Associations between problematic social media use, sleep, and mental health

Abstract

Over the last two decades, social media has become an important part of our daily lives. With increasing social media use (SMU), there is also growing concerns among scientists, parents, users, and policy makers about the maladaptive pattern of SMU, often referred as Problematic social media use (PSMU). Although concern focus on the negative impacts of PSMU on wellbeing and daily functioning, the causal relationships with sleep and mental health remain unclear. Therefore, this thesis aimed to investigate the associations between PSMU, sleep, and mental health using a longitudinal design. Additionally, it also aimed to identify vulnerable social media users based on PSMU symptom patterns over time and their associations with subsequent poor sleep and mental health. Five studies were conducted to address the objectives of this thesis. The first study involved a systematic review with meta-analysis to synthesise existing evidence on the associations between SMU, sleep, and mental health. This review revealed that PSMU is more strongly associated with poor sleep and mental health than SMU. However, inconsistent and often contradictory findings about some of the associations across the studies and insufficient empirical evidence highlighted the need for robust longitudinal research to explore these relationships in detail. Building upon the findings of the first study, the second study examined the relationships between poor sleep and subsequent PSMU, and whether these associations were mediated by motivation for SMU. Using the four waves of data from the e-Mediate study, results indicated that both insomnia symptoms and poor sleep quality were associated with subsequent increase in PSMU. These associations were mediated by motivations for SMU, including using social media to cope with stressful situations and to avoid real life problems. The third study examined the relationships between mental health and subsequent PSMU, and also whether these associations were mediated by motivations for SMU. Results demonstrated that symptoms of depression and anxiety, and even high wellbeing were longitudinally associated with increased PSMU. These relationships were also mediated by SMU motives, including the use of social media to avoid real-life problems, and/ or to be entertained to boost positive emotions. Together, these studies highlight key psychological mechanisms through which functional SMU may evolve into problematic patterns. In Study 4, the direction of analysis was reversed to examine the relationships between PSMU and subsequent poor sleep and mental health. It demonstrated that PSMU was significantly associated with subsequent increase in symptoms of depression and anxiety. These associations were mediated by insomnia symptoms and poor sleep quality. Furthermore, PSMU was indirectly associated with decreased wellbeing through insomnia symptoms and poor sleep quality. Collectively, studies 2 - 4 reveal a reciprocal relationship between PSMU, poor sleep, and mental health. Finally, the fifth study identified three distinct latent groups with different vulnerability profiles based on PSMU symptoms over a six-month period, including no-risk, at-risk, and high-risk groups. One-third of the sample fell into the high-risk group characterised by elevated tolerance, mood modification, and withdrawal symptoms. This group also stronger associations with subsequent increases in these variables, suggesting the most vulnerable subgroup of social media users. In conclusion, this thesis provides a comprehensive account of how PSMU, sleep, and mental health interact and evolve over time. These findings have important implications for prevention, intervention, and policy. Mental health practitioners may use the present findings to inform the development of intervention programmes and control strategies for high-risk users to reduce social media dependency and mitigate its negative impacts on sleep and mental health. Show more