Daily links between objective smartphone use and sleep among adolescents.

INTRODUCTION: Concerns abound on how digital technology such as smartphone use may impair adolescent sleep. Although these linkages are supported in cross-sectional studies, research involving intensive longitudinal assessments and objective measures has called into question the robustness of associations. METHODS: In this study, a sample of ethnically diverse U.S. adolescents (N = 71; Mage = 16.49; 56% girls) wore Fitbit devices and submitted screenshots of their smartphone screen time, pickups, and notifications over a 14-day period in 2021. The Fitbits recorded nightly sleep quality and sleep onset. Adolescents also completed daily diaries reporting the previous night's sleep onset time and sleep quality. RESULTS: On days when adolescents engaged in greater nighttime screen time and, to some extent, pickups relative to their own average, they also had poorer sleep outcomes that night. Greater screen time was associated with later self-reported and Fitbit-recorded sleep onset and poorer self-reported sleep quality. Greater pickups was associated with later self-reported and Fitbit-recorded sleep onset. Smartphone use during the day did not relate to sleep outcomes, indicating the importance of distinguishing nighttime from daytime use. CONCLUSIONS: Parents and clinicians should help adolescents develop healthy digital skills to avoid exacerbating sleep problems that are known to occur during this developmental period.

Dispositional and Social Correlates of Digital Status Seeking Among Adolescents.

Social media have transformed peer relationships among adolescents, providing new avenues to attain online status indicators such as likes and followers. This study aimed to explore the associations between various dispositional and social factors and digital status-seeking behaviors among a sample of adolescents (N = 731; Mage = 14.69, 48.7 percent female), as well as explore potential gender differences in the examined associations. Sociometric nominations for digital status-seeking, likeability, and popularity were collected, and participants self-reported their social media use frequency, awareness of social media positivity bias, reward sensitivity, and gender. The findings revealed a positive relationship between sociometric popularity and digital status-seeking, whereas likeability displayed a negative association with digital status-seeking. These results emphasize the importance of distinguishing between different social status indicators in understanding online behaviors. Reward sensitivity did not show a significant link to digital status-seeking, and awareness of social media positivity bias heightened the likelihood of being nominated as a digital status-seeker. These findings underscore the need for further research, especially focusing on girls who appear to be more vulnerable to engaging in digital status-seeking behaviors.

Developmental changes in brain function linked with addiction-like social media use two years later.

Addiction-like social media use (ASMU) is widely reported among adolescents and is associated with depression and other negative health outcomes. We aimed to identify developmental trajectories of neural social feedback processing that are linked to higher levels of ASMU in later adolescence. Within a longitudinal design, 103 adolescents completed a social incentive delay task during 1-3 fMRI scans (6-9th grade), and a 4th self-report assessment of ASMU and depressive symptoms ∼2 years later (10-11th grade). We assessed ASMU effects on brain responsivity to positive social feedback across puberty and relationships between brain responsivity development, ASMU symptoms, and depressive symptoms while considering gender effects. Findings demonstrate decreasing responsivity, across puberty, in the ventral media prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and right inferior frontal gyrus associated with higher ASMU symptoms over 2 years later. Significant moderated mediation models suggest that these pubertal decreases in brain responsivity are associated with increased ASMU symptoms which, among adolescent girls (but not boys), is in turn associated with increased depressive symptoms. Results suggest initial hyperresponsivity to positive social feedback, before puberty onset, and decreases in this response across development, may be risk factors for ASMU in later adolescence.

Alcohol Use and Abstinence throughout Adolescence: The Changing Contributions of Perceived Risk of Drinking, Opportunities to Drink, and Self-Control.

Objective: Adolescence is characterized by psychosocial and cognitive changes that can alter the perceived risk of negative effects of alcohol, opportunities to drink, and self-control. Few studies have investigated whether these factors change in their contribution to adolescent drinking over time. This study examined associations between perceived risk, opportunities to drink, self-control, and past-year drinking and investigated whether self-control buffers the effect of lower perceived risk and frequent drinking opportunities on the probability of past-year drinking. Method: Data from a four-wave longitudinal study (2015-2020) of 2,104 North Carolina adolescents (Mage = 12.36, SDage = 1.12, at Time 1) were used to assess changes in associations between self-control, perceived risk of drinking, and drinking opportunities on the frequency of past-year drinking. Hypotheses were tested using latent trajectory models. Results: At all timepoints, greater perceived risk, fewer drinking opportunities, and higher self-control were associated with drinking abstinence in the past year. Self-control buffered the impact of frequent drinking opportunities and lower perceived risk on the probability of alcohol use at Times 1-3. Conclusions: Despite expectations that adolescents' ability to navigate their environments improves as they age, associations between risk, protective factors, and past-year drinking were relatively stable over time. Nevertheless, self-control protected against frequent drinking opportunities and lower perceived risk. Strategies that support or relieve the need for self-control (e.g., situation modification) may protect against alcohol use throughout adolescence.

Links Between Objectively-Measured Hourly Smartphone Use and Adolescent Wake Events Across Two Weeks.

PURPOSE: Psychosocial and bioregulatory pressures threaten sleep during adolescence. Although recent work suggests that the ubiquity of smartphone use throughout adolescence may also relate to poorer sleep outcomes, most existing research relies upon self-report and retrospective measures. This study drew upon objective measures of smartphone use and sleep at the hourly level to understand how smartphone use was associated with the duration of wake events during sleeping hours. METHODS: Across a 14-day daily study, 59 racially and ethnically diverse adolescents ages 15 to 18 had their sleep assessed via Fitbit Inspire 2 devices and uploaded screenshots of their screen time, pickups, and notifications as logged by their iPhone's iOS. Multi-level modeling was performed to assess hourly level associations between adolescent smartphone use and wake-events during their sleep sessions (N = 4,287 hourly cases). RESULTS: In hours during adolescents' sleep session with more screen time or pickups, adolescents had longer wake event duration. More notifications in a given hour were not associated with wake event duration in the same hour. CONCLUSIONS: Using objectively measured smartphone and sleep data collected at the hourly level, we found that during sleeping hours, when adolescents are actively engaging with their smartphones, their sleep is disrupted, such that their wake events are longer in that hour.

Linking video chatting, phone calling, text messaging, and social media with peers to adolescent connectedness.

For 14 days three times per day (6072 observations), adolescents (N = 207, Mage = 15.45 years) reported their digital (i.e., video chatting, texting, social media, and phone calling) communication with peers and their social connectedness. Controlling for in-person interactions, adolescents felt more connected in hours when they had communicated with peers by video chatting, texting, or social media, but not phone calling. Girls communicated with peers via text and social media more than boys, and boys talked on the phone more than girls. Boys who talked, texted, or video chatted more on average reported higher connectedness on average, whereas girls did not. As the links with connectedness were only found at the hourly- and not the daily level, results highlight that a sense of connectedness from digital media may be fleeting in nature.

Intervening on Social Comparisons on Social Media: Electronic Daily Diary Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Literature has underscored the dark aspects of social media use, including associations with depressive symptoms, feelings of social isolation, and diminished self-esteem. Social comparison, the process of evaluating oneself relative to another person, is thought to contribute to these negative experiences such that people with a stronger tendency to compare themselves with others are particularly susceptible to the detrimental effects of social media. Social media as a form of social connection and communication is nevertheless an inevitable-and arguably integral-part of life, particularly for young adults. Therefore, there is a need to investigate strategies that could alter the manner in which people interact with social media to minimize its detrimental effects and maximize the feelings of affiliation and connection. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a brief web-based intervention designed to alter engagement with social media and promote psychological well-being by encouraging social savoring as an alternative to social comparison. Social savoring was operationalized as experiencing joyful emotions related to the happiness of someone else's experiences (ie, feeling happy for someone else). METHODS: Following an intensive longitudinal design, 55 college students (mean age 19.29, SD 0.93 years; n=43, 78% women and n=23, 42% White) completed baseline measures (individual differences, psychological well-being, connectedness, and social media use) and then 14 days of daily surveys on their social media activity and well-being. On day 8, the group that was randomized to receive the intervention watched a video instructing them on the skill of social savoring and was asked to practice this skill during days 8 to 14. RESULTS: Overall, participants reported positive perceptions of the intervention. Participants who watched the intervention video reported significantly higher performance self-esteem (P=.02) at posttest than those in the control condition, after controlling for baseline levels. Participants also reported significantly higher state self-esteem (P=.01) on days in which they engaged in more social savoring while using social media, and the use of social savoring increased significantly (P=.01) over time, suggesting that participants found it helpful. Participants in both conditions reported significantly lower levels of social comparison (control: P=.01; intervention: P=.002) and higher levels of connectedness (control: P<.001; intervention: P=.001) at posttest than at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Initial evidence from this pilot study suggests that a web-based social savoring intervention may help minimize the potentially harmful consequences of social media use, at least in some domains. Future work is needed to examine the effectiveness and acceptance of this intervention in different age groups and in clinical samples that are in part characterized by higher levels of comparison with others (eg, people with eating disorders).

Digital location tracking: A preliminary investigation of parents' use of digital technology to monitor their adolescent's location.

The emergence of digital technologies has changed the dynamic of parent-adolescent relationships. Parents can now use digital technologies to monitor their adolescent's physical location. Yet, to date, no known research has examined the extent to which digital location tracking occurs in parent-adolescent dyads, and how tracking links to adolescent adjustment. The current research examined digital location tracking in a large sample of adolescents (N = 729; Mage = 15.03). Overall, about half of parents and adolescents reported digital location tracking. Girls and younger adolescents were more likely to be tracked, and tracking was associated with greater externalizing problems and alcohol consumption; however, these associations were not robust across multiple informants and sensitivity analyses. Positive linkages with externalizing problems and cannabis use were in part contingent on age and positive parenting, with associations emerging for older adolescents and adolescents who report lower positive parenting. Older adolescents are increasingly striving for independence and autonomy, and adolescents who perceive lower positive parenting may view digital tracking as controlling and intrusive. However, results were not robust after statistical correction. This brief report is intended to serve as a preliminary investigation into digital location tracking, and future research is needed to determine the directionality of associations. Possible consequences of parental digital tracking require careful consideration by researchers in order to provide guidance on the best practices for engaging in digital monitoring while nurturing and respecting the parent-adolescent relationship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Adjusting to the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States: The impact of disruptions on habits and changes in health behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides a naturalistic test of whether pandemic-related disruptions weaken habits and undermine behavior stability. We hypothesized that better capacity to effortfully guide behavior (self-regulation) would buffer this effect and be associated with behavior stability and development of new habits to accomplish daily behaviors. A cross-sectional study of 416 MTurk workers recruited in April 2020 (Mage = 34.60, SD = 11.51) indicated that pandemic-related disruptions generally exceeded people's capacity to effortfully modify their behavior. Self-regulation related to the development of new habits and to lower likelihood that work productivity decreased. Self-regulation also protected against the effect of disruption on the likelihood that substance use increased. Besides these associations, self-regulation was largely unrelated to health-related behaviors and, in some instances, associated with poorer outcomes. These findings underscore the need to appreciate the impact of contextual disruptions in interpreting and promoting change in health-related behaviors.

Trajectories of Perceived Technological Impairment and Psychological Distress in Adolescents.

Fears that digital technologies harm adolescents' mental health abound; however, existing research is mixed. This study examined how perceived technological impairment (i.e., perceptions of digital technology interfering with daily life) related to psychological distress across five years in adolescence. A latent curve model with structured residuals was applied to disentangle between-from within-person associations, in which it was tested whether (a) adolescents who increased in their perceptions of technological impairment over time also increased in psychological distress (between-person) and (b) if an adolescent who reported greater perceptions of technological impairment relative to their underlying trajectory at one wave consequently reported greater distress at the subsequent wave (within-person). These associations were tested in a sample of 2104 adolescents (Mage = 12.36; 52% girls; 48% Non-White). Perceived technological impairment and psychological distress increased together over time. Girls and older adolescents (13-15 at baseline) reported greater initial levels of perceived impairment. Younger adolescents (9-12 at baseline) increased more steeply in perceived impairment over time. There was no evidence of longitudinal within-person associations. The findings suggest that although there is evidence of between-person associations in which increases in perceived technological impairment coincide with increases in psychological distress, the absence of within-person associations cautions against a cause-and-effect narrative between digital technology use and mental health.

Longitudinal and daily associations between adolescent self-control and digital technology use.

There is fear that adolescents have limited control over their digital technology use. The current research examines longitudinal (Study 1) and daily (Study 2) associations between U.S. adolescents' self-control and digital technological impairment and use. Using a large sample (N = 2,104; Wave 1: Mage = 12.36, 52% female, 57% economically disadvantaged, 48% racial minority), Study 1 tested how changes in adolescents' self-control and perceived technological impairment co-occur across time (between-person associations) and if self-control and perceived impairment are prospectively and bidirectionally associated with each other (within-person associations). There was evidence of between-person associations, in that poorer self-control and perceived technological impairment both increase over adolescence, and these increases are positively associated with each other. However, there was no evidence of prospective within-person associations. Using a subsample from Study 1 (N = 388), Study 2 found support for a between-person association for self-control and using digital technology for entertainment, in which adolescents who reported poorer self-control relative to their peers also engaged in greater digital technology use for entertainment. There was no robust support for within-person associations. These findings suggest that adolescents with poorer self-control may have established tendencies to experience greater technological impairment and use more digital technology for entertainment, but the lack of within-person associations indicate caution is needed for a cause-and-effect relation. Adolescents with existing poorer self-control may be more vulnerable to problematic digital technology use in a developmental period where digital technology is particularly rewarding, and intervention and prevention efforts should be geared toward these adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A Longitudinal Investigation of Observed Adolescent Text-Based Sexting and Adjustment.

Despite strong concerns that sexting poses risks for adolescents' well-being, previous research finds mixed results. Moreover, these studies rely heavily on self-report measures and cross-sectional designs. This study utilizes observational methods to examine longitudinal relations between text-based sexting and both negative and positive indicators of psychosocial adjustment. An ethnically diverse sample of 197 adolescents was provided smartphones that captured their text messages across high school, from 2008-2012. Two, two-day samples of text messages from grades 9-12 were content-coded (468,201 total observations). Sexting was defined as sending and receiving text-based statements about past, present, or hypothetical sexual behaviors occurring between dyadic texting partners. Each year, adolescents reported on negative (internalizing, externalizing, and social problems; borderline personality features) and positive (life satisfaction, group belongingness, and positive self-perceptions) indicators of their psychosocial adjustment. Using concurrent and longitudinal multilevel models, greater sexting at one time point than one's average (within-person) was only associated with lower levels of group belongingness within the same year. For girls only, text-based sexting more than others on average (between-person) was related to increased externalizing symptoms and borderline personality disorder features, as well as decreased life satisfaction, group belongingness, self-perceived social competence, and global self-worth. No within-person differences by gender emerged, nor did longitudinal associations. Future studies and intervention efforts should examine when and why higher sexting might be related to psychosocial problems among girls.

Associations Between Adolescents' Daily Digital Technology Use and Sleep.

PURPOSE: Although studies have found associations between greater digital technology use and poorer sleep health among adolescents, these studies typically rely on self-reported sleep and cross-sectional designs. This study applied an ecological momentary assessment design to examine how adolescents' daily digital technology use relates to self-reported sleep and wearable-recorded sleep duration. METHODS: A socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 388 adolescents completed daily surveys of their digital technology use (i.e., messages sent, time for academics, time for leisure) and sleep for 2 weeks. Sleep duration was recorded through wearable devices among a subsample of 254 adolescents for an average of 3.4 days. RESULTS: Adolescents who reported spending more time using digital technology for nonacademic purposes than their peers reported both shorter self-reported sleep duration and later bedtime (between-person associations). Adolescents who sent more messages than their peers also had shorter sleep duration as recorded by wearable devices. In contrast, few associations were observed when comparisons were made within-individuals with adolescents used as their own controls. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with prior research, adolescents who reported greater nonacademic daily digital technology use relative to their peers exhibited worse sleep outcomes as measured via self-reports and wearable devices. However, associations with sleep outcomes were weak and inconsistent when adolescents were used as their own controls. Future research should continue to explore between- and within-person associations between digital technology use and sleep to understand potential key differences.

Importance of Digital Communication in Adolescents' Development: Theoretical and Empirical Advancements in the Last Decade.

The past decade saw a sharp increase in the use of smartphones and digital communication platforms. This manuscript reviews advancements in the study of digital communication and adolescent development over the last decade. We highlight theoretical models that seek to explain the power of digital media in adolescents' lives. We then examine research conducted over the last decade on five aspects of digital media: (1) potential to contribute to adolescent development, (2) associations with mental health, (3) differential impact of active versus passive social media use, (4) cyberbullying, and (5) sexting. We conclude with a discussion of potential opportunities and challenges for studying the role of digital communication in adolescents' development during the coming decade.

Associations between Self-Reports and Device-Reports of Social Networking Site Use: An Application of the Truth and Bias Model.

People are generally poor reporters of time spent using digital technology. Advancing smartphone features, such as the iOS Screen Time application, allow researchers to obtain more objective measurements of digital technology use. Truth and Bias models were used to test how self-reported social networking site use aligns with device-reported use as recorded by the iOS Screen Time app (N=1585). This study explored use across four major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat) and examined how individual differences moderate biases in reports. Participants overestimated their use for all platforms at comparable levels. Moderation by individual differences was not consistent. These findings add to the growing call from researchers to utilize assessments other than self-reports in measuring digital technology use.

Are Exclusive e-Cigarette Users Unique? Comparing Predictors of Exclusive e-Cigarette Use with Traditional Tobacco Use and Dual Use among U.S. Adolescents.

Background: As e-cigarette use rises among U.S. adolescents, the need to understand its risk factors becomes increasingly urgent. If the risk profile of adolescents who exclusively use e-cigarettes differs from those who use traditional tobacco products and dual users, prevention and intervention efforts would need to target such differences. Methods: In a sample of 708 adolescents, this study compared individual, peer, and family risk factors that are classically associated with greater substance use between exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco product users. Results: Exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco product users share many risk factors when compared to non-users. Additional analyses compared exclusive e-cigarette users to exclusive traditional tobacco users and dual users, with some differences emerging. Lower friend (OR = 0.28, 99% CI [0.12, 0.67]) and peer e-cigarette use (OR = 0.26, 99% CI [0.13, 0.52]), and greater friend cigarette smoking (OR = 2.17, 99% CI [1.23, 3.83]) predicted higher odds of being an exclusive traditional tobacco user compared to an exclusive e-cigarette user. Lower SES (OR = 0.67, 99% CI [0.51, 0.90]), and greater friend (OR = 2.68, 99% CI [1.56, 4.59]) and peer cigarette smoking (OR = 1.91, 99% CI [1.17, 3.13]) predicted greater odds of being a dual user compared to an exclusive e-cigarette user. Conclusion: Although some differences exist between exclusive e-cigarette users and traditional tobacco users, their risk profiles are generally the same. Prevention and intervention efforts that target traditional tobacco product could guide efforts to target e-cigarette use and dual use. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2021.1899236.

"Ur a freakin goddess!": Examining Appearance Commentary on Instagram.

Frequent use of highly visual online platforms such as Instagram may be linked to greater body image concerns. One prominent feature of Instagram is the ability to receive feedback in the form of likes and comments. The goal of this cross-sectional study (conducted in laboratory and online) was to examine college students' receipt of appearance commentary on their most recent Instagram posts, and how this relates to their self-reported body image concerns. The Instagram commentary that 337 students (M age=20.39) received on their posts was observationally coded for positivity and negativity. Receiving positive appearance commentary was common and linked to greater appearance-related social media consciousness, and, weakly, to body surveillance. There were no associations with self-objectification, appearance-contingent self-worth, facial satisfaction, and body dissatisfaction. Negative appearance commentary was not associated with body image concerns. Photos depicting only the self were especially likely to elicit positive appearance commentary. Females received more positive appearance commentary compared to males, whereas males received more negative appearance commentary. Future research should examine long-term effects of receiving appearance comments via Instagram.

Frequency of Text Messaging and Adolescents' Mental Health Symptoms Across 4 Years of High School.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to examine the concurrent and longitudinal associations between adolescents' text messaging frequency and mental health symptoms across 4 years of high school. METHODS: A total of 203 adolescents (aged 14-18 years) consented and were provided smartphones across 4 years of high school. Using billing records, daily frequencies of text messaging were created for each year. Adolescents reported on their mental health symptoms (internalizing, externalizing, social problems, and inattention) each summer. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses tested the between- and within-person associations between texting and mental health symptoms. Between-person analyses revealed an association only between externalizing symptoms and texting. Girls who texted more (vs. less) frequently reported more externalizing and inattention symptoms, whereas there were no significant associations for boys. There were no significant within-person concurrent associations between texting and symptoms. Autoregressive latent cross-lagged model with structured residuals testing the longitudinal, bidirectional associations also did not find significant relations across 4 years of adolescence. CONCLUSIONS: Across analyses, few robust associations emerged. Adolescent girls who text messaged more frequently reported greater externalizing and inattention symptoms. Contrasting the popular narrative that smartphones cause depression, this study did not find any consistent within-person or longitudinal associations between texting and mental health symptoms across adolescence. Research on the content, rather than quantity, of texts and device use is necessary to understand the potential effects on development.

Self-Absorbed and Socially (Network) Engaged: Narcissistic Traits and Social Networking Site Use.

Across two studies, the current research investigated how different dimensions of narcissism (grandiosity/agentic extraversion, entitlement/self-centered antagonism, vulnerability/narcissistic neuroticism) relate to social networking site (SNS) use and behaviors. Study 1 employed a community sample of young adults, whereas Study 2 examined college students. Participants completed assessments of narcissism and SNS use through an online survey. Grandiosity/agentic extraversion was generally associated with greater levels of downward social comparison relative to the other two dimensions. Entitlement/self-centered antagonism generally showed weak correlations with SNS outcomes. Vulnerability/narcissistic neuroticism was generally associated with greater upward social comparison and perceived social exclusion relative to the other two dimensions. Results suggest that SNS experiences may vary depending on the dimensions of narcissism.

Exploring text messaging as a platform for peer socialization of social aggression.

This study examined whether adolescents' social aggression is socialized through exposure to peers' socially aggressive text messaging. Using data on the socially aggressive content of text messages that 221 participants (Mage = 15.02 years; 46.7% female) sent to and received from peers, and teacher ratings of participants' in-person social aggression, this study found that exposure to peers' socially aggressive texting about out-dyad peers predicted positive changes in adolescents' text-based and in-person social aggression. Gender differences were examined, and results were mixed. In ninth grade, girls sent more socially aggressive text messages than boys; however, by 10th grade, these differences disappeared. Gender differences in adolescents' in-person social aggression and their exposure to peers' socially aggressive texting were nonsignificant at both time points. There was no evidence of gender differences in the links between exposure to peers' socially aggressive texting and adolescents' socially aggressive texting. However, marginal differences were found in the associations between exposure to peers' socially aggressive texting and adolescents' in-person social aggression. Results suggest that texting provides an additional platform for peer socialization of adolescents' social aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).