Background
Freshmen were found to use social networking sites (SNS) as a useful medium to effectively adjust to college life, which hints at a tendency to resort to SNS for social compensation. However, the compensatory use of SNS is usually problematic.
Objective
This study explores why a subgroup of freshmen developed depressive symptoms while socially adjusting to college by investigating the antecedent role of introversion, the explanatory role of compensatory use of SNS, and the protective role of perceived family support. The study is among the first to point out the relevance of the compensatory use of SNS in explaining the indirect association between introversion and depression with a longitudinal design.
Methods
A 3-wave panel sample of freshmen (N=1137) is used to examine the moderated mediation model.
Results
We found that introversion at Wave 1 positively predicted compensatory use of SNS at Wave 2 and subsequently increased depression at Wave 3 (unstandardized B=0.07, SE 0.02, P<.001, 95% CI 0.04-0.10; unstandardized B=0.09, SE 0.01, P<.001, 95% CI 0.06-0.12). The moderated mediation model further examined the buffering role of perceived family support within the link between introversion and compensatory SNS use (index=0.0031, SE 0.0015, 95% CI 0.0003-0.0062). Unexpectedly, we found that family support in Wave 1 decreased compensatory SNS use for less introverted freshmen in Wave 2 and further decreased depression in Wave 3.
Conclusions
Unexpectedly, our findings uncover an enhancing effect, rather than a buffering effect, of family support by embedding its effect within the relationship between introversion and compensatory SNS use. Appreciating the differences in the casual pathways for freshmen with different levels of introversion clarifies how SNS affect young adults' lives.
Little is known about the social media use of online gamers compared with nongamers and whether the two forms of technology use manifest as the cumulative risk for relational and well-being outcomes in adolescents. Self-report data from 320 Chinese secondary school students (12-17 years) was collected for online gaming and social media use frequency, depression, satisfaction with life, and relationship quality with parents, teachers, and classmates. Once the sample was split into nongamers, light gamers, and heavy gamers, results showed that heavy gamers (cut-off at ≥2 or ≥3 h/d) were more depressed, used social media and the Internet more frequently and social media differently, and experienced more negative interactions with parents and classmates compared with nongamers. Significant differences were also found between light gamers and nongamers on certain variables. Findings indicate that heavy gamers are also using other media at heavy levels which places them in a more at-risk group for adverse wellbeing and relational outcomes.
Risky selfies are recent, but worrying phenomena in which adolescents take pictures of themselves during the act of risk behavior. By applying the principles of the prototype willingness model, the current cross-sectional study among adolescents ( N = 686) aged 15–18 years old examined the relation between social media use and adolescents’ risky selfie behavior. A structural equation modeling indicated that adolescents’ general social media use was positively related to descriptive norm estimations of risky selfie takers and favorable prototype perceptions of risky selfie takers. Moreover, attitudes toward the taking of risky selfies and prototype perceptions of risky selfie takers were found to positively relate to adolescents’ willingness to engage in risky selfie taking and their actual risky selfie behavior. Furthermore, no support was found for the moderating roles of gender, developmental status, narcissism, and sensation seeking in the reported relations with social media use.
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