Understanding the key domains of adolescent social media experience: a parallel Delphi study with young people and key adults

Reflective and brooding rumination as moderators of the associations between positive and negative social media experiences, depressed and anxious mood, and positive and negative affect among Hispanic adults: A daily diary approach.

Youth Social Media Use and Health Outcomes: #diggingdeeper

Background Social media are an integral part of adolescents’ daily lives, and reviews have suggested an overall small association between more social media use and mental health problems. However, researchers have commonly investigated social media use solely in a time use perspective, rendering nuances in adolescents’ social media experience less well explored. This study examined depressive symptoms in adolescents in relationship to time spent on social media, negative social media-related experiences, and general self-efficacy. Methods Cross-sectional data collected in a national survey of adolescents aged 13-19 years in Norway, Ungdata 2021 (n = 139841), was used. Depressive symptoms were measured with a six-item scale based on the Depressive Mood Inventory. Associations with depressive symptoms were analyzed with multivariate linear regression analyses. Results Time spent on social media was associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.09, p < 0.001). However, negative social media-related experiences were more strongly associated with depressive symptoms (β ranging 0.09-0.22, all p < 0.001), and their inclusion weakened the initial association between time on social media and depressive symptoms. General self-efficacy was directly associated with lower symptom levels (β=-0.29, p < 0.001) but did not change the associations between social media use and depressive symptoms. Conclusions The findings imply that not only time spent on social media, but in particular negative social media-related experiences, are related to depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents. General self-efficacy is an important resource for adolescents’ mental health. Public health initiatives should include efforts to monitor and prevent negative events related to adolescents’ social media use, as well as efforts to increase adolescents’ general self-efficacy. Key messages • Negative social media-related experiences are related to depressive symptoms in Norwegian adolescents. • Public health initiatives may focus on monitoring and preventing negative social media-related experiences among adolescents.

Why does research find that girls demonstrate stronger, more negative associations between social media use and well-being compared to boys? In this study we use intensive longitudinal data collected from N = 97 adolescents living in the United States and a Dynamic Structural Equation Modeling framework to apply a gendered lens to more critically examine gender differences in the association between social media use and well-being. Overall, we found limited evidence that social media use was related to well-being, or that gendered facets of adolescents’ social context moderated these associations. However, we did find that two commonly gendered facets of adolescents’ social media experiences, frequency of use and unwanted exposure to sexually explicit content, were both negatively associated with the stability of adolescents’ sense of purpose. This finding points to alternative within-person processes, rather than supporting a direct causal relationship between social media use and well-being, as social media use and experiences may be related to the stability of adolescents’ well-being over time.

Social media have drastically changed the context of adolescent development. To date, the majority of research investigating the effects of these changes has measured time spent on social media, yielding inconclusive results-likely because this approach conceptualizes social media as a monolith. Social media experiences are complex and diverse, as are adolescents themselves. Emerging research has identified several specific components of social media that have varied associations with adolescent mental health, as well as individual difference factors that may alter these associations across adolescents. In this annual research review, we synthesize evidence regarding heterogeneity in social media effects related to (a) specific components of social media and (b) adolescents' individual differences regarding social media use and effects. We first focus on the specific social media components-content, features, and functions-that may be especially relevant for adolescent development. These include functions designed to foster relationships and social connections (e.g., social media feeds, 'friends'), hateful content, notifications, risky content, and algorithmically curated content, among others. Next, we provide an overview of for whom these effects may matter most. We review research on individual differences that may explain some heterogeneity in social media effects, including gender/sex, age, marginalized status, neurobiological and social sensitivities, and other preexisting vulnerabilities to mental health concerns. The nascent work in these areas suggests many specific constructs and considerations that could drive future research examining nuanced and precise questions that go beyond 'screen time'. We discuss avenues for researchers to leverage methodological advancements and address how specific social media experiences and individual differences shape developmental outcomes.

Aim/Purpose: The main objective of this study is to explore the relationships among social media experience processes, peer influence, and fear of missing out (FoMO), as well as their impact on adolescent students’ choice of participation in academic activities. Background: The increasing digitization of the world has consolidated social media as a dominant means of communication in the modern era. Adolescents are heavily engaged with smartphones and social platforms, resulting in substantial exposure to their influences. This exposure leads to a rise in sharing academic achievements and experiences on social media platforms. This trend has transformed academic success into a symbol of admiration, affecting how young individuals perceive their educational activities. During adolescence, a phase characterized by heightened vulnerability and intense social connections, young people become more susceptible to phenomena such as peer influence and FoMO. Social media, serving as a platform to showcase experiences and achievements, plays a pivotal role in shaping peer norms that subsequently impact peer influence and FoMO. Given the significant interplay between social media, peer influence, and FoMO, there is a need to explore whether social media experiences can predict academic-related peer influence and FoMO, as well as understand their interrelationships. This exploration is essential for understanding the cumulative impact of these factors on students’ academic pursuits. These insights hold the potential to guide the effective management of the potentially excessive effects of social media, thus promoting a more balanced and productive student life when confronting contemporary challenges. Methodology: The study employed a quantitative approach, using 5-point Likert scales to collect data via an online survey. The questionnaire was designed based on the theoretical framework regarding transformations of peer experiences in social media contexts developed by Nesi and co-researchers, which mainly interpreted the characterization of social media and how its features could amplify or alter the formation of Peer Influence and FoMO. The data from 419 valid responses from secondary and high school students in Vietnam were analyzed using reliability tests, factor analysis methods, and structural equation modeling (SEM) methods. Contribution: This research is meaningful in raising awareness of researchers, students, teachers, and parents about the vigorous impacts of social media on students’ academic activities and serves as the foundation for further research on regulation methods to secure healthy social media use and academic development. Findings: It was found that social media was characterized by two latent variables: Online Peer Norms and Novel Peer Experiences. The results showed that both factors were strong predictors of peer influence, while for FoMO, only the variable of Online Peer Norms was a significant predictor. FoMO was found to mediate the impact of social media experience on peer influence. Finally, peer influence relatively affected students’ participation in academic activities, while FoMO did not. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results suggested that social media can be a means to encourage positive academic participation and, thus, can be utilized in spreading educational programs and promoting academic motivation. At the same time, measures to counteract academic pressure should also take social media into consideration. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers can utilize the framework of this study to investigate other adolescent media-related mental and behavioral phenomena as well. In addition, researchers should build a clearer understanding of FoMO’s interactions with academic matters. Impact on Society: Social media can either be a great assistance or a huge risk to the development of future generations of society. It is capable of spurring mental and behavioral changes that can radically impact youths’ growth on their educational paths. Future Research: The relationship between peer influence and FoMO should be delved into from more diverse dimensions. Future research should encompass peer influence and social media’s involvement in academic self-concepts and well-being.

Perfect Storms and Double-Edged Swords: Recent Advances in Research on Adolescent Social Media Use and Mental Health

Mental health among children and adolescents is a critical public health issue, and transgender and gender nonbinary youths are at an even greater risk. Social media has been consistently associated with youth mental health, but little is known about how gender identity interacts with this association. To use a risk and resilience approach to examine the association between social media use and mental health among transgender, gender nonbinary, and cisgender youths. This cross-sectional study analyzed data collected from an online survey between May and August 2021. Participants included a random sample of US youths; eligibility requirements included being aged 10 to 17 years and residing in the US. Statistical analysis was performed from February to April 2022. Social media use (time, type of use, favorite site, social comparisons, mindfulness, taking intentional breaks, cleaning and curating feeds, problematic use, and media literacy programs at their school) and mental health (depression, emotional problems, conduct problems, and body image) as main outcomes. Participants included 1231 youths aged 10 to 17 years from a national quota sample from the United States; 675 (54.8%) identified as cisgender female, 479 (38.9%) as cisgender male, and 77 (6.3%) as transgender, gender nonbinary, or other; 4 (0.3%) identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, 111 (9.0%) as Asian, 185 (15.0%) as Black, 186 (15.1%) as Hispanic or Latinx, 1 (0.1%) as Pacific Islander, 703 (57.1%) as White, and 41 (3.3%) as mixed and/or another race or ethnicity. Gender identity moderated both the strength and the direction of multiple associations between social media practices and mental health: active social media use (eg, emotional problems: B = 1.82; 95% CI, 0.16 to 3.49; P = .03), cleaning and/or curating social media feeds (eg, depression: B = -0.91; 95% CI, -1.98 to -0.09; P = .03), and taking intentional breaks (eg, depression: B = 1.03; 95% CI, 0.14 to 1.92; P = .02). In this cross-sectional study of gender identity, social media, and mental health, gender identity was associated with youths' experiences of social media in ways that may have distinct implications for mental health. These results suggest that research about social media effects on youths should attend to gender identity; directing children and adolescents to spend less time on social media may backfire for those transgender and gender nonbinary youths who are intentional about creating safe spaces on social media that may not exist in their offline world.

Associations between parental monitoring and parents’ social media use and social media perceptions

Introduction: Social media (SM) use is ubiquitous among adolescents, and questions remain regarding the impact of SM on youths’ emotional health. Understanding what adolescents are experiencing on SM is critical for answering these questions.Methods: The present study uses ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to characterize SM experiences (SMEs) over 15 days in 94 U.S. adolescents ages 12-15 years (53% female, 64% White). At each EMA observation, participants used a pre-specified list to indicate which (if any) socially threatening and rewarding SMEs they had since the last observation. Online communication behaviors and valence-ambiguous SMEs were also explored. In addition to characterizing the frequency of these SMEs, associations between SMEs and momentary positive and negative affect (PA/NA) were tested using multilevel modeling. Results: Adolescents more frequently reported rewarding (e.g., receiving supportive or encouraging comments) than threatening (e.g., getting bullied, blocked, or told mean comments) SMEs. Moreover, 41% of participants failed to endorse any threatening SMEs that were assessed over the 15-day EMA period. While rewarding and threatening SMEs were associated with higher concurrent PA and NA, respectively, SMEs were not prospectively related to changes in within-person affect from one survey to the next.Conclusions: Identifying what adolescents are experiencing when using SM is crucial for better understanding how SM might be impacting youths’ well-being. Findings help characterize common SMEs among adolescents and suggest that even threatening SMEs may not drive short-term changes in youths’ affective health.

Social media utilization behavior of youth has tremendously changed. There were major differences observed in boys’ and girls' social media utilization behavior Keeping this in mind, study was undertaken with the 1st year M.Sc. (Agriculture) students of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. 50 students were taken as respondents for this study. The study focuses on analyzing genderwise differences in social media utilization behavior. The variables considered for this study were experience in social media; most frequently used social media, duration, frequency, status-posting behavior, a suitable time for social media use, and money spent on social media. Nearly 88.8 percent of boys had more than five years of experience in social media. Among girls, 56.3 percent of girls had 3 – 4 years of experience in social media. Most of the boys (55.6%) used social media to make new relationships in their life. On the other hand, 93.8 percent of the girl respondents used social media to sustain their already established relationships in their life. Mostly 44.4 percent of boys considered that usage of social media affects their academic performance and then most of the girls (37.5%) respondents considered that usage of social media improved their academic performance. This study revealed some observable changes in the social media utilization behavior of boys and girls in the context of time spent on social media, experience in social media use, money spent on the internet, and types of content shared on social media. it was also observed that there exists some difference in the social media utilization behavior among boys and girls.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the purpose of this study was to document some Canadian adults’ social media experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic to understand potential changes in motives and attitudes related to social media. Participants (n = 68; 17 - 66 years old) completed an online survey with open-ended and Likert-scale questions between April 25 and June 12, 2020. Qualitative responses were coded and analyzed for themes related to the positive and negative aspects of social media use and changes in attitudes. Descriptive statistics, ANOVAs, and t-tests were run to assess perceived changes in frequency and motivations driving social media use, in addition to the perceived utility of social media. Participants perceived increases in their social media use, particularly to meet socialization and entertainment needs. During the pandemic, participants valued social media for its opportunity to maintain connections, but also expressed concerns about how much they were using it and their exposure to negative information. The results suggest that maximizing the potential of social media to maintain or increase connections may be beneficial for the well-being of some Canadians in early and middle adulthood during unprecedented times of physical distancing.

Several large-scale studies and reviews have reported both negative and positive associations of social media use with well-being, suggesting that the findings are more complex and need more nuanced study. Moreover, there is little or no exploration of how social media use in adolescence influences flourishing, a more all-encompassing construct beyond well-being, including six sub-domains (i.e., happiness, meaning and purpose, physical and mental health, character, close social relationships, and financial stability). This paper aims to fill this gap by understanding how adolescents might flourish through social media activities by fulfilling the basic needs pointed out by the Self-Determination Theory, i.e., relatedness, autonomy, and competence. The study is drawn on cross-sectional data collected from 1,429 Swiss adolescents (58.8% females, Mage = 15.84, SDage = 0.83) as part of the HappyB project in Spring 2022. Self-reported measures included the Harvard Adolescent Flourishing scale, positive and negative online social experiences, self-disclosure on social media, and social media inspiration. Control variables included, among others, self-esteem, ill-being, and personality. After applying Bonferroni's correction, results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that positive social media experiences (β = 0.112, p < 0.001) and social media inspirations from others (β = 0.072, p < 0.001) and for others (β = 0.060, p = 0.003) were positively associated with flourishing. Flourishing was inversely associated with negative social media experiences (β = -0.076, p < 0.001). Among covariates, self-esteem (β = 0.350, p < 0.001), ill-being (β = -0.252, p < 0.001), perceived school environment (β = 0.138, p < 0.001), self-reported level of physical activity (β =0.109, p < 0.001), and perceived socio-economic status (β = -0.059, p = 0.001) were all related to flourishing. In contrast, gender, high school year, age, perceived stress, and personality (extraversion and neuroticism) were not. Using a well-being framework to investigate social media use in adolescents is needed to go beyond the ill-being perspective. Our results align with the needs pointed out by the Self-Determination Theory. Carrying out social media activities in a way that promotes-rather than diminishes-flourishing should be included as an additional good habit influencing adolescents' development. We suggest that interventions aiming to foster adolescents' flourishing should include curricula aiming to promote a good use of social media through positive online social relationships and inspirational contents.

Adolescents nowadays experience significant mental and behavioral changes, largely influenced by the pervasive use of social media, the rise in peer influence, and the fear of missing out (FoMO). However, many crucial questions regarding the relationships between social media, peer influence, and FoMO remain unanswered. Therefore, this study was conducted to explore the interconnections among social media processes, FoMO, and peer influence among secondary and high school students, with a specific focus on posts sharing academic achievements or experiences among peers. The research employed a quantitative approach, using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire to collect data via an online survey. A total of 419 valid samples were collected and analyzed using factor analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings revealed that certain social media experience processes, namely online peer norms and novel peer experiences, significantly influenced both peer influence and FoMO. While online peer norms affected both phenomena, novel peer experiences only had an impact on peer influence. Moreover, FoMO played a mediating role in the relationship between social media experience and peer influence. Based on these findings, the study proposes solutions to optimize the impact of social media on adolescents. Gaining insights into the dynamics of social media processes, FoMO, and peer influence can enhance support for adolescents’ mental well-being and address challenges in the digital age.

Development of a Social Media Intervention for the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease