The Impact of Screen Time and Social Media Use on Physical Activity

The rising rates of physical and mental health complaints among adolescents observed in many countries have coincided with an increased time spent on screen-based devices, including social media use. We sought to document recent trends in physical health complaints (PHC) and whether co-occurring trends in screen time, social media use, and physical activity may account for these trends.To achieve these aims, we used data from the nationwide Ungdata surveys conducted annually at the municipality level in Norway, comprising 419,934 adolescents aged 13–18 from six survey years (2014–2019). Six items assessed PHC, including neck and shoulder pain, headache, and abdominal pain, during the past month. To account for the nesting structure of Ungdata, and to exploit the variation within and between municipalities, we used multilevel analyses with adolescents nested in municipality-years (n = 669), nested in municipalities (n = 345). We found a small to moderate linear increase in number of PHC among boys and girls from 2014 to 2019. Screen time and social media use moderately attenuated the trend for girls, and to a lesser extent for boys. Screen time and social media use were further positively associated with PHC across the between and within-municipality levels, and social media use was more strongly associated with PHC for girls than boys across all levels of analysis. A similar pattern emerged when considering each symptom individually. The results suggest that the prevalence of PHC rose in tandem with a group-level shift towards higher screen time and social media use. Moreover, the results indicate that higher screen time and social media use may have led to changes in the youth culture with potential consequences for adolescents’ well-being.

Navigating Social Media in #Ophthalmology

BackgroundMost American adolescents have access to smartphones, and recent estimates suggest that they spend considerable time on social media compared with other physical and leisure activities. A large body of literature has established that social media use is related to poor mental health, but the complicated relationship between social media and symptoms of depression and anxiety in adolescents is yet to be fully understood.ObjectiveWe aim to investigate the relationship between social media use and depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescents by exploring physical activity as a mediator.MethodsA Qualtrics survey manager recruited adult panel participants between February and March 2019, who indicated that they had adolescent children who spoke English. A total of 4592 adolescent-parent dyads completed the survey that took approximately 39 minutes. The survey entailed completing web-based questionnaires assessing various aspects of social media use, psychological symptoms, and psychosocial factors. The average age of the adolescent participants was 14.62 (SD 1.68; range 12-17) years, and the majority of the adolescent sample was male (2392/4592, 52.09%).ResultsTotal social media use was associated with more depressive symptoms (multiple R2=0.12; F3,4480=207.1; P<.001), anxiety (multiple R2=0.09; F3,4477=145.6; P<.001), and loneliness (multiple R2=0.06; F3,4512=98.06; P<.001), controlling for age and gender. Physical activity was associated with decreased depression and anxiety symptoms after controlling for other extracurricular activities and social media use (multiple R2=0.24; F5,4290=266.0; P<.001). There were significant differences in symptoms based on gender: female adolescents reported higher rates of social media use and males reported higher rates of depression. Nonbinary and transgender adolescents had higher rates of depression, anxiety, and loneliness than the female and male adolescents in the sample.ConclusionsIn a nationally representative sample of adolescents, more social media use was associated with more severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Increased physical activity was associated with decreased depression and anxiety symptoms. Physical activity partially mediated the relationship between social media use and depression and anxiety. As this was a cross-sectional study, we cannot conclude that social media use causes internalizing symptoms or that physical activity leads to decreased internalizing symptoms—there may be additional confounding variables producing the relationships we observed. Physical activity may protect against the potentially harmful effect of social media on some adolescents. The effect sizes were small to medium, and the results should be interpreted with caution. Other limitations of this study include our reliance on self-reporting. Future work should examine social media use beyond how much time adolescents spend using social media and instead focus on the nature of social media activity.

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to laws and policies including national school closures, lockdown or shelter in place laws, and social distancing recommendations that may translate to higher overall screen time among children and adolescents for the duration of these laws and policies. These policies may need to be periodically re-instated to control future COVID-19 recurrences or other national emergencies. Excessive screen time is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors such as obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance because it increases sedentary time and is associated with snacking.

Introduction: The impact of excessive screen time and social media use on mental health, particularly among adolescents and young adults, has raised concerns. Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the mental health effects of excessive screen time and social media use among adolescents (13–19 years) and young adults (20–25 years) in India. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey study recruited 1392 participants (672 adolescents and 720 young adults) from India. Validated scales assessed mental health outcomes, screen time, social media use, mediating factors, and coping strategies. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, regression models, and thematic analysis were employed. Results: The prevalence of depression symptom was 37.9%, anxiety symptom was 33.3%, high stress 43.7%, and low self-esteem 25.3%, respectively. Significant positive correlations were found between screen time, social media use, and symptoms of depression (r = 0.32, r = 0.25), anxiety (r = 0.28, r = 0.22), and stress (r = 0.36, r = 0.29), while negative correlations existed with self-esteem (r = −0.25, r = −0.18). Poor sleep quality and cyberbullying exacerbated mental health issues, while physical activity and social support had protective effects. Common coping strategies included physical activity, hobbies, social support, digital detox, and mindfulness. Conclusions: The study provides compelling evidence linking excessive screen time and social media use with adverse mental health outcomes such as depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, stress, and low self-esteem among Indian adolescents and young adults. Key mediating factors were poor sleep quality exacerbating mental health issues, while physical activity, social support, and reduced cyberbullying were protective. While recognizing technology’s benefits, the study highlights promoting balanced digital habits, addressing underlying factors, and equipping youth with coping skills to foster a healthier relationship with technology and safeguard mental well-being.

Spatial Patterns of Purposeful Social Networking and Socioeconomic Influences: Towards a Mature, Inclusive Networked Society in the U.S.

Youth Social Media Use and Health Outcomes: #diggingdeeper

Cooperative Mentorship: Negotiating Social Media Use within the Family

Today's rapidly growing use of social media has both positive and negative impacts on people's social lives. Moreover, based on UNESCO data, Indonesian people are very active in using social media. This research aims to The use of social media as a learning medium aims to increase students' interest in learning, improve students' ability to use technology and increase students' awareness in using social media in the context of education. The method used in this research is a quantitative method using a survey model and in-depth interviews with one teacher and students. The results of this study show that social media can be used for learning tools or media. However, in reality, currently there is no maximum use of social networking media. The results of researchers' observations by looking at the growing phenomenon, that the use of social networking media is currently mostly only used by students to be limited to sending messages with friends, playing games (games), and buying goods online. The use of social networking media is currently still not utilized as a learning medium by students. The conclusion of this research is that media in the learning process is an inseparable part of the teaching and learning process in order to achieve an educational goal in general and learning objectives. Strategies to be able to find learning media. The right and appropriate in the learning process can be done by making considerations in the selection of social media. Therefore, the limitation of this study is that researchers only conducted research on the role of the Discovery Learning strategy in Islamic cultural history lessons, researchers hope that future researchers can conduct research on the Discovery Learning strategy by developing this strategy in other subjects.

#trial: clinical research in the age of social media

Social media use, community participation and psychological well-being among individuals with serious mental illnesses

BackgroundAdolescents’ use of social media, which has increased considerably in the past decade, has both positive and negative influences on adolescents’ health and health behaviors. As social media is the most prominent communication tool of choice for adolescents, it is important to understand the relationship between the frequency of social media use and health behaviors among this population.ObjectiveThe objective of our study was to examine the associations between the frequency of social media use and physical activity and sleep adequacy among middle and high school students.MethodsWe used data from the Monitoring the Future survey (2014 and 2015), a nationally representative, annual, cross-sectional survey of American 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students (N=43,994). Health behaviors examined were frequency of vigorous physical activity and frequency of getting 7 hours of sleep (never/seldom, sometimes, and every day/nearly every day). We measured frequency of social media use using a Likert-like scale (never, a few times a year, 1-2 times a month, once a week, or every day). Multivariable generalized ordered logistic regressions examined the association of social media use with different levels of physical activity and sleep. We estimated marginal effects (MEs) for the main independent variable (social media use frequency) by holding all other variables at their observed values.ResultsThe study population comprised 51.13% (21,276/42,067) female students, 37.48% (17,160/43,994) from the South, and 80.07% (34,953/43,994) from a metropolitan area, with 76.90% (33,831/43,994) reporting using social media every day. Among physically active students, frequent social media use was associated with a higher likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 50.1%, 95% CI 49.2%-51.0%). Among sedentary students, frequent social media use was associated with a lower likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 15.8%, 95% CI 15.1%-16.4%). Moderately active students who used social media once or twice a month had the highest likelihood of reporting vigorous daily exercise (ME 42.0%, 95% CI 37.6%-46.3%). Among those who normally got adequate sleep, daily social media users were least likely to report adequate sleep (ME 41.3%, 95% CI 40.4%-42.1%). Among those who were usually sleep deprived, daily social media users were more likely to report adequate sleep (ME 18.3%, 95% CI 17.6%-19.0%).ConclusionsRegular social media use every day was associated with a reinforcement of health behaviors at both extremes of health behaviors, whereas a medium intensity of social media use was associated with the highest levels of physical activity and lowest sleep adequacy among those with moderate health behaviors. Hence, finding an optimal level of social media use that is beneficial to a variety of health behaviors would be most beneficial to adolescents who are in the middle of the health behavior spectrum.

The increasing prevalence of social media has given rise to the Fear of Missing Out (FoMO) phenomenon, characterized by an acute awareness of the rewarding experiences others might be enjoying. FoMO is hypothesized to affect various aspects of individuals' lives, including their psychological well-being and academic performance. This study explores these relationships among university students, a demographic particularly vulnerable to social media influences. To examine the relationships between FoMO, social media use, psychological well-being (as measured by life satisfaction), and academic performance (as measured by GPA) among university students and determine the mediating roles of FoMO and social media use. A quantitative, correlational design was employed, collecting data from 521 university students through a cross-sectional survey. Participants completed the Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and self-reported GPA. Social media use was assessed via a customized questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS, employing correlation analysis, multiple regression, and mediation analysis. Findings indicated a strong positive association between FoMO and social media use (R 2 = 0.633, p < 0.001), suggesting that higher levels of FoMO lead to increased social media engagement (B = 0.834, p < 0.001). Contrary to expectations, FoMO was positively rather than negatively correlated with life satisfaction (R 2 = 0.064, p < 0.001, B = 0.158). Additionally, a strong positive correlation was observed between social media use and academic performance (Spearman's rho = 0.765, p < 0.001). Mediation analyses revealed that FoMO does not significantly mediate the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction, as the indirect effect was not statistically significant (B = 0.0785, 95% CI: -0.0164 to 0.1467). Similarly, the non-significant indirect effect indicated that social media use did not mediate the relationship between FoMO and academic performance (B = 0.005, 95% CI: -0.0045 to 0.0146). Moderation analyses showed that FoMO moderates the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction, where social media use hurt life satisfaction at low levels of FoMO (B = -0.1713, p = 0.0001) but had a positive effect at high levels of FoMO (B = 0.2848, p < 0.0001). This suggests that individuals with high FoMO may derive psychological benefits from social media use. Additionally, results indicated that social media use moderates the relationship between FoMO and academic performance, where FoMO had a significant adverse effect on GPA at low social media use (B = -0.030, p < 0.0001). Still, this effect became non-significant at high levels of social media use (B = 0.0097, p = 0.1028). Finally, life satisfaction moderates the relationship between FoMO and social media use, with higher life satisfaction strengthening the positive association between FoMO and social media use (B = 0.9277, p < 0.0001). These findings highlight the complex interplay between FoMO, social media use, life satisfaction, and academic performance. While FoMO increases social media engagement, its positive association with life satisfaction contradicts theoretical expectations. These results underscore the importance of considering psychological and social factors when evaluating the impact of social media use among university students.

Ethical standards for cardiothoracic surgeons' participation in social media

BackgroundeHealth and social media could be of particular benefit to adults with hearing impairment, but it is unknown whether their use of smart devices, apps, and social media is similar to that of the general population.ObjectiveOur aim is to study whether adults with normal hearing and those with impaired hearing differ in their weekly use of smart devices, apps, and social media; reasons for using social media; and benefits from using social media.MethodsWe used data from a Dutch cohort, the National Longitudinal Study on Hearing. Data were collected from September 2016 to April 2020 using a web-based questionnaire and speech-in-noise test. The results from this test were used to categorize normal hearing and hearing impairment. Outcomes were compared using (multiple) logistic regression models.ResultsAdults with impaired hearing (n=384) did not differ from normal hearing adults (n=341) in their use of a smartphone or tablet. They were less likely to make use of social media apps on a smartphone, tablet, or smartwatch (age-adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.67, 95% CI 0.48-0.92; P=.02). Use of social media on all devices and use of other apps did not differ. Adults with hearing impairment were more likely to agree with using social media to stay in touch with family members (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.16-2.07; P=.003) and friends (age-adjusted OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.01-1.81; P=.046). Furthermore, they were more likely to agree with using social media to perform their work (age-adjusted OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.04-2.18; P=.03). There were no differences in the experienced benefits from social media.ConclusionsThe potential for eHealth is confirmed because adults with hearing impairment are not less likely to use smart devices than their normal hearing peers. Adults with hearing impairment are less likely to use social media apps on a smart device but not less likely to use social media on all types of internet-connected devices. This warrants further research on the types of social media platforms that adults with hearing impairment use and on the type of device on which they prefer to use social media. Given that participants with hearing impairment are more likely than their normal hearing peers to use social media to perform their work, use of social media may be seen as an opportunity to enhance vocational rehabilitation services for persons with hearing impairment.