Association of Social Media Use and High-Risk Behaviors in Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background Previous studies have demonstrated the prevalence of social media use and identified the presence of high-risk behaviors among adolescents, including self-harm and sharing of sexually explicit messages. Objective This study aimed to identify patterns in the amount of time spent on social media by adolescents who engage in high-risk behavior and the extent to which they use social media as a platform for sharing such behaviors. Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 179 adolescents seen in a pediatric clinic at an urban medical center. We used an anonymous self-report survey to obtain demographic characteristics, rates of self-harm thoughts and behaviors, sharing of sexually explicit messages, and social media use as determined by total hours spent on social media per day and the number of applications used. Results Most adolescents reported spending 3 to 5 hours on social media each day and using 3 or more social media applications. Almost 1 in 8 (22/179, 12.3%) adolescents self-reported having ever engaged in self-injury with a mean age of onset of 11.8 years. Over a quarter (49/179, 27.4%) of adolescents reported sharing sexually explicit messages. Relative risk of engaging in self-injury and or sharing sexually explicit messages increased with the use of 4 or more social media applications (1.66; CI 1.11-2.48). Conclusions Results show a relationship between the number of social media applications used and increased rates of high-risk behaviors. We identified relevant risk factors that clinicians can use to screen for high-risk behavior and parents can monitor to encourage education about healthy online practices.

Assessing the impact of Instagram use and deliberate self‐harm in adolescents: A scoping review

“…Vente et al . (2020) reiterated these findings in their study, reporting increased levels of nonsuicidal self‐injury in adolescents who had excessive use of multiple social media platforms, including Instagram. This conflicting evidence, with some suggesting that Instagram is the most influential platform in regard to DSH, and others suggesting it is multiple platforms was an important finding from the literature and highlights the need for further research into these claims.…”

“…Vente et al . (2020) reiterated this, finding that for the participants in their study, many used Instagram as a tool to self‐report and communicate with others regarding their DSH. However, concerns were raised by Nesi et al .…”

“…2020; Vente et al . 2020). It has been reported that adolescents who engage in DSH felt unable to speak to family members or friends due to stigmatization; fear to do so or previous lack of understanding.…”

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“…Other studies identified that social media use can also have harmful effects on adolescents such as cyberbullying, sexting, sending embarrassing photos, publicly sharing location, and the sharing of dangerous pranks and games [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. In a recent study, social media revealed to be a means by which adolescents self-reported sharing thoughts and actions of self-harm with others [ 26 ]. Therefore, several social media platforms have started to limit the sharing of explicit pictures or messages of self-harm.…”

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