A rise in social media use in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: the French validation of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale in a Canadian cohort

Abstract

Introduction Social media use has grown dramatically since its inception in the early 2000s and has further increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Problematic use of social media (PUSM) is a type of behavioural addiction which has generated increasing interest among mental health clinicians and scholars in the last decade. PUSM is associated with multiple psychiatric conditions and is known to interfere with patients’ daily functioning. There is no single accepted definition of PUSM, nor means of measuring it, in the literature. The Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) is a helpful tool for identifying PUSM. This paper aims to validate BSMAS and to translate it from English into French, with the goal of making this clinical screening tool for PUSM available in French-language contexts. Method This study explored the psychometric validity of the French version of the BSMAS in a sample of 247 adolescents, who were either psychiatric inpatients (the hospitalized group, n = 123) or recruited in local high schools (the community group, n = 124). Results The adolescents in the sample reported an increase in their social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was more pronounced in the hospitalized group. Confirmatory factorial analysis showed an excellent fit, very good internal consistency and established convergent validity for the French version of the BSMAS. A total of 15.4% of the hospitalization group and 6.5% of the community group met the recommended clinical cutoff of 24 on the BSMAS, suggesting problematic use of social media. Conclusions The French version of BSMAS is a psychometrically validated and clinically useful tool to screen for PUSM in adolescents.

Effects of Gender and Social Network Use on High School Students’ Emotional Well-Being during COVID-19

“…At the beginning of 2023, shortly before the official declaration of the end of the pandemic in May [31], there were a total of about 5.16 billion active internet users (about 65% of the world's population) and about 4.76 billion active users of at least one social network (59.5% of the world's population) [32], representing a significant increase when compared with the 2020 data. If we focus on the young population, this trend is even more pronounced (up to 50% compared to the pre-pandemic levels) in different geographic locations [33][34][35][36][37][38]. Similar results emerged from a study conducted in December 2020 on a Croatian sample of high school students.…”

Identifying protective and risk behavior patterns of online communication in young people

“…In addition, our work was conducted during high social restriction periods of the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently our study provides a unique insight on both the online communication behaviors of young people during the pandemic, along with levels of well-being. We anticipate that well-being outcomes are likely to be poorer compared to periods with low social restrictions (Lee et al, 2022), and the use of the internet and social media may be higher due to longer periods spent indoors (Rouleau et al, 2023). Future studies should consider our findings, along with others (e.g., Hamilton et al, 2022), to explore if social media and online behaviors have changed, and if this subsequent change is related to areas of health and well-being.…”

Evidencias psicométricas preliminares de la Escala de Adicción a Redes Sociales de Bergen en jóvenes y adultos

“…Al comparar estos resultados con investigaciones previas, se observan similitudes con los hallazgos de Yue et al ; ω = 0,864). 14,15,[18][19][20] En consecuencia, el instrumento demuestra una sólida confiabilidad, respaldando el modelo de distribución de un solo factor.…”

“…[16][17][18] En otra línea, la muestra total de 247 adolescentes, donde n = 123 eran pacientes psiquiátricos hospitalizados, mientras que n = 124 fueron de escuelas secundarias locales. 19 No obstante, los valores de las cargas factoriales (0,546 y 0,798) siguieron patrones similares con Monacis 15,[17][18][19][20] Mientras que, Copez-Lonzoy et al indicaron que todos los ítems del instrumento presentaron pesos factoriales altos (λ >0,60). 14 Finalmente, se concluye que los hallazgos del presente estudio sugieren que la Escala de Adicción a las Redes Sociales de Bergen es un instrumento válido y fiable para medir comportamientos adictivos en el ámbito digital.…”

“…13 Diversos estudios en diferentes países han estudiado sus propiedades psicométricas, tales como Corea del Sur, China, Francia, Hungría, Italia, Irán, Malasia y Perú. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Además, estas investigaciones han indicado que el impacto de su uso en las relaciones sociales puede variar según los diferentes contextos e individuos. Por lo tanto, el objetivo principal del estudio fue identificar las propiedades psicométricas preliminares de la Escala de Adicción a las Redes Sociales de Bergen en jóvenes y adultos de la ciudad de Tacna, en el año 2024.…”