scholarly journals Psychosocial Outcomes and Digital Media Use in Transgender Youth: A Cross-sectional Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany Joyce Allen ◽  
Zoe Ellen Stratman ◽  
Bradley R. Kerr ◽  
Qianqian Zhao ◽  
Megan A. Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Parent Support ◽  
Gender Groups

BACKGROUND Transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse (TNG) youth encounter barriers to psychosocial wellness and also describe exploring identities and communities online. Studies of cisgender youth connect increased digital technology use with loneliness and decreased body image. However, little is known about psychosocial factors associated with digital technology use among TNG compared to cisgender youth. OBJECTIVE Our goal in this study was to examine associations between psychosocial measures and digital technology use for cisgender and TNG youth. METHODS We surveyed a nationally representative sample of adolescents (ages 13-18) about psychosocial wellness and digital technology use. Psychosocial measures included assessment of body image, parental support, loneliness, well-being, and fear of missing out (FOMO). Digital media use assessments included the short Problematic and Risky Internet Use Screening Scale (PRIUSS-3) and the Adolescent Digital Technology Interactions and Importance (ADTI) scale and subscales. The psychosocial outcomes were compared between gender groups while adjusting for age and parent social media use using PROC GLM. Stratified correlations were compared between gender identity groups for parent support, body image, loneliness, well-being, and FOMO compared with ADTI and PRIUSS-3 scores using PROC NLMIXED to compare the regression coefficients of standardized values between gender groups. All comparisons were adjusted for age and parent social media use. RESULTS Among 4575 adolescents, 53 (1.16%) self-identified as TNG youth. TNG youth had lower well-being (23.52 versus 26.78, P<.001), lower parent support (19.57 versus 23.44, P<.001), lower body image (13.72 versus 17.09, P<.001), and higher loneliness scores (9.01 versus 6.59, P<.001) compared to cisgender peers. In a pattern different from cisgender peers, problematic internet use scores for TNG youth correlated positively with body image (0.26 vs. -0.17, P=.003) and well-being (0.33 vs. -0.08, P=.002). Parental support also correlated positively with ADTI 2 scores for TNG youth (0.05), though correlated negatively with ADTI 2 scores for cisgender youth (-0.22, P=.04). CONCLUSIONS Overall, this study supports previous findings that show that TNG youth experience barriers to psychosocial wellness, and adds that this includes loneliness. This study also suggests that the correlation of PIU with both well-being and improved body image shows that PIU may not be unilaterally problematic amongst TNG youth, which may be because of specific digital media affordances that TNG youth engage. Whether this more complicated picture of PIU applies to other minority populations besides TNG youth will be an important area for future research.

How psychosocial well-being and usage amount predict inaccuracies in retrospective estimates of digital technology use

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig J. R. Sewall ◽  
Todd M. Bear ◽  
John Merranko ◽  
Daniel Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Actual Use

Using Apple’s Screen Time application to obtain reported actual iPhone and social media (SM) use, we examined the accuracy of retrospective estimates of usage, how inaccuracies bias associations between use and psychosocial well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 325 iPhone users, we found that (a) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 19.1 and 12.2 hours, respectively; (b) correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between reported actual use and well-being variables; and (c) the degree of inaccuracy in estimated use was associated with levels of participant well-being and amount of use. These findings suggest that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be systematically biased by factors that are fundamental to the associations under investigation. We propose that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be capturing the construct of perceived use rather than actual use, and discuss how the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of perceived use may be distinct from those of actual use. Implications of these findings are discussed in view of the ongoing debate surrounding the effects of digital technology use on well-being.

Screen Time, Social Media Use, and Adolescent Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 485-502
Author(s):  
Candice L. Odgers ◽  
Stephen M. Schueller ◽  
Mimi Ito
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Adolescent Development ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Social And Emotional

Adolescents spend much of their daily lives online, and fears abound that digital technology use, and social media in particular, is harming their social and emotional development. Findings to date do not support causal or robust associations between social media use and adolescents’ development. Instead, prior studies have produced a mix of small positive, negative, and often null associations. The narrative around social media and adolescent development has been negative, but empirical support for the story of increasing deficits, disease, and disconnection is limited. This article reviews what is known about the association between social media use and adolescent social and emotional well-being, identifies key limitations in current research, and recommends ways to improve science while also minimizing risk and creating opportunities for positive development in an increasingly digital and uncertain age.

Social Media Use, Body Image, and Psychological Well-Being: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Korea and the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1343-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Ryeon Lee ◽  
Hye Eun Lee ◽  
Jounghwa Choi ◽  
Jang Hyun Kim ◽  
Hae Lin Han
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison

Objectively measured digital technology use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation among young adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Sewall
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Objectively Measured

IntroductionResearch indicates that stressors introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted mental health, particularly among young people.1 Time spent on digital technology (e.g., social media, smartphones) has also increased2 as schools, workplaces, and social gathering sites have closed, thus intensifying pre-pandemic concerns regarding the putative effects of digital technology use (DTU) on mental health. Indeed, recent academic and newspaper articles have both directly and indirectly asserted that increased DTU is a source of the heightened psychological distress observed during the pandemic.3–5 However, these claims are dubious for two primary reasons. First, these articles rely on self-report measures of DTU, which are inaccurate6 and prone to systematic bias.7 Second, since the pandemic has impacted both mental health and DTU for many, the observed association between the two may be attributable to a shared common cause, rather than causality. Thus, we investigated the longitudinal associations between objectively measured DTU and mental health while accounting for important COVID-19-related effects.MethodsThis study was approved by the University of Pittsburgh and followed Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) reporting guidelines. In this four-wave panel study, participants were recruited from Prolific (https://www.prolific.co/), an online participant-recruitment platform. Waves of data collection were launched on August 14, September 12, October 14, and November 9 of 2020. Eligible participants were U.S. residents, 18-35 years old, iPhone users, and had ≥ 10 previous submissions on Prolific with approval rating ≥95%. At each wave, participants uploaded screenshots of their “Screen Time” application (which passively tracks device usage) and completed self-reports of mental health (depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation [SI]), COVID-19-related stressors, and perceived COVID-19-related impact on well-being and DTU (Table 1). We extracted three elements from the “Screen Time” screenshots: (1) total screen time, (2) total time spent on social media, and (3) total number of pickups. We estimated separate random-intercept multilevel models for each mental health outcome using Mplus. Predictors were entered hierarchically in blocks (see eTable 3 in Supplement) to assess ΔR2 at the within- and between-person levels. See Supplement for methodological details. ResultsA total of 384 young adults participated in this study (Mage = 24.5, SDage = 5.1; 57% female; 54% white; 48% Bachelor’s degree education or above). Overall, participants averaged 47.5 hours of Screen Time, 677 pickups, and 15.5 hours of social media over the past week. On average, participants reported experiencing between 4 and 5 pandemic-related stressors per wave. Mean depression and anxiety t-scores were 54.6 and 56.7, respectively, and nearly 29% of participants reported past-week SI at least once. See eTable 1 for summary statistics of sample demographics and primary variables.Results of the multilevel analyses revealed that objectively-measured total screen time and social media use were unrelated to within- or between-person differences in mental health, while between-person difference in pickups was negatively associated with depression (see Figure 1). Together, the objective DTU variables explained, at most, 2.8% of the within- or between-person variance in any of the mental health outcomes (eTable 3 in Supplement). COVID-related impacts on well-being had the largest effects across models—accounting for about 45% and 10%, respectively, of the between- and within-person variance in depression and anxiety, and 21%/28% of the between/within variance in SI. DiscussionAmong a sample of young adults, a population with particularly high rates of DTU8 and COVID-19-related distress,1 we found that objectively-measured DTU did not contribute to increases in depression, anxiety, or SI—refuting the popular notion that increases in DTU may be contributing to young peoples’ psychological distress during the pandemic. Rather, depression, anxiety, and SI were driven mostly by young peoples’ reports of the pandemic’s impact on their well-being. The convenience-based sample, retrospective (past week) assessments of mental health outcomes, and single-item measures of COVID-19-related impacts are limitations of the study. Nevertheless, results indicate that current speculations about the direct harms of DTU on mental health may be unfounded and risk diverting attention from a more likely cause: pandemic-related stressors.

scholarly journals Does Putting Away Your Smartphone Make You Happier? The Effects of Restricting Digital Media and Social Media on Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C. Walsh ◽  
Annie Regan ◽  
Karynna Okabe-Miyamoto ◽  
Sonja Lyubomirsky
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Correlational Research ◽  
Dating Apps ◽  
Direction Of Effects

Both scientists and laypeople have become increasingly concerned about smartphones, especially their associated digital media (e.g., email, news, gaming, and dating apps) and social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat). Recent correlational research links substantial declines in Gen Z well-being to digital and social media use, yet other work suggests the effects are small and unnoteworthy. To further disentangle correlation from causation and better elucidate the strength and direction of effects, we conducted a pre-registered 8-day experimental deprivation study with Gen Z individuals (N = 338). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) restrict digital media use, (2) restrict social media use, (3) restrict water use (active control), or (4) restrict nothing (measurement-only control). Relative to controls, participants restricting digital media reported a variety of benefits, including higher life satisfaction, mindfulness, autonomy, competence, and self-esteem, and reduced loneliness and stress. In contrast, those assigned to restrict social media reported relatively few benefits (increased mindfulness) and even some costs (more negative emotion).

scholarly journals Role of Online Media: A Study of Happiness Index in Students’ Online Screen Use in West Bengal

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Trinanjana Das
Keyword(s):  
Physical Health ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Online Media ◽  
Present Generation ◽  
Screen Use

Objective: The research aims to study the correlation of happiness and online media use of the students of West Bengal and predict the level of influence that digital media can have on students’ happiness. Introduction: Digital technology has transformed the way the present generation navigates through life and form connections with each other. The years after 2010 in particular have shown a massive decline in terms of happiness which failed to rebound to the 1990s level. In fact, both adults and teens reported that they felt far less happy and satisfied, which was prevalent even till 2000 also. Incidences of low psychological well-being were prominent, besides deterioration of physical health.

scholarly journals Digital Overuse and Addictive Traits and Their Relationship With Mental Well-Being and Socio-Demographic Factors: A National Population Survey for Wales

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Bellis ◽  
Catherine A. Sharp ◽  
Karen Hughes ◽  
Alisha R. Davies
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Public Health Perspective ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Mental Well Being

Introduction: Population health concerns have been raised about negative impacts from overuse of digital technologies. We examine patterns of online activity predictive of Digital Overuse and Addictive Traits (DOAT). We explore associations between DOAT and mental well-being and analyse how both relate to self-reported changes in self-esteem, perceived isolation, and anxiety about health when individuals use the internet for health purposes.Methods: A cross-sectional nationally representative household survey of adults using stratified random sampling (compliance 75.4%, n = 1,252). DOAT was measured using self-reported questions adapted from a social media addiction scale (failure to cut down use, restlessness when not using, and impact on job/studies and home/social life in the last year), combined into a single DOAT score. Higher DOAT score was defined as &gt;1 standard deviation above population mean. The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale was used to measure mental well-being. Analyses were limited to those with internet access (n = 1,003).Results: Negative impacts of digital technology use on work and home/social lives were reported by 7.4% of respondents. 21.2% had tried but failed to cut down use in the past year. Higher DOAT was associated with higher social media and internet use but also independently associated with greater risks of low mental well-being. Higher DOAT was associated with both improvement and worsening of self-esteem, perceived isolation and anxiety about health when using the internet for health reasons, with no change in these outcomes most likely in those with lower DOAT. Lower mental well-being was associated with a similar bi-directional impact on perceived isolation and was also associated with worsening self-esteem.Conclusions: Substantial proportions of individuals report negative impacts on home, social and working lives from digital technology use, with many trying but failing to cut down use. Individuals with higher DOAT may experience improvements or worsening in self-esteem and other measures of mental well-being when using the internet for health purposes. From a public health perspective, a greater understanding of risk factors for digital overuse, its impacts on well-being and how to reasonably limit use of technology are critical for a successful digital revolution.

scholarly journals Context, Development, and Digital Media: Implications for Very Young Adolescents in LMICs

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucía Magis-Weinberg ◽  
Ahna Ballonoff Suleiman ◽  
Ronald E. Dahl
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Young Adolescents ◽  
The Impact

The rapidly expanding universe of information, media, and learning experiences available through digital technology is creating unique opportunities and vulnerabilities for children and adolescents. These issues are particularly salient during the developmental window at the transition from childhood into adolescence. This period of early adolescence is a time of formative social and emotional learning experiences that can shape identity development in both healthy and unhealthy ways. Increasingly, many of these foundational learning experiences are occurring in on-line digital environments. These expanding vulnerabilities and opportunities are being further amplified for young adolescents growing up in low resourced settings around the world. Cultural and contextual factors influence access, use, and appropriation of digital technology. Further, neurobehavioral changes associated with the onset of puberty often coincide with entry into social media and more autonomous use of technology. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), disparities in access, use, and appropriation of digital media can amplify prevailing economic gaps, and compound gender inequalities during early adolescence. In LMICs, adolescents are often the early adopters of mobile technology and social media platforms. While the impact of social media on the well-being, particularly mental health, of young adolescents has been a focus of research in high-income countries (HICs), much less is known about the impacts of social media use on young adolescents in LMICs. In this paper, we review what is known about the interaction between digital media and early adolescent development. We highlight crucial gaps in the evidence in LMICs; and describe some hypotheses and areas for future research to address these compelling issues.

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