The course of problematic social media use in young adolescents: A latent class growth analysis

Abstract

The current generation of young adolescents grow up in a "hybrid" world, where their offline world is intertwined with online contexts that are facilitated by social media, such as Instagram and Snapchat. Between 2017 and 2019, 63% of 12-to 14-year-old and 77% of 15-and 16-year-old European adolescents reported daily usage of social media (Smahel et al., 2020). Other research shows that in 2017 and 2018, a large share of 13-and 15-year-old European adolescents reported that they were interacting online with friends and others almost all the time throughout the day (36% and 41%, respectively; Inchley et al., 2020). From a developmental perspective, it is understandable why social media are so popular among early and middle adolescents (Granic et al., 2020). Social media allow young adolescents to form and maintain peer relationships (e.g., through instant messaging), to share their perspectives, narratives, and self-portrayals with others (e.g., by uploading personal photos, videos, and texts), to receive feedback on their appearances and online behaviors (e.g., through "likes" and responses from peers), and to learn from others (e.g., by browsing through peers' uploads). These functions are all crucial for identity development: a core developmental task of young adolescents (Erikson, 1968).However, for some adolescents, social media use (SMU) deviates from normative adolescent behavior, namely when they experience symptoms of addiction to social media. In that case, adolescents cannot regulate their SMU: They have social media on top of their mind constantly, feel stress or anxiety when SMU is not possible, or report that their SMU interferes with their functioning in important life domains (Andreassen, 2015;Griffiths et al., 2014). The presence of such addiction symptoms is considered harmful (Griffiths et al.,

Associations between young adults’ social media addiction, relationship quality with parents, and internalizing problems: A path analysis model.

“…But what distinguishes problematic use from non-problematic use? According to some authors, it is not necessarily how long, but rather how one uses social media that defines problematic use (Boer et al, 2021;Kuss & Griffiths, 2017;Shensa et al, 2017). For some individuals, their social media behaviors are similar to those included in substance-related addictions (Andreassen et al, 2015).…”

Social media usage and its impact on users’ mental health: a longitudinal study and inputs to policymakers

“…There is very limited research that acknowledges/focuses on the two-dimensional nature of social comparison in an online environment. Orienting in terms of ability was associated with poor adjustment, but on the contrary, the orientation based on opinion was correlated with improved adjustment, and therefore SMU is “not necessarily detrimental” (Boer et al , 2021). Students often mindlessly spend quality time online on these platforms instead of investing it in studying (Chatterjee, 2018; Sabir et al , 2020).…”

“…In Chinese college-going students, comparisons have been made between MH and at-risk behaviors (Alonzo et al , 2021). Education and low levels of achievement in terms of grades are associated with poor mental health status in senior high school students (Boer et al , 2021). The extant literature published from 2011 to 2018 shows that there has been a burgeoning demand for access to mental health services particularly for the young generation in Canada.…”

“…Despite its significance, the literature on cross-lagged correlations between the intensity of SMU and mental health is limited (Boer et al , 2021). Previous research shows how mental health treatment prevents consequent substance abuse (Sonneveld et al , 2021).…”

Trajectories of Perceived Technological Impairment and Psychological Distress in Adolescents

“…The degree to which digital technology use is perceived as problematic is distinct from reported high levels of digital technology use (Marino, 2018 ). High levels of digital technology use is not necessarily synonymous with this use being problematic or impairing, as many adolescents engage in high levels of digital technology use without reporting that this use is problematic (Boer et al, 2022a ). Adolescents engage with digital technologies for hours each day (Rideout et al, 2022 ), and such use can be classified as normative for contemporary adolescents.…”