A Preliminary Validation of the Polish Version of the Social Media Fatigue Scale

Internet Use Behavior and Adolescent Mental Health: The Mediating Effects of Self-Education Expectations and Parental Support

Purpose

This study focuses on how Internet use behavior affects adolescents' mental health and whether self-education expectations and parental support mediate the relationship between Internet use behavior and adolescents' mental health.

Methods

The data for this paper came from the results of the student questionnaire of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2018), which was a structured questionnaire that asked students about their family situation, school life, studies, internet use, and mental health, among other things. A sample of 336,600 children in grades 7-13 was selected for this study. The data were analyzed using STATA version 16 and the theoretical framework was tested using a mediated effects model.

Results

The results of the study showed that Internet use behavior made a positive contribution to mental health and the mediating effects of self-education expectations and parental support on the relationship between Internet use behavior and adolescent mental health were all significant.

Conclusion

It is recommended that appropriate policies should be formulated to help adolescents use the Internet rationally, and the positive effects of parental support and self-education expectations should be utilized.

Problematic Smartphone Use and Social Media Fatigue: The Mediating Role of Self-Control

Background

Excessive social media consumption leads to addiction and affects mental health. It is a phenomenon that is difficult to avoid. Previous research on the effects of excessive Internet use shows that people who engage in social media (SM) without restraint experience over-involvement, over-disclosure, technostress, and social media fatigue (SMF). SMF, conceptualized as an emotional and cognitive feeling of being overwhelmed, manifests itself in mindless browsing of content, limiting the amount of time spent on SM, or quitting SM altogether. Self-control, although present in the technology addiction literature and psychology research, has been rarely described in relation to both excessive SM use and SMF. Therefore, the main goal of the present study was to verify whether there is a direct relationship between problematic smartphone use and SMF, and whether this association is mediated by self-control.

Methods

The study included 210 respondents (M = 25.85, SD = 9.84) living in different Polish cities. The survey was conducted online, and the respondents consented to participate in the study. They completed the following measures: the Mobile Phone Problematic Use, the Self-Control Scale, the Social Media Fatigue Scale, and a brief questionnaire with socio-demographic data.

Results

Statistical analysis was performed to verify the relationship between problematic mobile phone use, level of self-control, and SMF. The outcomes indicate that there are significant interrelationships between the three studied variables. The association between problematic smartphone use and SMF is mediated by self-control.

Conclusion

A lack of impulse-inhibition skills, such as compulsive checking of notifications, can be a significant factor in SM exhaustion, fatigue, or frustration. SMF can also be understood as a natural defensive response, triggered in situations where individuals are overwhelmed, when the self-control is insufficient to stop the compulsion to use SM, and the use of a smartphone for this purpose is excessively engaging.

Trait Anxiety and Social Media Fatigue: Fear of Missing Out as a Mediator

Background

Interdisciplinary literature indicates different correlates of social media fatigue (hereinafter: SMF). Some studies show that high levels of anxiety may induce lowered Internet use and lead social media users to withdraw from Internet activities. Since the relationship between anxiety and social media use is complex, it is important to investigate mediating factors that may indirectly contribute to or exacerbate this association. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to verify whether fear of missing out (hereinafter: FoMO) is a potential factor accounting for why anxiety is associated with SMF.

Participants Methods and Data Collection

The research was conducted on a group of 264 adolescents and adults (85% women). The mean age of the respondents was M = 23.76 with SD = 5.98 (range = 14-50 years). The data were collected via online social networking among college students, their family members and friends. The participants answered the Trait Anxiety Scale (TAS), Social Media Fatigue Scale (SMFS), Fear of Missing Out Scale (FoMO), and  Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R).

Results

The outcomes showed that respondents with higher levels of trait anxiety report more intense cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and overall online fatigue. Concurrently, individuals who experience  FoMO on the Internet declare being tired of social media use. Moreover, FoMO mediates the association between trait anxiety and all three dimensions of SMF, and its overall result.

Conclusion

The present research increases our understanding of the possible role of apprehension related to missing out on the anxiety and fatigue connected to engagement in social media. It is possible to assess that trait anxiety might induce higher SMF when individuals experience a general apprehension that others are doing or having things that they do not.