1
|
Maheux AJ, Laurenceau JP, Roberts SR, Nesi J, Widman L, Choukas-Bradley S. Longitudinal Change in Appearance-Related Social Media Consciousness and Depressive Symptoms: A Within-Person Analysis during Early-to-Middle Adolescence. J Youth Adolesc 2024:10.1007/s10964-024-01998-5. [PMID: 38789876 DOI: 10.1007/s10964-024-01998-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Online appearance preoccupation may put adolescents at risk of developing mental health challenges, perhaps especially during early-to-middle adolescence. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model assessed within-person associations between appearance-related social media consciousness and depressive symptoms over three time-points with three months between waves. The sample (n = 1594) included U.S. adolescents aged 11-15 (Mage = 13; 47% girls, 46% boys, 7% another gender; 37% Latine, 33% White, 18% Black, 7% Asian). Within-person increases in appearance-related social media consciousness were associated with subsequent increases in depressive symptoms, but not vice versa. There was no evidence of gender differences and results were robust to controlling for both time on social media and offline self-objectification. Thus, online appearance concerns precede mental health challenges during early and middle adolescence.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne J Maheux
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | | | | | - Jacqueline Nesi
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
- Bradley Hasbro Research Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Laura Widman
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Vaid SS, Kroencke L, Roshanaei M, Talaifar S, Hancock JT, Back MD, Gosling SD, Ram N, Harari GM. Variation in social media sensitivity across people and contexts. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6571. [PMID: 38503817 PMCID: PMC10951328 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55064-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Social media impacts people's wellbeing in different ways, but relatively little is known about why this is the case. Here we introduce the construct of "social media sensitivity" to understand how social media and wellbeing associations differ across people and the contexts in which these platforms are used. In a month-long large-scale intensive longitudinal study (total n = 1632; total number of observations = 120,599), we examined for whom and under which circumstances social media was associated with positive and negative changes in social and affective wellbeing. Applying a combination of frequentist and Bayesian multilevel models, we found a small negative average association between social media use AND subsequent wellbeing, but the associations were heterogenous across people. People with psychologically vulnerable dispositions (e.g., those who were depressed, lonely, not satisfied with life) tended to experience heightened negative social media sensitivity in comparison to people who were not psychologically vulnerable. People also experienced heightened negative social media sensitivity when in certain types of places (e.g., in social places, in nature) and while around certain types of people (e.g., around family members, close ties), as compared to using social media in other contexts. Our results suggest that an understanding of the effects of social media on wellbeing should account for the psychological dispositions of social media users, and the physical and social contexts surrounding their use. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of social media sensitivity for scholars, policymakers, and those in the technology industry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sumer S Vaid
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
- Negotiations, Organizations and Marketing Unit, Harvard Business School, Boston, USA.
| | | | - Mahnaz Roshanaei
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey T Hancock
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | | | - Samuel D Gosling
- University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA
- Melbourne University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Nilam Ram
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| | - Gabriella M Harari
- Department of Communication, Stanford University, 450 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Maza MT, Kwon SJ, Jorgensen NA, Capella J, Prinstein MJ, Lindquist KA, Telzer EH. Neurobiological sensitivity to popular peers moderates daily links between social media use and affect. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 65:101335. [PMID: 38183857 PMCID: PMC10818203 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Social media behaviors increase during adolescence, and quantifiable feedback metrics (e.g., likes, followers) may amplify the value of social status for teens. Social media's impact on adolescents' daily affect may be exacerbated given the neurodevelopmental changes that increase youths' sensitivity to socio-emotional information. This study examines whether neurobiological sensitivity to popularity moderates daily links between social media use and affect. Adolescents (N = 91, Mage=13.6 years, SDage=0.6 years) completed an fMRI task in which they viewed faces of their high (>1 SD above the mean) and low (<1 SD below the mean) popular peers based on peer-nominated sociometric ratings from their school social networks. Two years later, adolescents reported their time spent on social media and affect daily for two weeks. Neural tracking of popularity in the ventromedial and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex moderated the association between time on social media and affect. Specifically, adolescents who tracked high popular peers in the vmPFC reported more positive affect on days when they used social media more. Adolescents who tracked low popular peers in the vmPFC and dmPFC reported more negative affect on days when they used social media more. Results suggest that links between social media and affect depend on individual differences in neural sensitivity to popularity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria T Maza
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Seh-Joo Kwon
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Nathan A Jorgensen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Jimmy Capella
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Mitchell J Prinstein
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Kristen A Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Eva H Telzer
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill 235 E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|