A ‘Control Model’ of Social Media Engagement in Adolescence: A Grounded Theory Analysis

Abstract

Adolescents actively use social media, which engages them cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. However, the underlying psychological mechanisms of engagement have not been adequately addressed. The present study examined adolescents’ psychological processes as these develop in their everyday interactions via social media. The sample comprised six focus groups with 42 adolescents from UK-based schools. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. The resulting concepts related to individual, social, and structurally related processes, highlighting a synergy between the processes underlying use and a gradual reduction of control as individual, social, and structurally led processes emerge, conceptualized as the ‘control model’ of social media engagement. The findings highlight a controlling aspect in engagement and a dynamic interplay between the processes as mutually determining the quality and the intensity of the interaction. Recommendations are provided for examining control as a main emotional, cognitive, and behavioral mechanism in problematic and/or addictive social media and smartphone use.

Mind over Matter: Testing the Efficacy of an Online Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Distraction from Smartphone Use

“…Therefore, despite its protective function, distraction may concurrently serve as a gateway to increased smartphone engagement and time spent on devices. Time spent alone is not a defining factor and it has been argued instead that the interaction of content, context and time spent, as well as the meaning attached to these interactions, may determine the level of problematic media use [ 5 , 201 ]. Within smartphone use, distraction is a salient behaviour with evidence that distraction and mind-wandering are associated with online vigilance, which via reduced mindfulness may be associated with decreased wellbeing [ 78 ].…”

“…In the attention economy [ 2 ], multiple online and offline activities compete for an alternative share of attention [ 3 ]. This trend is expected to grow in the face of increasing communication complexity and information overload [ 4 ], which is becoming even more prevalent partially due to the vast online accessibility, immediacy and convenience of smartphones, acting as a major motivational pull for engagement [ 5 ] and prompting constant multitasking and frequent attentional loss [ 6 ]. There are currently more than 3.5 billion smartphone users [ 7 ] and smartphone use is an emergent area of research [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…Checking behaviours, frequently engaged in during smartphone use, are associated with repeated external or internal interruptions, leading to attentional micro-disengagements and distraction [ 20 , 31 , 34 ]. According to the control model of social media engagement [ 5 ], this may occur as need to control online content, relationships and self-presentation produces an attentional conflict (offline vs. online or platform/activity switch), arousal and distraction, leading either to facilitation (by the presence of online others) [ 35 , 36 ] and heightened engagement or shallow processing, when engaged in parallel cognitively demanding tasks. Therefore, constant disruptions may cause a rise in attention problems and hyperactivity levels [ 37 ] as a result of allowing goal-irrelevant information to compete with goal-relevant tasks [ 24 , 25 ] with impacts on wellbeing, productivity and academic achievement, particularly amongst young people [ 22 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].…”

Should We Pay for Our Social Media/Messenger Applications? Preliminary Data on the Acceptance of an Alternative to the Current Prevailing Data Business Model

“…Higher regulation could also lead to diminished environmental/design triggers (“chasing” likes, followers), reinforcing prolonged user engagement and driving needs to control self-representation, content and relationships online ( Throuvala et al, 2019a , b ). Initiatives such as Instagram’s trial to ban “likes” ( Griffin, 2019 ) are steps in the right direction, but need to be followed by robust and more socially inclusive policies.…”

The Struggle for Human Attention: Between the Abuse of Social Media and Digital Wellbeing

“…Surprise, novelty [ 10 ], and repetition [ 82 ] are typical behaviors of the notification system of social media [ 83 ]. Notifications are systematic impulses that saturate the attentional network due to the information overabundance they represent.…”