The impact of social networking sites use on health-related outcomes among UK adolescents

Abstract

This study theorizes on and examines the impact of social networking sites (SNS) use on health outcomes in adolescents. By using data from the 2015-16 sweep of the Millennium Cohort Study, SNS use and its effects on sleep duration, healthy eating (fruits/vegetables intake, eating breakfast), and self-rated health was evaluated in 11,406 adolescents (13–15 years old). For this, a model was constructed and tested with the PROCESS macro in SPSS. Daily SNS use time was found to be negatively associated with general health; and this effect was fully mediated through decreased sleep duration and reduced healthy eating. Females had a higher risk of being negatively affected by the extent of their SNS use, compared to males. These findings contribute to the understanding of potential social media use effects on adolescents. They further show that established sex differences in sleep hygiene and healthy eating, which have been explained from the psychological and physiological perspective in prior research, can also stem, in part, from differences in social media use patterns. From a practical standpoint, strategies aimed at helping adolescents manage their sleep hygiene and healthy food intake despite their SNS use may be more fruitful than those aimed at assisting them to curb their social media use.