scholarly journals Passive social media use and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of social comparison and emotion regulation

2021 ◽  
pp. 107050
Author(s):  
Zhiying Yue ◽  
Renwen Zhang ◽  
Jun Xiao
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (39) ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
Alisar Hudimova ◽  
Ihor Popovych ◽  
Vita Baidyk ◽  
Olena Buriak ◽  
Olha Kechyk

Aim. The present study empirically investigates and theoretically substantiates the results of the impact of social media on young web-users’ psychological well-being during the forced self-isolation caused by the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 254). Materials and methods. Standardized valid psycho-diagnostic methods, the author’s questionnaire (A. Hudimova, 2021), correlation and factor analyses were used to identify young web users’ patterns of social media involvement during the forced self-isolation. Results. The results show that during the global COVID-19 pandemic, young web users give preference for passive social media use rather than for communication. The obtained results showed an expansion in the time spent via social media by young web users. It was found that the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic is accompanied by the participants’ experience of negative emotions and fears of the unknown (r = .204; p <.01). It is substantiated that increasing immersion of young web users in social media is a kind of strategy to escape from bad thoughts (r = .271; p <.01). Significantly, it is stated that uncontrolled use of social media causes sleep disorders during isolation (r = .444; p <.01). Conclusions. The study proves that young people spend almost all day online due to the obsessive pattern of social media involvement and/or procrastination, which often provokes withdrawal syndrome upon the attempt to distract from them. The lack of controlled time spending on social media during self-isolation provokes an exacerbation of anxiety, apathy, depressed mood, and a sense of isolation from social reality. The obtained results provide evidence that the causal relations of passive social media use provoke an exacerbation of feelings of alienation, disrupt the healthy rhythm of sleep, and psychological state of young web-users during the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic.


First Monday ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iffat Ali Aksar ◽  
Mahmoud Danaee ◽  
Huma Maqsood ◽  
Amira Firdaus

Social media use has been increasing apace regardless of geographical and economic boundaries. In particular, its penetration has occurred more rapidly in developing and low-income countries with abounding health and psychological disadvantages. Given the understanding that women are more prone to psychological disorders than men, the current research is an effort to examine social media motives and subsequent effects on the psychological well-being of women social media users in Pakistan. The study is based on an online survey conducted to ascertain as to what extent social media use contributes to women’s psychological well-being or otherwise. The survey recorded responses of 240 women selected through purposive sampling technique. SEM-PLS analysis of the collected data revealed that social media usage plays a meaningful role in women’s psychological health. However, results exposed that Pakistani women, under the traditional patriarchal social pressure, not only have to observe cultural norms in online practices but are also forced to adhere to socially constructed gender roles in online spaces. The mixed results suggest conducting extensive research for a deeper insight into the role of social media in psychological well-being of women in other low-income countries.


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.


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