The Relationship of Social Media Addiction With Internet Use and Perceived Health: The Moderating Effects of Regular Exercise Intervention

Abstract

The popularity of online social media in recent years has not only brought information and social convenience to people's lives, but has also given rise to many problems, among which social media addiction (SMA) has become a concern of many scholars and experts. Past research has shown that regular exercise (REx) can have many health benefits for the body, so numerous scholars and experts believe that this may be one possible strategy for reducing the health effects of online community addiction and Internet use (IU). Therefore, this study adopted a secondary data research approach to explore and predict the effect of age on social media use and personal health, and therefore included age as a control variable to investigate whether the intervention of REx, excluding the effect of age, moderates the effect of SMA on IU and on perceived health (PH). The participants of this study were adults aged 18 years or older in Taiwan, using the 2019 “Survey Research Data Archive,” Vol. 7, No. 5 data. A total of 1,933 questionnaires were retrieved, and after elimination of invalid responses, 1,163 data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, PLS-SEM. The results were as follows: (1) SMA positively affected IU, (2) SMA could negatively affect PH, (3) there was no statistical effect of IU on PH, (4) SMA did not indirectly affect PH through IU, (5) REx had a moderating effect on SMA and IU, and (6) REx did not regulate the effect of SMA on PH. First, from these results, it is clear that the negative health effects of SMA may not be simply due to prolonged IU. Secondly, while it is true that the moderating effect for people with low levels of SMA can reduce IU, for people with high levels of SMA, the moderating effect of REx becomes a catalyst for increased Internet usage behavior. Finally, we draw conclusions based on the results of the study and propose directions and recommendations for follow-up research.

Co-occurrence of Common Biological and Behavioral Addictions: Using Network Analysis to Identify Central Addictions and Their Associations with Each Other

“…If we consider the edge weights with high and medium as clinically meaningful, our edge weight findings can be interpreted as indicating that there is high comorbidity for gaming with internet use, alcohol with drugs (undifferentiated), and internet use with social media. Consistent with these findings, previous studies have also shown a robust and strong association between internet use with video game addiction (Gunuc, 2015) and social media addiction (Chen et al, 2022) and also alcohol and drugs (Karriker-Jaffe et al, 2018;Kendler et al, 2008;Verweij et al, 2018). Additionally, Kendler et al (2008) have shown that nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis addictive behaviors presented with a similar emergence pattern, with family-related influences playing a significant role in early adolescence and declining/diminishing between 35 and 40 years, while genetic influences/predisposition effects became stronger over the life-course.…”

Using structural equation modeling to explore the influences of physical activity, mental health, well-being, and loneliness on Douyin usage at bedtime

“…In the current study, we included active Douyin users who have used Douyin at least 1 h per day in the past month. In this context, a recent study found that physical activity was more effective in improving social media usage among individuals with low levels of social media addiction (66). However, among those with high levels of social media addiction, physical activity may act as a catalyst for increasing social media usage (66).…”

“…In this context, a recent study found that physical activity was more effective in improving social media usage among individuals with low levels of social media addiction (66). However, among those with high levels of social media addiction, physical activity may act as a catalyst for increasing social media usage (66). To better understand the role of physical activity in improving Douyin usage at bedtime, we recommend that future research conducts a comparative or stratified analysis based on Douyin addiction levels.…”

Influence of Social Media Usage, Academic Performance and Working Memory among Undergraduate Students

“…Students may get restless, irritable, anxious, and crave being online again when trying to cut back on consumption. Students find it difficult to stop using social media because of this addictive cycle, which emphasizes the importance of encouraging sensible usage patterns and digital well-being [54]. There are possible effects on oneʹs academic or professional career, concerns associated with online safety, and effects from social networking platforms.…”