Longitudinal Problematic Social Media Use in Students and Its Association with Negative Mental Health Outcomes

Holly Shannon; Katie Bush; Cecelia Shvetz; Vincent Paquin; Juliette Morency; Kim G C Hellemans; Synthia Guimond

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S450217

Longitudinal Problematic Social Media Use in Students and Its Association with Negative Mental Health Outcomes

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 Apr 8:17:1551-1560. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S450217. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Holly Shannon^{1

2}, Katie Bush^{2

3}, Cecelia Shvetz², Vincent Paquin^{4

5}, Juliette Morency^{2

6}, Kim G C Hellemans¹, Synthia Guimond^{1

2

3

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Neuroscience, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
² The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
³ Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁵ McGill Group for Suicide Studies, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
⁶ Département de Psychoéducation et Psychologie, Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, QC, Canada.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Purpose: Social media has become increasingly part of our everyday lives and is influential in shaping the habits, sociability, and mental health of individuals, particularly among students. This study aimed to examine the relationship between changes over time in problematic social media use and mental health outcomes in students. We also investigated whether resilience and loneliness moderated the relationship between social media use and mental health.

Patients and methods: A total of 103 participants completed a baseline virtual study visit, and 78 participants completed a follow-up visit, 4-weeks later. Participants completed a comprehensive set of questionnaires measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, and resilience.

Results: Our results showed that problematic social media use at baseline was significantly negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with all other mental health outcomes. Furthermore, increases in problematic social media use were significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms and loneliness between visits. Resilience significantly moderated the relationship between increased problematic social media use and heightened perceived stress. Poor mental health at baseline did not predict increased problematic social media use over time. Contrarily to problematic use, frequency of social media use was not significantly correlated with any mental health measures at baseline.

Conclusion: This study offers a longitudinal perspective, providing valuable insights into the potential protective role of resilience against the detrimental mental health effects seen with increases in problematic social media use.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; loneliness; resilience; social media; stress.