Social Media and Mental Wellbeing
As technology becomes increasingly prevalent, many adolescents are spending more of their time on social media. In fact, over 90% of young teens use social media, whether it be through Facebook, Twitter, or other social media outlets (Duggan & Smith, 2013). A study conducted by Woods and Scott (2016) examines the relationship between social media use and indicators of wellbeing in young adolescents, including sleep and mental health.
What is this research about?
Adolescence is a time where youth are vulnerable and more at-risk for low self-esteem, onset of anxiety and onset of depression. With the constant presence of social media in our lives, it is increasingly important to study its effects on youth. Unfortunately, social media can create an unhealthy amount of social pressure to be available at all times and respond to messages and new content immediately (Thomée et al., 2010).
In this study, a total of 467 Scottish secondary school students, aged 11–17 participated. Specifically, students aged 11–15 completed online or paper versions of a questionnaire in class, while students aged 15–17 completed the online version outside of class. Four major factors relating to wellbeing were assessed: sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Additionally, three factors relating to social media were investigated: investment in social media, overall social media usage and nighttime-specific social media usage.
What were the findings of this research?
Anxiety, depression, and self-esteem were most strongly associated with emotional investment in social media. Adolescents more emotionally connected with social media sites may feel more upset and distressed when they cannot use social media. During bedtime, they may feel more stressed and may struggle to relax for fear of missing out on new messages and content. Furthermore, lower self-esteem was associated with higher overall social media use. This backs up research from previous studies suggesting that receiving positive or negative feedback on an online profile could increase or decrease self-esteem accordingly (Valkenburg, Peter & Schouten, 2006). While more research needs to be done, a relationship between sleep (later bedtimes and poor sleep quality) and social media use is clearer. Research suggests that poor quality of sleep mediates the indirect link between social media use and the onset of anxiety and depression (Jackson, Sztendur, Diamond, Byles & Bruck, 2014).
What does this all mean?
Overall, this study suggests significant associations between emotional investment in social media and anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Furthermore, social media use was also associated with poorer sleep quality. The impact of social media on our lives signifies the importance of conducting further investigations into its relation to adolescents’ wellbeing. More research will provide further insight into different factors that affect the mental health of youth today, which can allow us to become more educated about healthy social media practices that can improve each individual’s mental health and general wellbeing.
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Sources
Duggan, M., & Smith, A. (2013). Demographics of key social networking platforms. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/12/30/demographics-of-key-social-networking-platforms/.
Jackson, M. L., Sztendur, E. M., Diamond, N. T., Byles, J. E., & Bruck, D. (2014). Sleep difficulties and the development of depression and anxiety: a longitudinal study of young Australian women. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 17(3), 189e198.
Thomée, S., Dellve, L., Harenstam, A., & Hagberg, M. (2010). Perceived connections between information and communication technology use and mental symptoms among young adults — a qualitative study. BMC Public Health, 10, 66.
Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents’ well-being and social self-esteem. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 9(5), 584e590.
Woods, H.C., & Scott, H. (2016). #Sleepyteens: Social media use in adolescence is associated with poor sleep quality, anxiety, depression and low self-esteem. Journal of Adolescence, 51, 41–9.
