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.
BackgroundDespite 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.MethodUsing 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.ResultsWe 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).ConclusionsResults 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.
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