scholarly journals Associations of Social Media Use With Physical Activity and Sleep Adequacy Among Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Survey (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandhya V Shimoga ◽  
Erlyana Erlyana ◽  
Vida Rebello

BACKGROUND Adolescents’ 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. OBJECTIVE The 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. METHODS We 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. RESULTS The 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%). CONCLUSIONS Regular 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.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mezna A. AlMarzooqi

Background: Social media became an integral part of the lives of people because it encourages social relations and shares interests, activities, and real-life connections. As quarantine and lockdown orders are prolonged, many people, as well as those physically active individuals, typically responded to this stressful condition by using social media platforms.Objective: This study aimed to examine the level of physical activity of physically active individuals and their attitudes toward social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among physically active individuals in Saudi Arabia between June 2020 and July 2020. An online survey was employed among eligible participants who completed a self-administered questionnaire that covered reasons for physical activity and attitudes toward social media platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic.Results: Of these 323 participants, 29.1% were in the age group of 18–24 years, 66.6% were women, and 67.8% were single. The proportion of participants whose metabolic equivalent of tasks-min/week from vigorous activity <1,680 was 31.9%, and all of the participants follow people or pages in social media related to sports teams and fitness models. The average number of hours spent on social media per day was 2.95 ± 0.90 h. The majority of the participants showed positive attitudes toward social media used for exercise and physical activity. Of the eight variables, age, level of physical activity, and the average of hours spent on social media emerged as significant predictors of attitudes toward the use of social media (P < 0.05).Conclusions: The present survey results indicate adverse consequences of home quarantine as reflected by a small proportion of participants who had differences in levels of vigorous activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Social media appears to be a key avenue to promote and disseminate health interventions to promote physical activity during this COVID-19 pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qaisar Khalid Mahmood ◽  
Sara Rizvi Jafree ◽  
Sahifa Mukhtar ◽  
Florian Fischer

Although the role of social media in infectious disease outbreaks is receiving increasing attention, little is known about the mechanisms by which social media use affects risk perception and preventive behaviors during such outbreaks. This study aims to determine whether there are any relationships between social media use, preventive behavior, perceived threat of coronavirus, self-efficacy, and socio-demographic characteristics. The data were collected from 310 respondents across Pakistan using an online cross-sectional survey. Reliability analyses were performed for all scales and structural equational modeling was used to identify the relationships between study variables. We found that: (i) social media use predicts self-efficacy (β = 0.25, p < 0.05) and perceived threat of coronavirus (β = 0.54, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.06), and (ii) preventive behavior is predicted by self-efficacy and perceived threat of coronavirus (R = 0.10, p < 0.05). Therefore, these results indicate the importance of social media's influence on health-related behaviors. These findings are valuable for health administrators, governments, policymakers, and social scientists, specifically for individuals whose situations are similar to those in Pakistan.


2021 ◽  
pp. 642-654
Author(s):  
Jasmin Helbach ◽  
Katharina Stahlmann

Many studies observed a reduction of physical activity (PA) and an increase in digital media use in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies have been conducted in Europe or looked at changes in the association between both behaviors. Hence, this study aims at investigating the changes in digital media use/social media use and PA as well as in its association among young adults in Germany. Cross-sectional data of 884 German young adults (mean age 22.36 (±1.99), 76% female) collected via an online questionnaire between August 1 and September 30, 2020 were analyzed. Participants reported on digital media use (smartphone, television, computer, gaming console), social media use (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok) and PA (days/week of ≥30 min. PA) separately for the period of strict infection control measures in Germany (March - end of May 2020) and for normal times (before March 2020). Descriptive statistics of digital media use, social media use and PA were compared between both periods. Linear regression adjusted for sociodemographic and work-related characteristics were conducted for both periods with total media use, the various media devices and social media use, respectively, as independent and PA as dependent variables. Whereas PA did not differ between both periods, mean total digital media use increased by 1 hour during the period of strict infection control measures. Digital media use and social media use were negatively associated with PA in both time periods. Differences in these associations by sex could be found for some digital media devices. However, 60% of respondents did not comply with the WHO recommendations for PA. Under consideration of possible recall bias, young adults’ digital media use, but not PA, seemed to have changed under the strict infection control measures. However, interventions are needed to increase PA and to prevent its reduction in the course of the pandemic.


10.2196/26134 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Rutter ◽  
Holly M. Thompson ◽  
Jacqueline Howard ◽  
Tennisha N. Riley ◽  
Robinson De Jesús-Romero ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaomeng Niu ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Jessica Willoughby ◽  
Ze Li ◽  
Rongting Zhou

BACKGROUND Empirical research has demonstrated that people frequently use social media for gathering and sharing online health information. Health literacy, social media use, and self-efficacy are important factors that may influence people’s health behaviors online. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the associations between health literacy, health-related social media use, self-efficacy and health behavioral intentions online. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey of Chinese adults aged 18 and above (N = 449) to examine predictors of health-related behavioral intentions online including health literacy, social media use, and self-efficacy. Hayes’ PROCESS macro was used to analyze the mediation and moderation models. RESULTS Two moderated mediation models were constructed. Self-efficacy mediated the effects of health literacy (Bindirect=0.213, 95% CI: 0.101 to 0.339) and social media use (Bindirect=0.023, 95% CI: 0.008 to 0.045) on health behavioral intentions on social media. Age moderated the effects of health literacy on self-efficacy (P=.029), while previous experience moderated the effects of social media use on self-efficacy (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS Health literacy and health-related social media use influenced health behavioral intentions on social media via their prior effects on self-efficacy. The association between health literacy and self-efficacy was stronger among younger respondents, whereas the association between health-related social media use and self-efficacy was stronger among those who previously had positive experiences with health information on social media. Health practitioners should target self-efficacy among older population and increase positive media experience related to health. CLINICALTRIAL


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren A. Rutter ◽  
Holly M. Thompson ◽  
Jacqueline Howard ◽  
Tennisha N. Riley ◽  
Robinson De Jesus-Romero ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND An overwhelming majority of American adolescents have access to smartphones, and recent estimates suggest that they spend considerable time on social media in comparison to 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 anxiety and depression in adolescents is yet to be fully understood. OBJECTIVE Our primary aim was to investigate the effect of social media use on anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents, exploring physical activity as a mediator. METHODS A Qualtrics survey manager recruited adult panel participants between February and March 2019, who indicated they had adolescent children who spoke English. A total of 4,592 adolescent-parent dyads completed the survey, which took approximately 39 minutes. The survey entailed completing online questionnaires assessing various aspects of social media use, psychological symptoms, and psychosocial factors. The average age of adolescent participants was 14.62 (SD = 1.68, [12-17]), and the majority of the adolescent sample was male (52.01%). RESULTS There were significant differences in symptoms based on gender: females reported higher rates of social media use and males reported higher rates of depression. Non-binary and transgender adolescents had higher rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness than the female and male adolescents in the sample. Results showed a positive relationship between social media use and internalizing symptoms, with greater use linked to higher rates of anxiety (r = .26, P <.001), depression (r = .32, P <.001), and loneliness (r = .23, P <.001), replicating prior findings. Physical activity was associated with decreased anxiety and depression symptoms after controlling for other extracurricular activities and social media use ( = -.21, R2 = .24, F (5, 4290) = 266.0, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS More social media use is associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness among adolescents, controlling for age and gender. Exercise may protect against the potentially harmful effects of social media in some adolescents. Limitations of the current study include its self-report nature and cross-sectional design. Overall, findings suggest the need to tailor interventions for anxious and depressed youth, and caution against over-involvement in extracurricular activities, including exercise. Future work should examine social media use beyond how much time adolescents spend using social media, and instead focus on the type of social media consumption. CLINICALTRIAL n/a


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