Social Media Use as a Predictor of Positive and Negative Affect: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study of Adolescents with and without Clinical Depression

Social media use is common in adolescents, with implications for psychosocial development and the emergence of depression. Yet, little is known about the time-linked connections between social media use and adolescents' affective experiences and how they may differ between depressed and non-depressed youth. We leveraged ecological momentary assessment in adolescents oversampled for current depression to examine (1) associations between social media use and concurrent and later positive and negative affect and (2) sex and presence of a depressive disorder as moderators of these associations. Adolescents aged 14-17 with (n = 48) and without (n = 97) clinical depression, as indicated via clinical interview, reported momentary social media use and positive and negative affect seven times per day for one week. Multilevel modeling indicated that social media use was associated with reduced positive affect both concurrently and at the next assessment. Further, among clinically depressed youth only, social media use was associated with reduced negative affect at the next assessment. Results suggest that social media use may reduce both positive and negative affect, highlighting the nuanced relation between adolescent social media use and emotional health and laying the groundwork for future research to address several open questions.

Age-related differences in social media use, online social support, and depressive symptoms in adolescents and emerging adults

BACKGROUND

Despite growing concerns about the impact of social media use on the developing brain and associated mental health impacts, whether susceptibility to the benefits and harms of social media use changes across adolescence and young adulthood has yet to be empirically tested.

METHOD

Using a cross-sectional sample of participants aged 14-22 years (N = 254), we examined (a) linear and non-linear age-related changes in social media use and online social support and (b) age-related differences in the effects of social media use and online social support on depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

We found age differences in social media use, but not online social support, such that social media use increased across adolescence and peaked around age 20, followed by stable use into young adulthood. Age moderated the effect of online social support, but not overall social media use, on depressive symptoms, such that online social support was negatively associated with depressive symptoms for adolescents (age < 16.98), but the opposite pattern emerged for young adults (age > 19.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest overall developmental changes in social media use and that adolescents may be more susceptible than emerging adults to the beneficial effects of positive online interactions on mental health.

#socialdistancing: Social Media Use and Online Social Support Moderate the Effect of Pandemic-Related Stress on Internalizing Symptoms in Emerging Adults

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to major stressors, increases in internalizing symptomatology, and greater reliance on online interactions. We examined associations between social media use, online social support, pandemic-related stress, and internalizing symptoms, and tested the moderating role of social media use on the relation between stress and symptom change across time.

Methods

Emerging adults aged 18-25 (N=200) self-reported pandemic-related stress, internalizing symptoms, social media use, and online social support in May 2020, then repeated measures of internalizing symptoms in August 2020.

Results

Greater social media use was cross-sectionally associated with greater stress and anxiety symptoms. High social media use in conjunction with high interpersonal stress was predictive of increases in depression, whereas low online social support and high total stress was predictive of increases in anxiety.

Discussion

Findings suggest that general social media usage and online social support are differentially related to internalizing symptom change among emerging adults.

#nomakeupselfie: The impact of natural no-makeup images and positive appearance comments on young women's body image

Presenting no-makeup selfies interspersed with idealized made-up images may be beneficial for women's body image. However, the impact of viewing only no-makeup selfies is still unknown, as is the influence of any positive appearance-related comments from others accompanying those images on social media. Thus, in the present study, we examined the impact of viewing either: (1) idealized images with appearance-related comments, (2) idealized images with appearance-neutral comments, (3) no-makeup images with appearance-related comments, or (4) no-makeup images with appearance-neutral comments, on young women's (N = 394) appearance satisfaction, mood, appearance comparison frequency, and perceived attainability. Viewing idealized selfies of attractive women reduced women's satisfaction with their overall and facial appearance. Viewing natural no-makeup images of those attractive women also reduced women's facial satisfaction but had no impact on overall appearance satisfaction. No-makeup selfies resulted in less frequent appearance comparisons and higher perceived attainability than idealized images. There was no impact of appearance-related comments on any of the outcomes. The results suggest that no-makeup images are less detrimental to young women's body image than idealized images.