scholarly journals COVID-19 Stress and Addictive Social Media Use (SMU): Mediating Role of Active Use and Social Media Flow

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Zhao ◽  
Guangyu Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Self Report Data

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is likely to enhance the risk of addictive social media use (SMU) as people spend more time online maintaining connectivity when face-to-face communication is limited. Stress is assumed to be a critical predictor of addictive SMU. However, the mechanisms underlying the association between stress and addictive SMU in crises like the current COVID-19 situation remain unclear. The present study aimed to understand the relationship between COVID-19 stress and addictive SMU by examining the mediating role of active use and social media flow (i.e., an intensive, enjoyable experience generated by SMU that perpetuates media use behaviors). A sample of 512 Chinese college students (Mage = 22.12 years, SD = 2.47; 62.5% women) provided self-report data on COVID-19 stress and SMU variables (i.e., time, active use, flow, addictive behavior) via an online survey from March 24 to April 1, 2020. The results showed that COVID-19 stress was positively associated with tendencies toward addictive SMU. Path analyses revealed that this relationship was significantly serially mediated by active use and social media flow, with SMU time being controlled. Our findings suggest that individuals who experience more COVID-19 stress are at increased risk of addictive SMU that may be fostered by active use and flow experience. Specific attention should be paid to these high-risk populations and future interventions to reduce addictive SMU could consider targeting factors of both active use and social media flow.

scholarly journals Social Media Use and Sleep Quality among Adults: The Role of Gender, Age and Social Media Checking Habit

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liese Exelmans ◽  
Holly Scott
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Sleep Quality ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Poor Sleep ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Difference

This study expands knowledge on the effects of technology use on sleep by (1) focusing onsocial media use in an adult sample, (2) investigating the difference between overall andnighttime-specific social media use with regards to sleep, and (3) exploring a vulnerabilityperspective. For the latter, the moderating roles of gender, age, and habitual social mediachecking behavior were examined. A representative quota sample of 584 adults (18-96 yearsold) participated in an online survey. Results indicated that 2 out of 3 adults used socialmedia, and that use both shortly before and in bed was prevalent. Only nighttime use wasassociated with poorer sleep quality. Age and habitual checking behavior moderated thisassociation, identifying younger adults and those with strong checking habits as possiblevulnerable groups for poor sleep. The findings are interpreted in light of existing research onmedia habits and problematic (social) media use.

Social media use and entrepreneurial intention: The mediating role of self-efficacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Yan Huang ◽  
Jie Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Mediating Role

Social media is becoming a platform for student entrepreneurship; however, little is known about the influence of social media use on students' entrepreneurial intention. This study investigated social media use as a predictor of students' entrepreneurial intention, with consideration given to the mediating role of self-efficacy. Questionnaires were given to undergraduate students at three Chinese public universities, and 524 effective responses were received. We used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. The results show that social media use was indirectly related to students' entrepreneurial intention via self-efficacy. Our findings extend the literature on the social media use–entrepreneurial intention link, and highlight the importance of self-efficacy in this link. Thus, educators could endorse social media tools and encourage students to incorporate these into their entrepreneurial activities.

Social media use and employee innovative behavior: The mediating role of employee voice

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Qingjiang Han ◽  
Lei Xia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Employee Voice ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Innovative Behavior ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
The Social

We examined employee voice as the mediator in the social media use–employee innovative behavior relationship in the current Web 2.0 age. We used structural equation modeling to test this mediating role with 178 employees of a large enterprise in China. The results showed a significant positive relationship between social media use and employee voice, and between employee voice and innovative behavior, and a positive but not significant relationship between social media use and employee innovative behavior. Results also supported a full mediating role for employee voice in the social media use–employee innovative behavior relationship. Our findings extend prior research and suggest some mechanisms of social media use. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

scholarly journals Facing Loneliness and Anxiety During the COVID-19 Isolation: The Role of Excessive Social Media Use in a Sample of Italian Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Boursier ◽  
Francesca Gioia ◽  
Alessandro Musetti ◽  
Adriano Schimmenti
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Virtual Communities ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
Use Of Social Media

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prompted people to face a distressing and unexpected situation. Uncertainty and social distancing changed people's behaviors, impacting on their feelings, daily habits, and social relationships, which are core elements in human well-being. In particular, restrictions due to the quarantine increased feelings of loneliness and anxiety. Within this context, the use of digital technologies has been recommended to relieve stress and anxiety and to decrease loneliness, even though the overall effects of social media consumption during pandemics still need to be carefully addressed. In this regard, social media use evidence risk and opportunities. In fact, according to a compensatory model of Internet-related activities, the online environment may be used to alleviate negative feelings caused by distressing life circumstances, despite potentially leading to negative outcomes. The present study examined whether individuals who were experiencing high levels of loneliness during the forced isolation for COVID-19 pandemic were more prone to feel anxious, and whether their sense of loneliness prompted excessive social media use. Moreover, the potentially mediating effect of excessive social media use in the relationship between perceived loneliness and anxiety was tested. A sample of 715 adults (71.5% women) aged between 18 and 72 years old took part in an online survey during the period of lockdown in Italy. The survey included self-report measures to assess perceived sense of loneliness, excessive use of social media, and anxiety. Participants reported that they spent more hours/day on social media during the pandemic than before the pandemic. We found evidence that perceived feelings of loneliness predicted both excessive social media use and anxiety, with excessive social media use also increasing anxiety levels. These findings suggest that isolation probably reinforced the individuals' sense of loneliness, strengthening the need to be part of virtual communities. However, the facilitated and prolonged access to social media during the COVID-19 pandemic risked to further increase anxiety, generating a vicious cycle that in some cases may require clinical attention.

scholarly journals The Active Role of the Internet and Social Media Use in Nonpharmaceutical and Pharmaceutical Preventive Measures against COVID-19

Healthcare ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Tian Xie ◽  
Meihui Tang ◽  
Robert Jiqi Zhang ◽  
James H. Liu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Internet And Social Media

During the COVID-19 pandemic, does more internet and social media use lead to taking more- or less-effective preventive measures against the disease? A two-wave longitudinal survey with the general population in mainland China in mid-2020 found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, internet and social media use intensity promoted the adoption of nonpharmaceutical and pharmaceutical antipandemic measures. The first wave of data (n = 1014) showed that the more intensively people used the internet/social media, the more they perceived the threat of the pandemic, and took more nonpharmaceutical preventive measures (e.g., wearing masks, maintaining social distance, and washing hands) as a result. The second wave (n = 220) showed firstly the predicted relationship between internet/social media use intensity and the perceived threat of the pandemic and the adoption of nonpharmaceutical preventive measures by cross-lagged analysis; secondly, the predictive effect of internet/social media use on the adoption of pharmacological measures (i.e., willingness to vaccinate against COVID-19) and the mediating role of perceived pandemic threat were verified. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of the internet and social media use in the fight against COVID-19 in specific macrosocial contexts.

scholarly journals The COVID-19 Pandemic Drives People to Orthorexia and Anxiety with the Influence of Social Media: A Cross-Sectional Study of 525 Adults in Semi-Quarantine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asli Devrim-Lanpir ◽  
Hatice Kübra Barcın Güzeldere ◽  
Elif Ede Çintesun
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Nutritional Supplement ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Supplement Use ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic hit the world tremendously, causing an increased risk of eating and anxiety disorders. Increased social media exposure and obsession with healthy eating to minimize the risk of catching the COVID-19 may cause orthorexia and anxiety symptoms in individuals during pandemic. We aimed to assess the presence and interaction between orthorexia and anxiety symptoms during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also determined the influences of social media and nutritional supplement use on orthorexic and anxiety symptoms. Methods We performed an online survey of individuals in COVID-19 quarantine (n = 525) using Google forms. We determined their orthorexia and anxiety symptoms using ORTO-11 and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, respectively. We also assessed their nutritional supplement and social media use, and how these patterns were affected during the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Higher orthorexia (67% in men, 83.2% in women) and anxiety (62.4% in men; 95.4% in women) symptoms were detected in individuals in COVID-19 pandemic. Orthorexia symptoms were found positively associated with anxiety symptoms in both sexes. The time spent on social media to follow the COVID-19, health, and nutrition news were closely associated with higher orthorexic symptoms in both sexes, and higher anxiety symptoms in women (r=-0.638 in men; r=-0.560 in women, p < 0.001). The use of multivitamins and ß-glucan to mainly support immunity were linked to orthorexic symptoms in both sexes. Discussion The COVID-19 pandemic has detrimental influences on mental well-being that drove individuals into psychologic problems. Increased social media use to follow healthy eating news has also create an undesirable impact on orthorexic problems. Therefore, it is crucial to detect orthorexia and anxiety symptoms earlier and modulate daily behaviours during the pandemic in order to prevent long-term detrimental consequences.

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