Explicating problematic social network sites use: A review of concepts, theoretical frameworks, and future directions for communication theorizing

Abstract

The prevalence of social network sites (SNSs) has sparked a growing interest in understanding the development of problematic SNSs use among adolescents. Yet, this nascent area of research is marked by some deficiencies in existing theoretical paradigms. This article seeks to review the state of research in problematic SNSs use—broadly with a specific focus on adolescents—and identify key areas of research for future scholarly work. First, we summarize the historical and recent developments of media addiction and problematic SNSs use research. Second, we discuss the theoretical perspectives that contribute to our understanding of the problematic SNSs use phenomenon and identify the weaknesses of these frameworks. Third, we propose that communication scholars should strive for theoretical integration and examine the impact of microsystem (e.g. parents and peers) and macrosystem (e.g. surveillance culture) on the development of problematic SNSs among adolescents. Directions for future theoretical and methodological approaches are suggested.

Likes and Problematic Instagram Use: The Moderating Role of Self-Esteem

“…Like in many addictions, 11 literature has considered the need to include both external and individual-level influences on adolescents' problematic social network use. 12 In this study, we have considered both aspects, likes, self-esteem, and its interplay, evidencing that rewards in terms of likes is related to problematic use, although its effect is moderated by individuals' self-esteem.…”

“…24 In the same vein, other studies have shown that young people with lower self-esteem reported stronger instant messaging addiction, 25 that self-esteem was related to greater online activity as well as self-promotional content on Facebook, 26 that self-esteem was negatively associated with problematic Internet use in young 27 and adolescents, 28 and that addictive use of social media related to lower self-esteem 15,29 especially in the case of adolescents. 12 Although studies have focused on exploring the direct association of self-esteem with problematic use, there is a lack of studies analyzing the moderating role of self-esteem. As noted by some authors 23 although associations between problematic use and individuals variables are established, the lack of research investigating moderators is apparent.…”

“…11 Scholars prefer the term problematic use since compared to others, it does not assume that the use is pathological, while still broad enough to encapsulate many negative experiences. 12 In studies about Facebook, it has been defined as uses that create problems and impairments in different domains of one's life. 13,14 One of the key factors associated to addiction and excessive behavior is the reward.…”

Social Media Use, Social Media Stress, and Sleep: Examining Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Relationships in Adolescents

“…One explanation for these mixed results might be that it is not the frequency of SM use per se that disrupts sleep and sleep-related parameters, but that the way adolescents experience their SM use influences the relationship between SM and sleep (Lee, Ho, & Lwin, 2016). More specifically, it has been argued that some adolescents experience high levels of stress from using SM (Beyens, Frison, & Eggermont, 2016).…”

Social media use among the youth. Results of the ESPAD study in Poland with reference to other European countries

“…This excessive involvement in the internet has been called internet addiction in the past and there were even attempts to include this phenomenon into DSM-5 classification. Currently problematic internet use is what is being considered [1,[19][20][21][22][23]. Apart from the general criticism of this concept concerning excessive pathologisation of everyday life [1,21,24,25], the fact was indicated that the internet is a medium allowing a range of different activities of a highly varied potential level of harm like for example online gambling, pornography or social networks [1,9,26,27].…”