The association between sharing something difficult on social media and mental well-being among adolescents. Results from the "LifeOnSoMe"-study

Bjarte Kysnes; Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland; Ellen Haug; Ingrid Holsen; Jens Christoffer Skogen

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1026973

The association between sharing something difficult on social media and mental well-being among adolescents. Results from the "LifeOnSoMe"-study

Front Psychol. 2022 Nov 23:13:1026973. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1026973. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Bjarte Kysnes¹, Gunnhild Johnsen Hjetland^{2

3}, Ellen Haug^{1

4}, Ingrid Holsen¹, Jens Christoffer Skogen^{2

3

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
² Department of Health Promotion, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Bergen, Norway.
³ Centre for Evaluation of Public Health Measures, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.
⁴ Department of Teacher Education, NLA University College, Bergen, Norway.
⁵ Alcohol and Drug Research Western Norway, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway.

Abstract

Introduction: Social media use is part of everyday life for adolescents. Over the last decade, concerns about the potential negative effects of social media use on mental health and well-being has been raised. Possible positive effects of social media use have to a lesser extent been explored. However, some studies have found associations between social support on social media and well-being. Self-disclosing thoughts and feelings on social media might provide social support and positively affect well-being. The current study aimed to explore adolescents' experiences with sharing something difficult on social media and the association with well-being.

Methods: The survey data in this cross-sectional study were collected from a sample of 2023 adolescents from senior high schools (mean age 17.4, 55.6% females). Mental well-being was measured using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (WEMWBS). Multiple linear regression adjusting for age, gender, social media frequency/duration of use, and the number of close friends was used to explore the association of sharing something difficult on social media and mental well-being.

Results: The findings indicated that sharing something difficult on social media, either with a few friends/family members or in a public post, was associated with lower well-being. Perceived social support (easier to talk about, received support, positive experience) after sharing something difficult was associated with higher well-being. Females reported sharing something difficult more than boys, but no interaction effect of gender was found in the associations between private or public sharing and well-being.

Discussion: The results indicate that social media can serve as a supportive environment for adolescents. Future research may want to explore additional aspects of adolescents' social media use, sharing, and well-being, such as differences in public and private sharing. Such contributions will increase the knowledge base of optimal ways to seek social support through social media.

Keywords: adolescence; self-disclosure; social media; social support; well-being.