scholarly journals Problematic Social Media Use and Social Connectedness in Adolescence: The Mediating and Moderating Role of Family Life Satisfaction

Author(s):  
Mustafa Savci ◽  
Muhammed Akat ◽  
Mustafa Ercengiz ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths ◽  
Ferda Aysan

AbstractProblematic social media use (PSMU) among adolescents has become an area of increasing research interest in recent years. It is known that PSMU is negatively associated with social connectedness. The present study examined the role of family life satisfaction in this relationship by investigating its mediating and moderating role in the relationship between problematic social use and social connectedness. The present study comprised 549 adolescents (296 girls and 253 boys) who had used social media for at least 1 year and had at least one social media account. The measures used included the Social Media Disorder Scale, Social Connectedness Scale, and Family Life Satisfaction Scale. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed using Hayes’s Process program. Regression analysis showed that PSMU negatively predicted family life satisfaction and social connectedness. In addition, family life satisfaction and PSMU predicted social connectedness. Mediation analysis showed that family life satisfaction had a significant mediation effect in the relationship between PSMU and social connectedness. Family life satisfaction was partially mediated in the relationship between PSMU and social connectedness. Moderation analysis showed that family life satisfaction did not have a significant effect on the relationship between PSMU and social connectedness. The study suggests that family life satisfaction is a meaningful mediator (but not a moderator) in the relationship between problematic social media use and social connectedness.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Calandri ◽  
Federica Graziano ◽  
Luca Rollé

The study of the psychological effects of social media use on adolescents’ adjustment has long been the focus of psychological research, but results are still inconclusive. In particular, there is a lack of research on the positive and negative developmental outcomes and on possible moderating variables, especially concerning early adolescence. To fill these gaps in literature, the present study longitudinally investigated the relationships between social media use, depressive symptoms, affective well-being and life satisfaction, as well as the moderating role of emotional self-efficacy and gender. The study involved 336 Italian early adolescents (mean age = 13, sd = 0.3; 48% girls) who completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire twice within a year. Main results showed that higher social media use was related to higher depressive symptoms, lower affective well-being and lower life satisfaction among girls with lower emotional self-efficacy. Conversely, high social media use was related to higher affective well-being and higher life satisfaction for girls with higher emotional self-efficacy. Results are discussed in relation to their implications for risk prevention and health promotion among early adolescents. In particular, our results suggest that promoting emotional self-efficacy can be very helpful in making the use of social media an opportunity for well-being and life satisfaction rather than a developmental risk.


2021 ◽  
Vol 64 ◽  
pp. 101485
Author(s):  
Oli Ahmed ◽  
Syeda Jannatun Nayeem Siddiqua ◽  
Najifa Alam ◽  
Mark D. Griffiths

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warner Myntti ◽  
Jensen Spicer ◽  
Carol Janney ◽  
Stacey Armstrong ◽  
Sarah Domoff

Adolescents are spending more time interacting with peers online than in person, evidencing the need to examine this shift’s implications for adolescent loneliness and mental health. The current review examines research documenting an association between social media use and mental health, and highlights several specific areas that should be further explored as mechanisms within this relationship. Overall, it appears that frequency of social media use, the kind of social media use, the social environment, the platform used, and the potential for adverse events are especially important in understanding the relationship between social media use and adolescent mental health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-199
Author(s):  
Agnes Kovacs ◽  
Tamas Doczi ◽  
Dunja Antunovic

The Olympic Games are among the most followed events in the world, so athletes who participate there are exceptionally interesting for the media. This research investigated Olympians’ social media use, sport journalists’ attitudes about Olympians’ social media use, and the role of social media in the relationship between Olympians and sport journalists in Hungary. The findings suggest that most Hungarian Olympians do not think that being on social media is an exceptionally key issue in their life, and a significant portion of them do not have public social media pages. However, sport journalists would like to see more information about athletes on social media platforms. The Hungarian case offers not only a general understanding of the athlete–journalist relationship, and the role of social media in it, but also insight into the specific features of the phenomenon in a state-supported, hybrid sport economy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzy Winstone ◽  
Becky Mars ◽  
Claire M. A. Haworth ◽  
Judi Kidger

Abstract Background Connectedness to family and peers is a key determinant of adolescent mental health. Existing research examining associations between social media use and social connectedness has been largely quantitative and has focused primarily on loneliness, or on specific aspects of peer relationships. In this qualitative study we use the displacement hypothesis and the stimulation hypothesis as competing theoretical lenses through which we examine the complex relationship between social media use and feelings of connectedness to family and peers. Methods In-depth paired and individual interviews were conducted with twenty-four 13–14-year-olds in two inner-city English secondary schools. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded and thematically analysed. Results Analysis identified four themes: (i) ‘Displacement of face-to-face socialising’ (ii) ‘Social obligations’ (iii) ‘(Mis)Trust’ and (iv) ‘Personal and group identity’. Results indicated stronger support for the stimulation hypothesis than the displacement hypothesis. We found evidence of a complex set of reciprocal and circular relationships between social media use and connectedness consistent with a ‘rich-get-richer’ and a ‘poor-get-poorer’ effect for family and peer connectedness – and a ‘poor-get-richer’ effect in peer connectedness for those who find face-to-face interactions difficult. Conclusion Our findings suggest that parents should take a measured approach to social media use, providing clear guidance, promoting trust and responsible time management, and acknowledging the role of social media in making connections. Understanding and sharing in online experiences is likely to promote social connectedness. Supporting young people to negotiate breathing space in online interactions and prioritising trust over availability in peer relationships may optimise the role of social media in promoting peer connectedness.


2022 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 102793
Author(s):  
Yuan Sun ◽  
Lixia Wu ◽  
Anand Jeyaraj

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