Association between psychosocial well-being and problematic social media use among Finnish young adults: a cross-sectional study

The aim of the study was to identify associations between problematic social media use (PSMU), type of internet activity, various background factors, psychosocial factors (mood, fear of missing out, need to belong, social relationships) and the COVID-19-pandemic's impacts on social media use among young adults in Finland. Data were collected from 381 young adults aged 18-35 (M = 26.01;SD = 4.55) in Finland through a web-based survey conducted during the autumn of 2020. PSMU was identified using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Nine types of social media platform used were considered. Information about health-related factors was assessed using Beck Depression Inventory scale and a further single question. Social factors were measured using the Fear of Missing Out scale, the Single Item Need to Belong scale, and social engagement scale. 9.8 % of participants were found to exhibit PSMU. Younger people and women were more prone to PSMU. Social networking sites were the most used platform and were more strongly related to PSMU. Social media engagement, depression, fear of missing out and the effects of the pandemic on social media use were all positively and significantly associated with PSMU. These results may facilitate the development of guidelines for healthy social media use, and early detection of PSMU.

Six addiction components of problematic social media use in relation to depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms: a latent profile analysis and network analysis.

BACKGROUNDS: Components of addiction (salience, tolerance, mood modification, relapse, withdrawal, and conflict) is the most cited theoretical framework for problematic social media use (PSMU). However, studies criticized its ability to distinguish problematic users from engaged users. We aimed to assess the association of the six criteria with depression, anxiety, and stress at a symptom level. METHODS: Ten thousand six hundred sixty-eight participants were recruited. Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) was used to detect six addiction components in PSMU. We applied the depression-anxiety-stress scale to assess mental distress. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted based on BSMAS items. Network analysis (NA) was performed to determine the symptom-symptom interaction of PSMU and mental distress. RESULTS: (1) Social media users were divided into five subgroups including occasional users (10.6%, n = 1127), regular users (31.0%, n = 3309), high engagement low risk users (10.4%, n = 1115), at-risk users (38.1%, n = 4070), and problematic users (9.8%, n = 1047); (2) PSMU and mental distress varied markedly across subgroups. Problematic users had the most severe PSMU, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms. High engagement users scored high on tolerance and salience criteria of PSMU but displayed little mental distress; (3) NA showed conflict and mood modification was the bridge symptoms across the network, while salience and tolerance exhibited weak association with mental distress. CONCLUSIONS: Salience and tolerance might not distinguish engaged users from problematic users. New frameworks and assessment tools focusing on the negative consequences of social media usage are needed.

Burn or Balm?: Exploring University Students' Experiences With Social Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The impact on perceived burnout experiences among university students from the intensification of social media use during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet fully understood. In total, 516 university students (430 females) in a midsized city in Ontario, Canada completed one online survey that explored student characteristics (i.e., personality, life satisfaction, perceived stress, and basic psychological needs) as well as frequency and perceived purpose of social media use. Approximately 80% indicated an increase in their social media use with iMessage/Text messaging, Instagram, and Snapchat being the three most frequently accessed platforms. Social media use was associated with higher levels of perceived stress, extraversion, satisfaction and frustration of psychological relatedness needs, and frustration of competence need. Most students (87%) reported experiencing burnout. Greater burnout was associated with individuals who reported higher perceived stress, scored high in extroversion, and greater use of Instagram. Overall, intensified social media use during the pandemic yielded both positive and negative outcomes.

The association of care burden with motivation of vaccine acceptance among caregivers of stroke patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: mediating roles of problematic social media use, worry, and fear.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between care burden and motivation of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among caregivers of patients who have experienced a stroke and to explore the mediating roles of social media use, fear of COVID-19, and worries about infection in this relationship. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study with 172 caregivers of patients who had experienced a stroke took part in a Taiwan community hospital. All participants completed the Zarit Burden Interview, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, Worry of Infection Scale, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and Motors of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Scale. Multiple linear regression model was applied to construct and explain the association among the variables. Hayes Process Macro (Models 4 and 6) was used to explain the mediation effects. RESULTS: The proposed model significantly explained the direct association of care burden with motivation of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance. Despite the increased care burden associated with decreased vaccine acceptance, problematic social media use positively mediated this association. Moreover, problematic social media use had sequential mediating effects together with worry of infection or fear of COVID-19 in the association between care burden and motivation of vaccine acceptance. Care burden was associated with motivation of vaccine acceptance through problematic social media use followed by worry of infection. CONCLUSIONS: Increased care burden among caregivers of patients who have experienced a stroke may lead to lower COVID-19 vaccines acceptance. Moreover, problematic social media use was positively associated with their motivation to get COVID-19 vaccinated. Therefore, health experts and practitioners should actively disseminate accurate and trustworthy factual information regarding COVID-19, while taking care of the psychological problems among caregivers of patients who have experienced a stroke.

Health-promoting behavior among undergraduate students in the COVID-19 era: Its association with problematic use of social media, social isolation, and online health information-seeking behavior

Objective To examine the association between problematic use of social media, online health information-seeking, social isolation, and health-promoting behaviors among Korean undergraduate students. Methods In total, 178 undergraduate students participated in this study. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed. Results Predictors of health-promoting behaviors included overall time spent on social media, problematic social media use, social isolation, and online information-seeking, explaining 33.5 % of the variance in health-promoting behaviors. Conclusion Prolonged social media use and social isolation negatively affected undergraduate students' health-promoting behaviors, while online information-seeking positively affected them. Nurses should assist young adults in improving health-promoting behaviors by preventing problematic social media uses, reducing social isolation, and strengthening their online health information-seeking ability.

Problematic social media use, digital gaming addiction and excessive screen time among Turkish adolescents during remote schooling: implications on mental and academic well-being

Objective: The present study aimed to describe screen use patterns among Turkish adolescents during the coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic with a special emphasis on social media and digital gaming addiction, and explore how these are linked to adolescents' mental and academic well-being.Materials and Method: The study sample consisted of 9th to 12th grade students from three public high-schools in Istanbul, Turkey (n=201). Participants were required to complete a comprehensive questionnaire which gathered information about various domains including problematic screen use, attitudes towards online education, and mental/academic well-being during the lockdown period.Results: The overall screen time exhibited a significant increase during the lockdown, with the most common discretionary screen activities being social media use, communication, and watching movies/series (p<0.001). The students spent significantly less time on physical activities (p=0.003) and face-to-face meetings with their friends (p<0.001). Male students presented with higher scores on gaming addiction (p<0.001), whereas a significantly higher proportion of the female students (28.57% vs. 14.81%) were classified as atrisk for social media addiction (p=0.046). Both gaming addiction and social media addiction were associated with higher depression scores (p=0.003 and p<0.001 respectively).Conclusion: Screen use patterns may have diverse consequences for youth's well-being during the pandemic. The addiction risk and other detrimental outcomes are likely to be associated with the qualitative features of screen activities, rather than just the amount of time spent on digital media by the adolescents.

How COVID-19 Changed Self-Presentation on Instagram and its Relation to User Well-Being

Social media use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic with platforms providing an important forum for communication and self-expression. In this study, we explore shifts in online posting behaviors and self-presentation following the onset of lockdown. Content analysis of active Instagram accounts (n = 73) was conducted for the 3-month period before and immediately following the start of lockdown in the UK, and compared to psychological well-being, social media dependency and motives for online self-presentation during lockdown. Changes in the nature of images and captions used by profile owners were found following the start of lockdown, with more selfies and throwback photographs of past events being posted. Images in contexts depicting users as 'social', and positive or explanatory message captioning decreased during lockdown. Limited evidence was found to support the hypothesis that images posted were predictive of psychological well-being in lockdown. More followers and the degree to which online portrayals represented 'real-self' appeared more critical to well-being during lockdown.

When Pandemic Stories Become Personal Stories: Community Journalism and the Coverage of Health Inequalities

Social media's influence on journalistic norms and practices is a prominent theme in journalism studies. For small news organizations, there is not always a clear line between their public image and the online identities of their journalists. Focusing on such ambiguity, this article examines the integration of social media use and journalistic practice at The Local, an independent online news magazine based in Toronto, Canada, as well as its potential implications for community journalism. A qualitative thematic analysis of 300 tweets about the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, posted by the magazine's official account and its two star journalists, revealed a unique journalistic approach that prioritized hyper-local, data-informed, and affective storytelling over the traditional norm of journalists as detached observers and information providers. This finding sheds light on how journalism practices at The Local and other comparable digital news startups may contribute to the revival of community journalism. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Impact of Human and Economic Development on Fake News Propensity During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Cross-Country Analysis

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic augmented the propensity for fake news globally. Today, over 90% of the global population depends on the internet for information. However, there is an enormous difference in fake news propensity in different countries. Thus, one must understand what factors influence the propensity for fake news during the COVID-19 crisis. Leveraging prior literature on fake news, the authors theorize the relationship between human and economic development and fake news propensity within nations. They analyzed the proposed model on a dataset generated from 104 countries. The research finds that a level of human development did not affect a nation's fake news propensity, while a higher level of economic development curbed its fake news propensity. This research extends prior IS research on fake news at the macro level and aims to better inform governments and policymakers in designing future crisis-proof policies to curb fake news.

Social Media Use Purposes and Psychological Wellbeing in Times of Crises

This study investigates the effect of social media (SM) use purposes and user characteristics on individual psychological wellbeing (PWB) during the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). Informed by the uses and gratifications theory and PWB research, this study analyzed survey data collected from 282 SM users aged 18 through 59 from a minority-serving university in the United States in March-April 2020. Our quantitative data analysis showed that social media can be used to improve the quality of personal experiences during the COVID-19 crisis through three mechanisms-connectedness (i.e., social), engagement (i.e., collaborative), and entertainment (i.e., hedonic). However, the effect varied by gender, SM usage level, and individual concern about COVID-19 risk. The findings contribute to the literature and offer implications in technology use for enhancing public mental health during crises. © 2023 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

How Motivation to Reduce Uncertainty Predicts COVID-19 Behavioral Responses: Strategic Health Communication Insights for Managing an Ongoing Pandemic

During highly uncertain times such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is vital to understand and predict individuals' responses to governments' crisis and risk communication. This study draws on the Orientation-Stimulus-Orientation-Response (O-S-O-R) model to examine (1) whether uncertainty reduction motivation (a pre-orientation factor) drove Americans to turn to traditional news media and/or social media (stimuli) to obtain COVID-19 information;(2) if these media preferences shaped their COVID-19 knowledge, cognitive information vetting, and trust in government communication (post-orientation factors);and finally (3) whether these factors contributed to their intended and actual behaviors (responses), such as getting vaccinated. Thus, this study explores how multiple communicative and cognitive mechanisms contribute to public compliance with government health recommendations during a pandemic. Mediation analyses showed positive indirect effects between uncertainty reduction motivation and behavioral outcomes via use of social media (in relation to traditional news media) and COVID-19 knowledge and cognitive information vetting. This study discusses theoretical and practical health communication implications of these findings. © 2023 SAGE Publications.

The relationship among psychological distress, well-being and excessive social media use during the outbreak of Covid-19: A longitudinal investigation.

INTRODUCTION: The corona pandemic has been a life event causing negative consequences on mental health. Mental health consists of positive and negative dimensions. The present longitudinal study investigated how positive and negative dimensions changed over 15 months after the Covid-19 outbreak. Potential changes of excessive social media use (SMU) and its relationship with mental health were also investigated. METHOD: Data (N = 189) on distress (measured overall and as depression, anxiety, and stress), well-being and excessive SMU were collected at three time points (baseline, BL; 3-month follow-up, FU1; 15-month follow-up, FU2) via online surveys in Italy. Repeated analyses of variance were used to test differences among the three measurement time points. Mediational models were applied. RESULTS: Distress did not change over time, well-being decreased and excessive SMU increased significantly. The relationship between distress at BL and excessive SMU at FU2 was significant (total effect, c: p < .001). The relationship between distress at BL and well-being at FU1 (a: p < .001), and between well-being at FU1and excessive SMU at FU2 (b: p = .004) was significant. Including FU1 well-being in the model, the relationship between distress at BL and excessive SMU at FU2 was not significant (direct effect, c': p = .078). The indirect effect (ab) was significant. CONCLUSION: Well-being mediated the relationship between baseline stress and excessive SMU. Enhanced stress may reduce well-being which, in turn, increases the risk of excessive SMU. This emphasizes the urgency of programmes that foster well-being, especially during stressful events such as a pandemic.

Coping strategies initiated by COVID-19-related stress, individuals' motives for social media use, and perceived stress reduction

PurposeThis study examined whether individuals' coping strategies and their motivations for social media use act as mediators between actual COVID-19-related stress and the perception that social media use can reduce stress.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically develops and tests a research model with data (N = 503) collected through Amazon Mechanical Turk. A path analysis was used to test the research model.FindingsThe path analysis indicated that active coping initiated by individuals under COVID-19-related stress was more likely to be associated with information and social interaction needs, leading the individuals to perceive the use of social media as the cause for stress reduction. The expressive support coping strategy motivated the individuals under stress to seek social interaction, leading individuals to perceive that activities on social media reduced their stress during the pandemic. Emotional venting and avoidance coping strategies significantly impacted escape, social interaction, and entertainment seeking by allowing individuals to get absorbed in social media activities and forget unpleasant thoughts associated with the pandemic.Originality/valueNo previous study has explored the relationship between decisions around the type of coping strategy used and motivations for media usage, which leads to stress reduction. Understanding how stress-induced coping strategies influence social media users' specific motivations and reduce users' stress levels would help communicators understand how users' can encourage individuals to cope with stress by presenting individuals with more effective social media, resulting in stress reduction and improved well-being.

Academic procrastination using social media: A cross‐sectional study with middle school students on the buffering and moderator roles of self‐control and gender

Temporary school lockdowns and physical distancing practices due to the Covid‐19 pandemic have led to the risk of problematic social media use (PSU) in students who need to socialize. The effect of PSU on students' academic commitment and the mechanisms that moderate this effect spark interest in researchers. For this reason, the present study sought answers to the following two research questions: (a) Whether PSU positively predicts academic procrastination (AP), (b) Whether this relation is moderated by self‐control and gender. Employing the additive multiple moderation model, the study was carried out with 370 Turkish middle school students (female: 65.1%, Mage: 12.82). The findings indicate that PSU positively affects AP. The positive effect of PSU on AP is higher in boys than in girls. Self‐control acts as a buffering moderator in the positive effect of PSU on AP. As students' self‐control levels increase, the positive effect of PSU on AP weakens. Self‐control plays a greater role as a buffering moderator in girls than in boys. Regarding the context of middle school students' PSU and AP, the results extend the literature, which states that boys tend to act more impulsively. Also, this study adds new empirical evidence to the literature regarding the importance of high levels of self‐control in minimizing the negative effects of PSU, which has become more common among middle school students after the Covid‐19 pandemic, on AP. Practitioner Points: Problematic social media use (PSU) positively affects academic procrastination (AP).Self‐control acts as a buffering moderator in the positive effect of PSU on AP.The positive effect of PSU on AP is higher in boys than in girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Psychology in the Schools is the property of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Narcissism, national narcissism, COVID-19 conspiracy belief, and social media use as predictors of compliance with COVID-19 public health guidelines.

Understanding health belief models, and the variables that influence adherence to public health measures imposed by local governments and international health bodies, is crucial to slowing down the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Conspiracy theories about the virus have quickly spread on social media and have been linked to reluctance to comply with COVID-19 regulations. Personality traits such as narcissism and collective national narcissism have also been associated with the way we perceive severity and susceptibility to the disease. To examine this further, participants (N = 183) completed an online questionnaire measuring belief in COVID-19 conspiracies, trait narcissism, national narcissism, and social media usage. A model containing these variables was able to significantly predict adherence to COVID-19 preventative health behaviours, with higher levels of COVID-19 conspiracy belief, narcissism, and social media usage all contributing to reduced adherence to recommended COVID-19 health behaviours. The findings suggest conspiracy beliefs, narcissism, and social media play a key role in adherence to behaviours orientated towards stopping the spread of COVID-19. Governments and social media companies need to demonstrate greater awareness of the negative effects of conspiracy theories spread through social media, in addition to awareness of how these effects may be greater in more narcissistic individuals.

Effects of Stressors of COVID-19 on Chinese College Students' Problematic Social Media Use: A Mediated Moderation Model.

Purpose: Isolation policies are long-term and strictly enforced in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media might be widely used for communication, work, understanding the development of the epidemic, etc. However, these behaviors might lead to problematic social media use. The present study investigated the effect of stressors of COVID-19 on problematic social media use, as well as the internal mechanisms involved. Methods: One thousand three hundred seventy-three Chinese college students (M age = 19.53, SD age = 1.09) were recruited randomly from four grades who completed Coronavirus Stress Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Assessment Questionnaire, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale. Results: Stressors of COVID-19 were positively related to problematic social media use. The link between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use was mediated by fear of missing out. Additionally, the association between fear of missing out and problematic social media use, as well as the association between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use were moderated by regulatory emotional self-efficacy. Conclusion: The current findings reveal the mechanism that may be used to reduce the likelihood of problematic social media use in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. To prevent and intervene in problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stressed the importance of decreasing the fear of missing out and enhancing regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Job demands and technology overload influencing work stress in organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study is based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to examine how job demands and technology overload affect work stress for workers using video conferencing apps (VCAs) in organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the moderating effect of technology self-efficacy was tested in the model on the relationship between technology overload and work stress.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted to investigate workers on PTT forums in Taiwan. A sample was obtained of 253 workers, and structural equation modeling was conducted using AMOS to test the hypotheses.FindingsJob demands positively affect work stress through information overload, communication overload and system feature overload. Moreover, high technology self-efficacy may weaken the relationship between technology overload and work stress.Research limitations/implicationsThe study may have sample bias because our sample was obtained from an online survey on social networking sites. Regarding the theoretical implications, this study demonstrated that technology overload, as an internal organism, is a critical mediator influencing the relationship between job demands (stimulus) and work stress (response). Thus, this study extended the applicability of the SOR model in the context of working with VCAs in organizations.Practical implicationsCompany managers need to effectively control the information amount, communication interruptions and system features of social media at optimum levels for workers. Moreover, companies should recruit workers with high technology self-efficacy or provide technology training and technology-related consulting to those with low technology self-efficacy.Originality/valueThe extant work stress knowledge is extended to workers using VCAs in organizations.

Less sense of control, more anxiety, and addictive social media use: Cohort trends in German university freshmen between 2019 and 2021

The COVID-19 outbreak brought many challenges for everyday life that could affect mental health. The present study investigated cohort trends of sense of control, anxiety symptoms and (addictive) social media use (SMU) in German university freshmen between 2019 (before the pandemic outbreak) and 2021 (after the pandemic outbreak). Data of overall 1,378 freshmen (three cohorts: 2019: N = 407, 2020: N = 563, 2021: N = 408) were collected by online surveys. The comparison of the three cohorts revealed a significant decrease of sense of control from 2019 to 2021 (effect size: Cohen's d = 0.29 to 0.36). In contrast, anxiety symptoms (d = 0.25 to 0.28), time spent daily on SMU (d = 0.18 to 0.36), and addictive SMU (d = 0.26 to 0.31) increased. In all cohorts, we found the same result patterns. Anxiety symptoms and the SMU variables were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.171 to 0.469, p <.001). Sense of control was significantly negatively correlated with the other assessed variables (r = -0.112 to -0.279, p <.05 and p <.001). Moreover, anxiety symptoms mediated the relationship between sense of control and addictive SMU. Thus, the COVID-19 outbreak and its consequences for daily life could affect the sense of control, anxiety symptoms and addictive SMU of freshmen in Germany. Potential ways how to protect young people against these potential negative effects are discussed. © 2022

Social media use by governments for COVID-19

This study explores how governments use social media for COVID-19 to communicate with the public according to government accounts by employing social network analysis for Twitter. First, this study finds that government accounts have different characteristics of key players. For instance, the US key players play an important role in the Donald Trump networks, whereas international key players play a significant role in the President of the United States (POTUS) networks. Second, Trump, POTUS, and the White House show a similar pattern, whereas the US Government reveals a unique shape for the social networks. Third, the US Government networks also exhibit unique characteristics of group networks against other government accounts. Fourth, citizens reply differently to the government accounts for the COVID-19 issue. For example, Donald Trump shows overwhelming replies over other tweeters in the Donald trump networks, whereas POTUS ranks second after Donald Trump in the POTUS networks. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.