Higher emotional investment in social media is related to anxiety and depression in university students

Social Media Use, Emotional Investment, Self-Control Failure, and Addiction in Relation to Mental and Sleep Health in Hispanic University Emerging Adults

The number of social media users has increased dramatically in recent years. Common correlates of social media use may be poor mental and sleep health which are pressing issues among emerging adults and Hispanic groups. This study investigated the relationships between five different forms of social media use and mental and sleep health in Hispanic university emerging adults. Hispanic university emerging adults (n = 358) completed a survey assessing sociodemographics, overall social media use frequency, nighttime in-bed social media use, social media addiction, social media self-control failure, emotional investment in social media, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep quality. Findings demonstrated that social media addiction and social media self-control failure were positively associated with stress and poor sleep quality. Emotional investment in social media was positively associated with depression. Findings may suggest that Hispanic university emerging adults may use social media emotionally and problematically to cope with negative affect and poor sleep quality, or that negative affect and poor sleep quality stem from using social media emotionally and problematically. The clinical implications of these results are discussed. Prospective studies are warranted to assess temporality.

Exploring the Impact of Social Media on Anxiety Among University Students in the United Kingdom: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

The rapid surge in social media platforms has significant implications for users' mental health, particularly anxiety. In the case of social media, the impact on mental well-being has been highlighted by multiple stakeholders as a cause for concern. However, there has been limited research into how the association between social media and anxiety arises, specifically among university students-the generation that has seen the introduction and evolution of social media, and currently lives through the medium. Extant systematic literature reviews within this area of research have not yet focused on university students or anxiety, rather predominantly investigating adolescents or generalized mental health symptoms and disorders. Furthermore, there is little to no qualitative data exploring the association between social media and anxiety among university students.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic literature review of the existing literature and a qualitative study that aims to develop foundational knowledge around the association of social media and anxiety among university students and enhance extant knowledge and theory.

METHODS

A total of 29 semistructured interviews were conducted, comprising 19 male students (65.5%) and 10 female students (34.5%) with a mean age of 21.5 years. All students were undergraduates from 6 universities across the United Kingdom, with most students studying in London (89.7%). Participants were enrolled through a homogenous purposive sampling technique via social media channels, word of mouth, and university faculties. Recruitment was suspended at the point of data saturation. Participants were eligible for the study if they were university students in the United Kingdom and users of social media.

RESULTS

Thematic analysis resulted in 8 second-order themes: 3 mediating factors that decrease anxiety levels and 5 factors that increase anxiety levels. Social media decreased anxiety through positive experiences, social connectivity, and escapism. Social media increased anxiety through stress, comparison, fear of missing out, negative experiences, and procrastination.

CONCLUSIONS

This qualitative study sheds critical light on how university students perceive how social media affects their anxiety levels. Students revealed that social media did impact their anxiety levels and considered it an important factor in their mental health. Thus, it is essential to educate stakeholders, including students, university counselors, and health care professionals, about the potential impact of social media on students' anxiety levels. Since anxiety is a multifactorial condition, pinpointing the main stressors in a person's life, such as social media use, may help manage these patients more effectively. The current research highlights that there are also many benefits to social media, and uncovering these may help in producing more holistic management plans for anxiety, reflective of the students' social media usage.

Association between WeChat Use and Memory Performance among Older Adults in China: The Mediating Role of Depression

Changes to memory performance in the course of aging may be influenced by behavioral factors. The use of social media among elderly people is increasing, but studying its effect on cognitive functions such as memory remains at an early stage of development. Meanwhile, the linking mechanisms underlying the association between social media use and memory performance, if any exist, have not been revealed. This study attempted to examine the association between the use of WeChat, the most popular social media platform in China, and memory performance among older people, and to test the possible mediating role of depression underlying this association. Data were drawn from the five-wave survey of the China Family Panel Study (CFPS), and 4929 respondents aged 60 or older (mean age = 68.19, SD = 5.84, 48.2% females) were included. Based on the descriptive statistics, the chi-squared test, Student’s t-test, correlation analysis, and mediation analysis were conducted. The results indicated that the usage rate of WeChat among the sample was 20.1%. After controlling for demographic variables, the use of WeChat was related to higher levels of memory performance and lower levels of depression. Moreover, depression partially mediated the relationship between WeChat use and memory performance. To maintain memory performance and promote cognitive health in the course of aging, using social media and alleviating depression merit special attention.

Social Networking Use Across Gender: Its Association with Social Connectedness and Happiness Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

With the increasing popularity of social networking platforms, it serves a greater purpose that is no longer contained simply as a means of social leisure. Social networking sites (SNSs) form and maintain social interactions. Various phenomena revolve around how this usage is associated with certain behaviors, such as keeping social ties online and affecting well-being. It is vital to understand how SNSs may affect users differently during this time, viewing this in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Moreover, studies have also suggested that gender plays a role in these behaviors. The present study investigated SNS use and showed evidence of its association with social connectedness and happiness across gender during the COVID-19 pandemic. We empirically examined the association of social networking use with the sense of social connectedness and state of happiness among 420 Generation Z Filipinos (31.4% male) aged 18 to 27. We found that social networking use is not associated with either social connectedness or happiness. Multiple-sample path analysis was performed to investigate further the association between social networking site use, social connectedness, and happiness across gender. SNS use for male participants during stress-related periods predicted decreased social connectedness and happiness levels. General motives for use, or reasons people are likely to use SNSs, also predicted reduced happiness levels among males. Overall, the findings suggest that SNS use by itself may not be sufficient to influence substantial change in social connectedness and happiness and that gender alter the ways of SNS use, given its importance as a crucial channel for communication at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Differentiation in Emotional Investments in Work Groups among Different Social Status of Construction Industry Practitioners: A Perspective from the Social Exchange Theory

The construction industry is characterized by a high level of mobility and a diverse range of practitioners from different social status, which can affect the industry’s group management processes. The exploration of the mechanisms involved is an important task for theoretical research and a challenge for management practices. This study examines three relevant aspects of work-group behavior in the construction industry from a social exchange perspective: the individual’s evaluation of the level of the emotional investment of members in the work team and their assessment of personal rewards and costs. The study of 71 construction industry workers through the development of a cost-benefit inventory questionnaire of individual-team exchange relationships revealed that their level of emotional investment in the work group can be predicted by assessing their awareness of personal rewards and costs. A further clustering algorithm revealed that an individual’s social status had a significant impact on their level of affective investment, but there was no significant correlation between an individual’s wage and their level of emotional investment in the work team. The findings deepen our understanding of group behaviors in the construction field by explaining the interactions between individuals and organizations in work groups while emphasizing the indispensable role of emotional factors in group development.