-rated health are associated with the emerging profiles.
Methods and findings
Survey data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study conducted in Finland in 2018 (N = 3498, age M = 13.44) and 2022 (N = 3838, age M = 13.21) were analyzed. A four-profile model using cluster analysis was selected for both samples. In Sample 1, the identified profiles were (1) “Good mental health”, (2) “Mixed psychosocial health”, (3) “Somatically challenged”, and (4) “Poor mental health”. In Sample 2, the identified profiles were (1) “Good mental health”, (2) “Mixed psychosomatic health”, (3) “Poor mental health and low loneliness”, and (4) “Poor mental health and high loneliness”. The results of the mixed effect multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that in both samples, being a girl and reporting lower maternal monitoring; lower family, peer, and teacher support; higher intensity of online communication; a less positive home atmosphere and school climate; and poor self-rated health were most strongly linked to belonging to a poorer mental health profile. In addition, in Sample 2, low subjective health literacy was a key factor associated with poorer mental health profiles, and teacher support was more important than before COVID.
Conclusions
The current study stresses the importance of identifying those vulnerable to developing poor mental health. To maximize post-pandemic recovery, the role of schools, especially teacher support and health literacy, along with the factors that remained important over time should be taken into account in public health and health promotion interventions.
... In specific, perceived support from family (or perceived support from friends) was the predictor, resilience was the first mediator, loneliness was the second mediator, and PSMU was the dependent variable. Additionally, we controlled gender and age as covariates when testing the hypotheses of the present study given that these factors have demonstrated associations with PSMU among adolescents (Andreassen et al., 2017;Heffer et al., 2019;Sampasa-Kanyinga & Lewis, 2015;. The multiple mediation model was based on regression analysis using a bootstrap method (sampling repeated 1000 times) to construct 95% confidence intervals for significance testing in the hypothesized indirect pathways. ...
Problematic social media use (PSMU) among adolescents has raised global concern in the current digital age. Despite the important role of perceived social support in adolescents’ PSMU has been examined, possible different influences between perceived support from family and friends are still unknown. To address the gap, the present study aimed to examine how perceived support from family and friends is associated differently with PSMU and the mediating roles of resilience and loneliness therein. A sample of 1056 adolescents was recruited to complete standard questionnaires. Mediation analysis showed that resilience and loneliness mediated this association partially between perceived support from family and PSMU but totally between perceived support from friends and PSMU. Further, ANOVA-based analysis showed that influences of perceived support from family and friends on PSMU were mutually independent, and there was no interaction between them. Our results not only highlight different and independent impacts of perceived support from family and friends on PSMU, but also clarify the mediating mechanisms linking perceived social support to adolescent PSMU.
... Er zijn vandaag maar weinig longitudinale studies beschikbaar om hierover gegronde uitspraken te maken. De schaarse longitudinale studies tonen wel aan dat psychosomatische symptomen zoals depressie ook risicofactoren vormen voor internet-en sociale mediaverslaving (Gámez-Guadix, 2014;Heffer, Good, Daly, MacDonell, & Willoughby, 2019). Het argument luidt dan dat jongeren net online relaties zoeken om problemen in persoonlijke relaties te compenseren door sociale media te gebruiken als een strategie voor emotieregulatie. ...
... Er zijn vandaag maar weinig longitudinale studies beschikbaar om hierover gegronde uitspraken te maken. De schaarse longitudinale studies tonen wel aan dat psychosomatische symptomen zoals depressie ook risicofactoren vormen voor internet-en sociale mediaverslaving (Gámez-Guadix, 2014;Heffer, Good, Daly, MacDonell, & Willoughby, 2019). Het argument luidt dan dat jongeren net online relaties zoeken om problemen in persoonlijke relaties te compenseren door sociale media te gebruiken als een strategie voor emotieregulatie. ...
... Er zijn vandaag maar weinig longitudinale studies beschikbaar om hierover gegronde uitspraken te maken. De schaarse longitudinale studies tonen wel aan dat psychosomatische symptomen zoals depressie ook risicofactoren vormen voor internet-en sociale mediaverslaving (Gámez-Guadix, 2014;Heffer, Good, Daly, MacDonell, & Willoughby, 2019). Het argument luidt dan dat jongeren net online relaties zoeken om problemen in persoonlijke relaties te compenseren door sociale media te gebruiken als een strategie voor emotieregulatie. ...
... Er zijn vandaag maar weinig longitudinale studies beschikbaar om hierover gegronde uitspraken te maken. De schaarse longitudinale studies tonen wel aan dat psychosomatische symptomen zoals depressie ook risicofactoren vormen voor internet-en sociale mediaverslaving (Gámez-Guadix, 2014;Heffer, Good, Daly, MacDonell, & Willoughby, 2019). Het argument luidt dan dat jongeren net online relaties zoeken om problemen in persoonlijke relaties te compenseren door sociale media te gebruiken als een strategie voor emotieregulatie. ...
... This creates the possibility of understanding human behavior with respect to SNS in situations of extreme stress in a unique way that could not have been studied previously. Moreover, the present sample consisted of people over 18 years, whilst research has found that adolescents under 18 years are more likely to be problematic SNS users [82]. Besides, most of the sample were highly-educated females, which limits the generalizability of the results to other populations, especially men. ...
During the first lockdown, there was an increase in time spent using Social Networking Sites (SNS), which should be studied, as well as problematic SNS use. The present study has three objectives: to evaluate (i) the differences across gender and age and SNS type in increased SNS use, (ii) problematic SNS use during lockdowns, and (iii) the protective role of resilience and optimism on problematic SNS use. A total of 1003 participants (75.5% women) over 18 years old participated (M = 42.33; SD = 14.32 years). The use of SNS before and during lockdown, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction and problematic SNS use were evaluated. A repeated measures ANOVA and four regression analyses were calculated for the first objective regarding increased SNS use. Another linear regression analysis was calculated for the second objective regarding problematic SNS use. A correlational analysis has been performed to assess the protective roles of resilience and optimism. Differences in the increased use of SNS were found between the two time points and between the different types of SNS. Higher use of Instagram and YouTube was related to younger age. Being female was associated with higher Instagram use. Significant problematic use was found to be associated with younger age but was not dependent on gender. Higher levels of resilience and optimism were related to a lower level of problematic SNS use. SNS use during lockdown needs to be studied in order to understand factors that may protect against undesirable psychological consequences and support prevention programs.
... We collect data about the total time spent on phone apps and sleep time to predict the well-being score. Different studies suggest an association between the use of social media and depressive symptoms [9,15]. We define three categories of apps (social media, education, entertainment) and divide each day into three time-period: -school hours: 7am -16pm, -home hours: 16pm -22pm, -sleep hours: 22pm -7am. ...
Applied deep learning technology in digital health care service is a potential way to tackle many issues that hospitals face, such as over health care requests, lack of doctors, and patient overload. But a conventional deep learning model needs to compute raw medical data for evaluating health information, which raises considerable concern about data privacy. This paper proposes an approach using homomorphic encryption to encrypt raw data to protect privacy while deep learning models can still perform computations over encrypted data. This approach can be applied to almost any digital health care service in which data providers want to ensure that no one can use their data without permission. We will focus on a particular use case (predict mental health based on phone usage routine) to represent the approach’s applicability. Our encryption model’s accuracy is similar to the non-encryption model’s (only 0.01% difference) and has practical performance.KeywordsData privacyPrivacy-preservingHomomorphic encryptionE-healthIntelligent informationIntelligent systemNeural networks
... Moreover, the available studies follow the recent literature trend of focusing on determining the effect of the amount of time spent on social media (eg, time elapsed while using social media, number of checks per unit of time, and number of platforms used) on mental health. In the general population, the former approach showed mixed findings of positive [30,31], bidirectional [32], or no association [33] between quantity of social media use and mental health outcomes over time. These conflicting findings are indicators that we need a new approach that focuses on studying the factors that matter to SGM social media users, including the types of interactions and behaviors on social media platforms and their impacts on mental health. ...
Background:
Sexual and gender minority (SGM; ie, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and otherwise queer) young adults experience disparities in depression and other internalizing psychopathology. Although social media use is widespread and SGM people have more social media accounts and are more socially active on them than non-SGM individuals, few studies have examined the impact of social media on depression in this group.
Objective:
The PRIDE iM study will be the first longitudinal, mixed methods research conducted to determine the impact of social media interactions and behaviors as pathways to depressive symptoms among SGM young adults living in the United States.
Methods:
PRIDE iM uses a bookends variation of the longitudinal sequential mixed methods design. Participants will be recruited nationally from social media. First, between July 2019 and February 2020, we conducted a qualitative phase (T1) comprising web-based individual interviews (N=58) to inform the building and content of the quantitative survey. Second, from February 2022 to September 2022, we will conduct a series of web-based surveys (N=1000 at baseline) with 4 data points (T2-T5), each one collected every 6 to 8 weeks. Third, from October 2022 to December 2022, we will conduct a second qualitative phase (T6) of web-based interviews using outcome trajectories found in the longitudinal survey analyses to purposively sample survey participants and conduct web-based interviews to contextualize and explain survey findings. Qualitative data from T1 and T6 will be analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis approach. As we sought to capture change over time in the association between the main predictors (ie, social media interactions and behaviors) and depressive symptoms, we propose analyzing T2 to T5 data using latent growth models with a structural equation modeling framework. Data integration at the method, interpretation, and reporting levels will be achieved through building and connecting and the use of a staged approach and joint displays, respectively. At all stages, we will assess the fit of data integration as recommended by the principles of best practice for mixed methods research in psychology.
Results:
Data collection will be completed by December 2022. Qualitative data analyses will be completed by March 2023, and quantitative analyses of the primary outcome of interest will be completed by June 2023.
Conclusions:
PRIDE iM will confirm, reject, or uncover the presence of potential relationships between social media interactions and behaviors and depressive symptoms among SGM people. This study represents fundamental groundwork to develop social media-based interventions that target modifiable interactions and behaviors that are most likely to influence mental health outcomes, thus seizing the opportunity to merge the popularity of this medium among SGM people with evidence-based approaches.
International registered report identifier (irrid):
DERR1-10.2196/43627.
... Indeed, several data show that the increased risk of depression in adolescents might be associated with the prevalence of social media (Haidt & Allen, 2020). However, empirical and meta-analysis studies lend support to the mixed findings, reporting a wide range of positive (Kelly et al., 2019), neutral (Heffer et al., 2019), or negative (Arias-de et al., 2020) relations between adolescents' social media use and depression. Overall, the consensus seems to be that there may be a small overall positive relationship (Ivie et al., 2020;Vuorre et al., 2021). ...
The relationship between social media use and adolescents’ depression is gaining increasing research attention. However, studies have shown mixed results and little is known about the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study investigates whether psychological security mediates the link between mobile social media use and depression, and explores the potential gender differences within this relationship. The sample included 860 Chinese adolescents (47.6% male) who completed the Adolescents’ Mobile Social Media Usage Behavior Scale, the Security Questionnaire, and the Children’s Depression Inventory. Results indicate that: (1) mobile social media use is negatively associated with adolescents’ depression; (2) psychological security serves as an important mediator between mobile social media use and adolescents’ depression; and (3) the relation between mobile social media use and psychological security differs by gender, such that this relation is positive for boys but negative for girls. In addition, the link between psychological security and depression is stronger for girls than for boys. These findings present important implications for the intervention in improper mobile social media use and depression.
... These findings are consistent with other longitudinal studies that have found modest evidence of a relationship between social media use and adolescent life satisfaction and well-being in Usoc and other datasets [16][17][18]30,31]. These results are contrary to much of the cross-sectional studies exploring this relationship that have found negative relationships between social media use and mental health [21,29,32]. ...
BACKGROUND
Cross-sectional studies have found a relationship between social media use and depression and anxiety in young people, but few longitudinal studies using representative data and mediation analysis have been conducted to understand the causal pathways of this relationship.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to examine the longitudinal relationship between social media use and young people’s mental health and examined the role of self-esteem and social connectedness as potential mediators.
METHODS
The sample included 3,228 10-15-year-olds from Understanding Society (2009-2019), a UK longitudinal household survey. Mental health problems measured by the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire were assessed at ages 14-15. The number of hours spent on social media was measured on a 5-point scale from “none” to “7 or more hours” at ages 12-13. Self-esteem and social connectedness (number of friends and happiness with friendships) were measured at ages 13-14. Covariates included demographic and household variables. Unadjusted and adjusted multilevel linear regression models were used to estimate the association between social media use and mental health. We used path analysis with structural equation modelling to investigate the mediation pathways.
RESULTS
In adjusted analysis, there was a non-significant linear trend showing more time spent on social media was related to poorer mental health two-years later (n= 2,603, b=0.21, 95% CI, -0.43--0.84, P=.52). In unadjusted path analysis, 68% of the effect of social media use on mental health was mediated by self-esteem (indirect effect, n=2,569, b=0.70, 95% CI 0.15-1.30, P=.02) but not social connectedness. In adjusted path analysis, self-esteem was not a significant mediator (indirect effect, n=2,316, b=0.24 95% CI -0.12-0.66, P=.22). Similar results were found in imputed data.
CONCLUSIONS
There was little evidence to suggest that more time spent on social media was associated with later mental health problems in UK adolescents. This study shows the importance of longitudinal studies to examine this relationship and suggests interventions to improve mental health associated with social media use should consider the role of factors like self-esteem.
CLINICALTRIAL
Not applicable
... The dystopian view assumes that when a specific technology is broadly adopted it will transform society in terrible ways that will ruin everything [Boyd, 2014]. Even though, some evidence points to a causal link between decreasing social media use and an improvement in feeling less lonely and depressed [Hunt et al., 2018], other findings suggest that there is no clear evidence of this causal link and that the relationship between depressive symptoms and digital social platforms use is complex [Heffer et al., 2019]. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that the main aim of digital social platforms is capturing the user's attention for economical purposes [Giraldo-Luque et al., 2020]. ...
Culture exploits the acquisition of meaningful content by crafting regimes of shared attention, determining what is relevant, valuable, and salient. Culture changes the field of relevant social affordances worthy of being acted upon in a context-sensitive manner. When relevant affordances are highly weighted, their attentional capture and their salience increase the probability of them being enacted due to the associated expectation for minimizing prediction error. This process is known as active inference. In the digital era, individuals need to infer the action-related attributes of digital cues, here characterized as digital affordances. The digital affordances of digital social platforms are of particular interest here. Digital social affordances are defined as online possibilities of social interactions. By their own nature, these are salient because they are related to social interactions and relevant social cues. However, the problem of digital social platforms is that they are not equivalent to situated social interactions because their structure is built, mediated, and defined by third-parties with diverse interests. The third-parties behind the digital social platforms are using the same mechanism exploited by culture to manipulate the shared patterns of attention. Moreover, digital social platforms are deliberately designed to be hyper-stimulating, making digital social affordances highly rewarding and increasingly salient. This appropriation, for economic purposes, is an issue of great importance, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic brought deep global changes, pushing societies to an online digital way of life. Here, we examined different types of digital social affordances under an active inference view, placing them into two categories, those for self-identity formation, and those for belief-updating. This paper aims to analyze digital social affordances in light of the prediction error dynamics they might elicit to their users. Although each of the analyzed digital social affordances allows different epistemic and instrumental digital actions, they all share the characteristic of having an "easy" and a fast expected rate of error reduction. Here, we aim to provide a new hypothesis about how the design behind digital social affordances is built on our natural attractiveness to minimize prediction error and the resulting positive embodied feelings when doing so. Finally, it is suggested that because digital social affordances are becoming highly weighted in the field of affordances, this might be putting at risk our context-sensitive grip on a rich, dynamic and varied field of relevant affordances.
Assessing mental health disorders and determining treatment can be difficult for a number of reasons, including access to healthcare providers. Assessments and treatments may not be continuous and can be limited by the unpredictable nature of psychiatric symptoms. Machine-learning models using data collected in a clinical setting can improve diagnosis and treatment. Studies have used speech, text, and facial expression analysis to identify depression. Still, more research is needed to address challenges such as the need for multimodality machine-learning models for clinical use. We conducted a review of studies from the past decade that utilized speech, text, and facial expression analysis to detect depression, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline. We provide information on the number of participants, techniques used to assess clinical outcomes, speech-eliciting tasks, machine-learning algorithms, metrics, and other important discoveries for each study. A total of 544 studies were examined, 264 of which satisfied the inclusion criteria. A database has been created containing the query results and a summary of how different features are used to detect depression. While machine learning shows its potential to enhance mental health disorder evaluations, some obstacles must be overcome, especially the requirement for more transparent machine-learning models for clinical purposes. Considering the variety of datasets, feature extraction techniques, and metrics used in this field, guidelines have been provided to collect data and train machine-learning models to guarantee reproducibility and generalizability across different contexts.
Importance
Limited systematic information on familial factors and perception of the benefits and harms of internet use by youths is available. Much of the current research has been hampered by small nondiverse samples and limited information on key familial and offspring characteristics.
Objective
To characterize parental perceptions and concerns about internet use associated with adolescent development, well-being, safety, family connectedness, and potential for problematic internet use.
Design, Setting, and Participants
A 20-minute, English-language survey was developed with expert stakeholders using previously validated questionnaires and was conducted online between June 17 and July 5, 2022. Participants included 1005 parents of children and adolescents aged 9 to 15 years drawn from an online digital survey platform and calibrated for representation with post hoc weightings.
Main Outcomes and Measures
Parent survey responses about family characteristics and internet use were used to compute Internet Addiction Test scores for parents and their offspring, Alabama Parenting Questionnaire scores, and an aggregate family connectedness score.
Results
The survey cohort of 1005 parents included 568 women (56.5%) and 437 men (43.5%) with a mean age (SD) of 39.5 (6.4) years. In terms of race and ethnicity, the most common categories included Black or African American (95 [9.5%]), Latinx or Hispanic (100 [10.0%]), White (602 [59.9%]), and 2 or more races or ethnicities (122 [12.1%]). Respondents endorsed parental concerns that included exposure to harmful content (646 [64.3%]) and online bullying (533 [53.0%]). Two hundred twenty-five parents (22.4%) had specific concerns about internet addiction in their adolescent offspring, and twice as many parents reported specific concerns about internet addiction than substance addiction. However, parents also indicated that internet use improved family connectedness among immediate families (468 [46.6%]) and extended families (568 [56.5%]). Internet Addiction Test scores in adolescent offspring were correlated with parent scores (β = 0.62 [SE = 0.02]; P < .001) and Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Inconsistent Discipline scores (β = 0.23 [SE = 0.11]; P = .04).
Conclusions and Relevance
In this survey study of parent perceptions of internet use among adolescent offspring, parents believed the internet brought families closer yet also expressed concerns. Problematic internet use among youths was correlated with negative parenting styles and parent internet use. This research adds to the literature by suggesting that families, their communities, and industry may have common ground to collaborate on reducing the negative effects of internet use.
This study aimed to determine the status level of social media algorithms and the students' productivity and whether there is any substantial relationship between these two variables. More precisely, this research tried to find if the students stay on Facebook browsing and scrolling, content by content might affect their academic compliance. This study is quantitative research and also utilized a correlational research design that looks into correlations between variables without allowing the researcher to control or manipulate any of them (Bhandari, 2022). The respondents answered a questionnaire that was given out online via Google Forms. After the data gathering, the results have shown that the students have High Productivity in terms of their academic compliance. Moreover, the results of the study revealed that there is a significant relationship between social media algorithms and students' productivity. The productivity of the students is affected by the social media content that appears on their feeds.
On digital media, algorithms that process data and recommend content have become ubiquitous. Their fast and barely regulated adoption has raised concerns about their role in well-being both at the individual and collective levels. Algorithmic mechanisms on digital media are powered by social drivers, creating a feedback loop that complicates research to disentangle the role of algorithms and already existing social phenomena. Our brief overview of the current evidence on how algorithms affect well-being, misinformation, and polarization suggests that the role of algorithms in these phenomena is far from straightforward and that substantial further empirical research is needed. Existing evidence suggests that algorithms mostly reinforce existing social drivers, a finding that stresses the importance of reflecting on algorithms in the larger societal context that encompasses individualism, populist politics, and climate change. We present concrete ideas and research questions to improve algorithms on digital platforms and to investigate their role in current problems and potential solutions. Finally, we discuss how the current shift from social media to more algorithmically curated media brings both risks and opportunities if algorithms are designed for individual and societal flourishing rather than short-term profit.
Social media plays a dominant role in emerging adults’ lives, with evidence showing that it can contribute to elevated levels of psychological distress. However, existing findings are contradictory, insofar as the connection between social media use (SMU) and psychological distress remains unclear. To gain a better insight into the above relationship, we focused on different styles of engagement with social media (active social, active non-social, and passive) and examined whether their impact on depression, anxiety and stress symptoms is mediated by loneliness. Data were collected via an online survey from 288 emerging adults in the UK. It was found that increased passive SMU was associated with higher anxiety, depression and stress symptoms; loneliness was associated with both SMU and psychological distress, while increased active non-social media use was associated with decreased stress. However, loneliness showed significant mediation effects only on the relation between passive SMU and psychological distress. Limitations, future research directions and suggestions for practice are discussed.
Introduction:
Despite a growing body of research on associations between adolescent digital use and well-being, few studies have investigated these associations a) longitudinally and b) across socioeconomic status. The present study uses high-quality longitudinal data to examine how digital engagement shapes socioemotional and educational outcomes from early to late adolescence across socioeconomic status (SES).
Methods:
Participants are 7685 individuals (49.0% female) from the 1998 birth cohort of the longitudinal Growing Up In Ireland (GUI) survey. The survey was administered to Irish parents and children between 2007 and 2016 (at ages 9, 13, and 17/18). Fixed-effects regression modeling was used to establish associations between digital engagement and socioemotional and educational outcomes. Further Fixed-Effects models were analyzed separately by SES, to assess how associations between digital use and adolescent outcomes differ by socioeconomic groups.
Results:
Results show that digital screen time increases markedly from early to late adolescence, but to a higher extent among low-SES versus high-SES groups. Heavy levels of digital screen time (i.e., 3+ hours daily) are associated with declines in well-being, particularly for external and prosocial functioning, while engagement in learning-oriented digital activities and gaming is associated with better adolescent outcomes. Yet, low-SES adolescents are globally more harmed than high-SES adolescents by their digital engagement, and high-SES adolescents benefit more from moderate levels of digital use and from engaging in learning-oriented digital activities.
Conclusions:
This study suggests that digital engagement is associated with socioeconomic inequalities in adolescents' socioemotional well-being and, to a lesser extent, educational outcomes.
Parental monitoring of adolescent social media activity was investigated in relation to adolescent mental health and self-perception. Monitoring was assessed from the perspective of parents and adolescents. Participants were 316 parent-adolescent dyads with adolescents ranging in age from 14 to 17 years. Factor analysis supported a 3-factor model of parent-reported parental monitoring with 2 factors (i.e., Control, Open Communication) showing adequate reliability. Adolescent-reported parental monitoring fell along 3 dimensions (i.e., Control, Open Communication, Following). Open Communication was associated with lower adolescent-reported loneliness, whereas parent-reported Control strategies were related to higher adolescent narcissism. Further, parental monitoring did not moderate the relation between adolescent social media use and mental health or self-perception. The results point to the potential benefits of open communication surrounding adolescent social media use, but further work is needed on the developmental role of parental monitoring in the association between social media use and adjustment.
Digital media, including social media, has fundamentally changed how the human species communicates with, relates to, and influences one another. Adolescents use digital media extensively. Researchers, scholars, teachers, parents, and teens themselves have many questions about the effects of digital media on young people's psychological development. This handbook offers a comprehensive synthesis of scientific studies that explain what we know so far about digital media and its effects on youth mental health. With chapters from internationally renowned experts in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, media, and communications, the book offers a broad overview of the positive and negative implications of youths' engagement with digital media for brain development, relationships, identity exploration, daily behaviors, and psychological symptoms. Chapters include a discussion of the current state of knowledge, directions for future research, and practical suggestions for parents, educators, and teens themselves. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
The current study used device-logged screen-time records to measure week-to-week within-person associations between stress and smartphone use in undergraduate students ( N = 187; mean age = 20.1 years). The study was conducted during fall 2020 and focused on differences across types of app used and whether accumulated screen use each week predicted end-of-week mood states. Participants uploaded weekly screenshots from their iPhone “Screen Time” settings display and completed surveys measuring stress, mood, and COVID-19 experiences. Results of multilevel models showed no week-to-week change in smartphone hours of use or device pickups. Higher stress levels were not concurrently associated with heavier smartphone use, either overall or by type of app. Heavier smartphone use in a given week did not predict end-of-week mood states, but students who tended to spend more time on their phones in general reported slightly worse moods—a between-persons effect potentially reflecting deficits in well-being that are present in students’ off-line lives as well. Our findings contribute to a growing scholarly consensus that time spent on smartphones tells us little about young people’s well-being.
Introduction:
Social media use has become increasingly prevalent worldwide. Simultaneously, concerns surrounding social media abuse/problematic use, which resembles behavioural and substance addictions, have proliferated. This has prompted the introduction of 'Social Media Addiction' [SMA], as a condition requiring clarifications regarding its definition, assessment and associations with other addictions. Thus, this study aimed to: (a) advance knowledge on the typology/structure of SMA symptoms experienced and: (b) explore the association of these typologies with addictive behaviours related to gaming, gambling, alcohol, smoking, drug abuse, sex (including porn), shopping, internet use, and exercise.
Methods:
A sample of 968 [Mage = 29.5, SDage = 9.36, nmales = 622 (64.3 %), nfemales = 315, (32.5 %)] adults was surveyed regarding their SMA experiences, using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS). Their experiences of Gaming, Internet, Gambling, Alcohol, Cigarette, Drug, Sex, Shopping and Exercise addictions were additionally assessed, and latent profile analysis (LPA) was implemented.
Results:
Three distinct profiles were revealed, based on the severity of one's SMA symptoms: 'low', 'moderate' and 'high' risk. Subsequent ANOVA analyses suggested that participants classified as 'high' risk indicated significantly higher behaviours related to internet, gambling, gaming, sex and in particular shopping addictions.
Conclusions:
Results support SMA as a unitary construct, while they potentially challenge the distinction between technological and behavioural addictions. Findings also imply that the assessment of those presenting with SMA behaviours, as well as prevention and intervention targeting SMA at risk groups, should consider other comorbid addictions.
Social media has impacted child well-being in paradoxical ways. Yet, our understanding of this paradox remains piecemeal. To address this gap, this conceptual article endeavors to delineate the interplay between child well-being and contradictions associated with social media consumption and the ways to manage these contradictions. Using paradox theory, we develop a theoretical framework that explains the relationships and dynamics surrounding conflicting demands between empowerment and protection and the cyclical responses to paradoxical tensions involving social media that are affecting child well-being. Using this framework, we offer a collection of propositions to stimulate further research on the empowerment–protection paradox and a set of mediating pathways to manage paradoxical tensions arising from social media consumption and promote children’s well-being in the digital era.
Early adolescents (ages 10-13 years) increasingly spend their time in digital spaces. We must ensure that the digital spaces that we create for early adolescents support their learning, discovery, exploration, and entertainment in positive ways that limit potential harm, just like the physical spaces where they spend their time. Research supports four evidence-based recommendations: 1) Digital technology should scaffold healthy development and promote wellness. 2) Digital technology should have design and use requirements that make it safe for early adolescents. 3) Digital technology used by early adolescents should incorporate and advance the best available research as part of its design and evaluation process. 4) All early adolescents should have reliable access to the level of digital connectivity and devices required to fully participate in their education and learning. We can design and regulate the digital technology used by young people in ways that support their healthy development and help them thrive as they make the transition from childhood into early adolescence and the larger digital world.
Purpose
This study aimed to expand and inform the emerging body of research on the negative experiences of social media use among youths and how youths deal with them, in an Asian setting, using a qualitative approach.
Methods
Data were collected using 11 focus group discussions (FGDs) and 25 semi-structured interviews (SIs) among youths aged 15 to 24 years residing in Singapore who were recruited via purposive sampling. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results
The salient negative effects mentioned by participants include the development of negative reactions and feelings from upward comparisons with others (e.g., others’ achievements and lifestyle), receiving hurtful comments, exposure to controversial content (e.g., political events and social movements), as well as the perpetuation of negative feelings, behaviours, and sentiments (e.g., rumination, unhealthy eating behaviour, and self-harm). Participants also described strategies which they have employed or deemed to be useful in mitigating the negative effects of social media use. These include filtering content and users, taking breaks from social media, cognitive reframing, and self-affirmation, where they identify and change stress-inducing patterns of thinking by setting realistic social, physical, and lifestyle expectations for themselves, and focusing on self-development.
Conclusion
The current results highlight that while youths experience negative effects of social media use, they have high media literacy and have employed strategies that appear to mitigate the negative effects of social media use. The findings can inform various stakeholders involved in helping youths navigate the harms of social media use or provide directions for intervention studies aimed at reducing the harms of social media use.
With the proliferation of social technologies in today's digital world, adolescents need to adapt to ever-shifting social, cultural, and technological environments. We describe the impact of these technologies on the development of adolescents and the mental health processes relevant to these technologies. We not only explore mental disorders and risky behaviors (e.g., depression, anxiety, fear of missing out, self-harm, etc.) but also the positive dimensions of social media on mental health, including social connectedness, resilience, and access to supportive online relationships. We connect these psychological processes to core elements and affordances of social media, to describe patterns of usage across different platforms. We conclude with future research challenges and recommendations for interventions utilizing these findings such as advice for pediatricians guiding their patient families to collaborations with user-centered computing industry experts which can further co-create technological solutions centering on the needs of adolescent wellbeing.
Background:
Online communication has become an integral aspect of daily life for young people internationally. Very little research has examined whether the association between social media use and well-being depends on who young people engage with (i.e. real, or virtual friendships).
Methods:
Data were drawn from a subsample of students (N = 38,736) who took part in the School Health Research Network (SHRN) 2019 Student Health and Well-being (SHW) survey. A series of multivariable regression models were used to assess the association between who adolescents were communicating with online and well-being, controlling for confounders: passive social media use; friendship quality; and cyberbullying. We also tested whether these associations were modified based on gender.
Results:
Students are highly engaged on social networking sites, and these sites are used to communicate with existing friendship groups and develop virtual friendships. Frequent online communication with best friends (b = .340, p < .001) and bigger friendship groups (b = .397; p < .001) was associated with higher levels of well-being. However, the frequency of online contact with virtual friends made online was negatively and significantly associated with well-being (b = -.760; p < .001), with a larger negative association for girls than boys.
Conclusions:
Online communication with virtual friendship networks were associated with lower mental well-being, with stronger associations for girls than boys; however, frequent online communication with 'real' friends was associated with better well-being. Our results indicate the importance of considering the nature of adolescent online communication, rather than just its quantity, in developing interventions to improve adolescent well-being.
This study examined associations between older adult Facebook users’ quality of life (QoL) and their amount of Facebook use, Facebook network characteristics (i.e., network size and percentage of actual friends), and tendency to engage in Facebook relational maintenance behaviors (FRMB). Results from a sample of 472 American adults aged 65+ years revealed a set of small correlations. Minutes per day on Facebook was negatively associated with physical and environmental health. Older adults’ total Facebook network size displayed positive associations with physical, psychological, and social health; meanwhile, their percentage of actual friends on Facebook was positively related to all four dimensions of QoL. Older adults’ FRMBs were positively related to psychological, social, and environmental health.
Background:
Adolescents are among the highest consumers of social media while research has shown that their well-being decreases with age. The temporal relationship between social media interaction and well-being is not well established. The aim of this study was to examine whether the changes in social media interaction and two well-being measures are related across ages using parallel growth models.
Methods:
Data come from five waves of the youth questionnaire, 10-15 years, of the Understanding Society, the UK Household Longitudinal Study (pooled n = 9859). Social media interaction was assessed through daily frequency of chatting on social websites. Well-being was measured by happiness with six domains of life and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
Results:
Findings suggest gender differences in the relationship between interacting on social media and well-being. There were significant correlations between interacting on social media and well-being intercepts and between social media interaction and well-being slopes among females. Additionally higher social media interaction at age 10 was associated with declines in well-being thereafter for females, but not for males. Results were similar for both measures of well-being.
Conclusions:
High levels of social media interaction in early adolescence have implications for well-being in later adolescence, particularly for females. The lack of an association among males suggests other factors might be associated with their reduction in well-being with age. These findings contribute to the debate on causality and may inform future policy and interventions.
Face-to-face social interactions enhance well-being. With the ubiquity of social media, important questions have arisen about the impact of online social interactions. In the present study, we assessed the associations of both online and offline social networks with several subjective measures of well-being. We used 3 waves (2013, 2014, and 2015) of data from 5,208 subjects in the nationally representative Gallup Panel Social Network Study survey, including social network measures, in combination with objective measures of Facebook use. We investigated the associations of Facebook activity and real-world social network activity with self-reported physical health, self-reported mental health, self-reported life satisfaction, and body mass index. Our results showed that overall, the use of Facebook was negatively associated with well-being. For example, a 1-standard-deviation increase in "likes clicked" (clicking "like" on someone else's content), "links clicked" (clicking a link to another site or article), or "status updates" (updating one's own Facebook status) was associated with a decrease of 5%-8% of a standard deviation in self-reported mental health. These associations were robust to multivariate cross-sectional analyses, as well as to 2-wave prospective analyses. The negative associations of Facebook use were comparable to or greater in magnitude than the positive impact of offline interactions, which suggests a possible tradeoff between offline and online relationships.
Background:
Adolescents and young adults are among the most frequent Internet users, and accumulating evidence suggests that their Internet behaviors might affect their mental health. Internet use may impact mental health because certain Web-based content could be distressing. It is also possible that excessive use, regardless of content, produces negative consequences, such as neglect of protective offline activities.
Objective:
The objective of this study was to assess how mental health is associated with (1) the time spent on the Internet, (2) the time spent on different Web-based activities (social media use, gaming, gambling, pornography use, school work, newsreading, and targeted information searches), and (3) the perceived consequences of engaging in those activities.
Methods:
A random sample of 2286 adolescents was recruited from state schools in Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Questionnaire data comprising Internet behaviors and mental health variables were collected and analyzed cross-sectionally and were followed up after 4 months.
Results:
Cross-sectionally, both the time spent on the Internet and the relative time spent on various activities predicted mental health (P<.001), explaining 1.4% and 2.8% variance, respectively. However, the consequences of engaging in those activities were more important predictors, explaining 11.1% variance. Only Web-based gaming, gambling, and targeted searches had mental health effects that were not fully accounted for by perceived consequences. The longitudinal analyses showed that sleep loss due to Internet use (ß=.12, 95% CI=0.05-0.19, P=.001) and withdrawal (negative mood) when Internet could not be accessed (ß=.09, 95% CI=0.03-0.16, P<.01) were the only consequences that had a direct effect on mental health in the long term. Perceived positive consequences of Internet use did not seem to be associated with mental health at all.
Conclusions:
The magnitude of Internet use is negatively associated with mental health in general, but specific Web-based activities differ in how consistently, how much, and in what direction they affect mental health. Consequences of Internet use (especially sleep loss and withdrawal when Internet cannot be accessed) seem to predict mental health outcomes to a greater extent than the specific activities themselves. Interventions aimed at reducing the negative mental health effects of Internet use could target its negative consequences instead of the Internet use itself.
Trial registration:
International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN): 65120704; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN65120704?q=&filters=recruitmentCountry:Lithuania&sort=&offset= 5&totalResults=32&page=1&pageSize=10&searchType=basic-search (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation/abcdefg).
Although a variety of studies have examined the predictors or outcomes of adolescents’ social networking site use, these studies did not incorporate (1) an integrated, longitudinal approach to examine these relationships longitudinally in a single comprehensive model or (2) a differential approach to distinguish between different types of social networking site use. Therefore, this two-wave panel study (N = 1,612) developed an integrated and differential model to provide a deeper understanding of the relationships among loneliness, types of Facebook use, and adolescents’ depressed mood. Using structural equation modeling, the results point to the presence of a poor-get-richer effect regarding active public Facebook use but reveal a poor-get-poorer effect regarding passive Facebook use. The discussion focuses on the explanation and understanding of these findings.
This study examined specific technology-based behaviors (social comparison and interpersonal feedback-seeking) that may interact with offline individual characteristics to predict concurrent depressive symptoms among adolescents. A total of 619 students (57 % female; mean age 14.6) completed self-report questionnaires at 2 time points. Adolescents reported on levels of depressive symptoms at baseline, and 1 year later on depressive symptoms, frequency of technology use (cell phones, Facebook, and Instagram), excessive reassurance-seeking, and technology-based social comparison and feedback-seeking. Adolescents also completed sociometric nominations of popularity. Consistent with hypotheses, technology-based social comparison and feedback-seeking were associated with depressive symptoms. Popularity and gender served as moderators of this effect, such that the association was particularly strong among females and adolescents low in popularity. Associations were found above and beyond the effects of overall frequency of technology use, offline excessive reassurance-seeking, and prior depressive symptoms. Findings highlight the utility of examining the psychological implications of adolescents' technology use within the framework of existing interpersonal models of adolescent depression and suggest the importance of more nuanced approaches to the study of adolescents' media use.
Two studies investigated how social comparison to peers through computer-mediated interactions on Facebook might impact users' psychological health. Study 1 (N = 180) revealed an association between time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms for both genders. However, results demonstrated that making Facebook social comparisons mediated the link between time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms for men only. Using a 14-day diary design (N = 152), Study 2 found that the relationship between the amount of time spent on Facebook and depressive symptoms was uniquely mediated by upward, nondirectional, and downward Facebook social comparisons. Similarly, all three types of Facebook social comparisons mediated the relationship between the number of Facebook logins and depressive symptoms. Unlike Study 1, gender did not moderate these associations. Both studies provide evidence that people feel depressed after spending a great deal of time on Facebook because they feel badly when comparing themselves
Effect sizes in longitudinal studies often are dramatically smaller than effect sizes in cross-sectional studies. Indeed, autoregressive models (which are often used in longitudinal studies but not in cross-sectional studies) control for past levels on the outcome (i.e., stability effects) in order to predict change in levels of the outcome over time and thus may greatly reduce the magnitude of the effect of a predictor on the outcome. Unfortunately, however, there have been no attempts to differentiate guidelines for interpreting effect sizes for longitudinal studies versus cross-sectional studies. Consequently, longitudinal effect sizes that fall below the universal guidelines for “small” may be incorrectly dismissed as trivial, when they might be meaningful. In the current paper, we first review the present guidelines for interpreting effect sizes. Next, we discuss several examples of how controlling for stability effects can dramatically attenuate effect sizes of other predictors, in order to support our argument that the current guidelines may be misleading for interpreting longitudinal effects. Finally, we conclude by making recommendations for researchers regarding the interpretation of effect sizes in longitudinal autoregressive models.
Over 500 million people interact daily with Facebook. Yet, whether Facebook use influences subjective well-being over time is unknown. We addressed this issue using experience-sampling, the most reliable method for measuring in-vivo behavior and psychological experience. We text-messaged people five times per day for two-weeks to examine how Facebook use influences the two components of subjective well-being: how people feel moment-to-moment and how satisfied they are with their lives. Our results indicate that Facebook use predicts negative shifts on both of these variables over time. The more people used Facebook at one time point, the worse they felt the next time we text-messaged them; the more they used Facebook over two-weeks, the more their life satisfaction levels declined over time. Interacting with other people "directly" did not predict these negative outcomes. They were also not moderated by the size of people's Facebook networks, their perceived supportiveness, motivation for using Facebook, gender, loneliness, self-esteem, or depression. On the surface, Facebook provides an invaluable resource for fulfilling the basic human need for social connection. Rather than enhancing well-being, however, these findings suggest that Facebook may undermine it.
In two nationally representative surveys of U.S. adolescents in grades 8 through 12 (N = 506,820) and national statistics on suicide deaths for those ages 13 to 18, adolescents’ depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates increased between 2010 and 2015, especially among females. Adolescents who spent more time on new media (including social media and electronic devices such as smartphones) were more likely to report mental health issues, and adolescents who spent more time on nonscreen activities (in-person social interaction, sports/exercise, homework, print media, and attending religious services) were less likely. Since 2010, iGen adolescents have spent more time on new media screen activities and less time on nonscreen activities, which may account for the increases in depression and suicide. In contrast, cyclical economic factors such as unemployment and the Dow Jones Index were not linked to depressive symptoms or suicide rates when matched by year.
This meta-analysis examines the relationship between time spent on social networking sites and psychological well-being factors, namely self-esteem, life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression. Sixty-one studies consisting of 67 independent samples involving 19,652 participants were identified. The mean correlation between time spent on social networking sites and psychological well-being was low at r = -0.07. The correlations between time spent on social networking sites and positive indicators (self-esteem and life satisfaction) were close to 0, whereas those between time spent on social networking sites and negative indicators (depression and loneliness) were weak. The effects of publication outlet, site on which users spent time, scale of time spent, and participant age and gender were not significant. As most included studies used student samples, future research should be conducted to examine this relationship for adults.
This study examined the longitudinal effects of adolescents' depressive symptoms on engagement in technology-based social comparison and feedback seeking (SCFS) behaviors. A total of 816 adolescents (54.7% girls; Mage = 14.1 at Time 1) participated at three times points, each one year apart. Adolescents reported technology-based SCFS, depressive symptoms, and frequencies of technology use (cell phones, Facebook, and Instagram). Multiple group (by gender) latent growth curve models examined concurrent and lagged effects of depressive symptoms on SCFS, controlling for adolescent's underlying trajectories of SCFS and overall frequencies of technology use. Results indicated that higher levels of depressive symptoms were concurrently associated with greater SCFS after accounting for adolescents' typical patterns of SCFS. For boys only, higher depressive symptoms were prospectively associated with later increases in SCFS. Results highlight the importance of social media as a unique context in which depressed adolescents may be at risk for maladaptive interpersonal behavior.
Most people use Facebook on a daily basis; few are aware of the consequences. Based on a 1-week experiment with 1,095 participants in late 2015 in Denmark, this study provides causal evidence that Facebook use affects our well-being negatively. By comparing the treatment group (participants who took a break from Facebook) with the control group (participants who kept using Facebook), it was demonstrated that taking a break from Facebook has positive effects on the two dimensions of well-being: our life satisfaction increases and our emotions become more positive. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that these effects were significantly greater for heavy Facebook users, passive Facebook users, and users who tend to envy others on Facebook.
Facebook is the world’s most popular online social network and used by more than one billion people. In three studies, we explored the hypothesis that Facebook activity negatively affects people’s emotional state. A first study shows that the longer people are active on Facebook, the more negative is their mood afterwards. The second study provides causal evidence for this effect by showing that Facebook activity leads to a deterioration of mood compared to two different control conditions. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that this effect is mediated by a feeling of not having done anything meaningful. With such negative outcomes for its users, the question arises as to why so many people continue to use Facebook on a daily basis. A third study suggests that this may be because people commit an affective forecasting error in that they expect to feel better after using Facebook, whereas, in fact, they feel worse.
The increasing popularity of Facebook among adolescents has stimulated research to investigate the relationship between Facebook use and loneliness, which is particularly prevalent in adolescence. The aim of the present study was to improve our understanding of the relationship between Facebook use and loneliness. Specifically, we examined how Facebook motives and two relationship-specific forms of adolescent loneliness are associated longitudinally. Cross-lagged analysis based on data from 256 adolescents (64% girls, Mage = 15.88 years) revealed that peer-related loneliness was related over time to using Facebook for social skills compensation, reducing feelings of loneliness, and having interpersonal contact. Facebook use for making new friends reduced peer-related loneliness over time, whereas Facebook use for social skills compensation increased peer-related loneliness over time. Hence, depending on adolescents' Facebook motives, either the displacement or the stimulation hypothesis is supported. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The CES-D scale is a short self-report scale designed to measure depressive symptomatology in the general population. The items of the scale are symptoms associated with depression which have been used in previously validated longer scales. The new scale was tested in household interview surveys and in psychiatric settings. It was found to have very high internal consistency and adequate test- retest repeatability. Validity was established by pat terns of correlations with other self-report measures, by correlations with clinical ratings of depression, and by relationships with other variables which support its construct validity. Reliability, validity, and factor structure were similar across a wide variety of demographic characteristics in the general population samples tested. The scale should be a useful tool for epidemiologic studies of de pression.
To evaluate the association between social networking site (SNS) use and depression in older adolescents using an experience sample method (ESM) approach.
Older adolescent university students completed an online survey containing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression screen (PHQ) and a weeklong ESM data collection period to assess SNS use.
Participants (N = 190) included in the study were 58% female and 91% Caucasian. The mean age was 18.9 years (standard deviation = .8). Most used SNSs for either <30 minutes (n = 100, 53%) or between 30 minutes and 2 hours (n = 74, 39%); a minority of participants reported daily use of SNS >2 hours (n = 16, 8%). The mean PHQ score was 5.4 (standard deviation = 4.2). No associations were seen between SNS use and either any depression (p = .519) or moderate to severe depression (p = .470).
We did not find evidence supporting a relationship between SNS use and clinical depression. Counseling patients or parents regarding the risk of "Facebook Depression" may be premature.
This article examines the adequacy of the “rules of thumb” conventional cutoff criteria and several new alternatives for various fit indexes used to evaluate model fit in practice. Using a 2‐index presentation strategy, which includes using the maximum likelihood (ML)‐based standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) and supplementing it with either Tucker‐Lewis Index (TLI), Bollen's (1989) Fit Index (BL89), Relative Noncentrality Index (RNI), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Gamma Hat, McDonald's Centrality Index (Mc), or root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA), various combinations of cutoff values from selected ranges of cutoff criteria for the ML‐based SRMR and a given supplemental fit index were used to calculate rejection rates for various types of true‐population and misspecified models; that is, models with misspecified factor covariance(s) and models with misspecified factor loading(s). The results suggest that, for the ML method, a cutoff value close to .95 for TLI, BL89, CFI, RNI, and Gamma Hat; a cutoff value close to .90 for Mc; a cutoff value close to .08 for SRMR; and a cutoff value close to .06 for RMSEA are needed before we can conclude that there is a relatively good fit between the hypothesized model and the observed data. Furthermore, the 2‐index presentation strategy is required to reject reasonable proportions of various types of true‐population and misspecified models. Finally, using the proposed cutoff criteria, the ML‐based TLI, Mc, and RMSEA tend to overreject true‐population models at small sample size and thus are less preferable when sample size is small.
Using social media Web sites is among the most common activity of today's children and adolescents. Any Web site that allows social interaction is considered a social media site, including social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter; gaming sites and virtual worlds such as Club Penguin, Second Life, and the Sims; video sites such as YouTube; and blogs. Such sites offer today's youth a portal for entertainment and communication and have grown exponentially in recent years. For this reason, it is important that parents become aware of the nature of social media sites, given that not all of them are healthy environments for children and adolescents. Pediatricians are in a unique position to help families understand these sites and to encourage healthy use and urge parents to monitor for potential problems with cyberbullying, "Facebook depression," sexting, and exposure to inappropriate content.
This paper reports on the testing of self-report scales, in a pilot study of 28 children with a psychiatrically ill parent. We examined the relationship between children's responses about themselves and mothers' responses about their children, on symptom and social functioning scales. The self-report scales administered to the children included the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Social Adjustment Scale. The mothers completed the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist, the Conners Parent Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale about their children. Agreement between mothers and children on the assessment of the child was poor. Agreement was good across the scales used when the information was derived from the same informant. The implication of these results for epidemiological studies, particularly concerning dual informants, is discussed.
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