This study aims to provide a deeper understanding of the relationships between different types of Facebook use, perceived online social support, and boys’ and girls’ depressed mood. To address this aim, this study (N = 910) developed a comprehensive model that (1) differs between specific types of Facebook use, (2) examines the mediating role of perceived online social support, and (3) takes adolescent users’ gender into account. Structural equation modeling showed that the harmful impact of Facebook use exclusively occurs among girls who passively use Facebook and among boys who actively use Facebook in a public setting. Girls, however, who actively use Facebook, either in a public setting or in a private setting and subsequently perceive online social support, benefit from actively using Facebook, as perceived online social support negatively predicted girls’ depressed mood. The discussion focuses on the explanation and understanding of these findings, key limitations, and directions for future research.

a b s t r a c tThis survey study among adolescents (N ¼ 402) investigates an integrative model that examines (1) the mediating role of adolescents' fear of missing out (FoMO) in the relationships of adolescents' need to belong and need for popularity with adolescents' Facebook use and (2) the relationships of adolescents' FoMO with adolescents' perceived stress related to the use of Facebook. Structural equation modeling results indicated that an increased need to belong and an increased need for popularity were associated with an increased use of Facebook. These relationships were mediated by FoMO. Increased FoMO was associated with increased stress related to Facebook use. These results emphasize the important role that FoMO plays in adolescents' media use and well-being.

The relationship between exposure to sexually objectifying music television, primetime television programs, fashion magazines, and social networking sites and the internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance was examined among adolescent girls (N = 558). A structural equation model showed direct relationships between sexually objectifying media and the internalization of beauty ideals, and indirect relationships between sexually objectifying media and self-objectification, and body surveillance through the internalization of beauty ideals. The direct relationships between sexually objectifying media and the internalization of beauty ideals, self-objectification, and body surveillance differed across the types of sexually objectifying media. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings to explain self-objectification among girls.

Although a variety of studies have examined the predictors or outcomes of adolescents’ social networking site use, these studies did not incorporate (1) an integrated, longitudinal approach to examine these relationships longitudinally in a single comprehensive model or (2) a differential approach to distinguish between different types of social networking site use. Therefore, this two-wave panel study ( N = 1,612) developed an integrated and differential model to provide a deeper understanding of the relationships among loneliness, specific types of Facebook use, and adolescents’ depressed mood. Using structural equation modeling, the results point to the presence of a poor-get-richer effect regarding active public Facebook use but reveal a poor-get-poorer effect regarding passive Facebook use. The discussion focuses on the explanation and understanding of these findings.

This study examined relationships among daily stress (i.e., school-and family-related stress), social support seeking through Facebook, perceived social support through Facebook, and depressed mood among adolescents (N = 910). Structural equation modeling showed that daily stress positively predicted adolescents' seeking of social support through Facebook. In addition, when social support was sought on Facebook and subsequently perceived, social support seeking through Facebook decreased adolescents' depressed mood. However, when social support was sought on Facebook, but not perceived, social support seeking through Facebook increased adolescents' depressed mood. When comparing these relationships with similar relationships in a traditional social support context, results showed that the exacerbating impact of social support seeking on depressed mood exclusively transpires in a social networking site context. The discussion focuses on the understanding and explanation of these findings, and directions for future research.