Associations of Social Media Use With Physical Activity and Sleep Adequacy Among Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Survey

Abstract

Background Adolescents’ use of social media, which has increased considerably in the past decade, has both positive and negative influences on adolescents’ health and health behaviors. As social media is the most prominent communication tool of choice for adolescents, it is important to understand the relationship between the frequency of social media use and health behaviors among this population. Objective The objective of our study was to examine the associations between the frequency of social media use and physical activity and sleep adequacy among middle and high school students. Methods We used data from the Monitoring the Future survey (2014 and 2015), a nationally representative, annual, cross-sectional survey of American 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students (N=43,994). Health behaviors examined were frequency of vigorous physical activity and frequency of getting 7 hours of sleep (never/seldom, sometimes, and every day/nearly every day). We measured frequency of social media use using a Likert-like scale (never, a few times a year, 1-2 times a month, once a week, or every day). Multivariable generalized ordered logistic regressions examined the association of social media use with different levels of physical activity and sleep. We estimated marginal effects (MEs) for the main independent variable (social media use frequency) by holding all other variables at their observed values. Results The study population comprised 51.13% (21,276/42,067) female students, 37.48% (17,160/43,994) from the South, and 80.07% (34,953/43,994) from a metropolitan area, with 76.90% (33,831/43,994) reporting using social media every day. Among physically active students, frequent social media use was associated with a higher likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 50.1%, 95% CI 49.2%-51.0%). Among sedentary students, frequent social media use was associated with a lower likelihood of vigorous daily exercise (ME 15.8%, 95% CI 15.1%-16.4%). Moderately active students who used social media once or twice a month had the highest likelihood of reporting vigorous daily exercise (ME 42.0%, 95% CI 37.6%-46.3%). Among those who normally got adequate sleep, daily social media users were least likely to report adequate sleep (ME 41.3%, 95% CI 40.4%-42.1%). Among those who were usually sleep deprived, daily social media users were more likely to report adequate sleep (ME 18.3%, 95% CI 17.6%-19.0%). Conclusions Regular social media use every day was associated with a reinforcement of health behaviors at both extremes of health behaviors, whereas a medium intensity of social media use was associated with the highest levels of physical activity and lowest sleep adequacy among those with moderate health behaviors. Hence, finding an optimal level of social media use that is beneficial to a variety of health behaviors would be most beneficial to adolescents who are in the middle of the health behavior spectrum....

Associations of Objectively-Assessed Smartphone Use with Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Mood, and Sleep Quality in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…We provide further support to this relationship by demonstrating that those reporting poor quality of sleep (PSQI index >5) were more likely to use the smartphone. As opposed to this evidence, the results of previous studies comparing the associations between screen time and sleep habits are not consistent [43], probably due to the use of subjective (i.e., daily diaries) measures. Despite this, the time spent on screen devices seems to be correlated with difficulty falling asleep and shorter sleep duration [59] which reinforces the idea of a positive association between screen time and disturbed sleep patterns; however, again, we cannot separate the smartphone usage time from the overall screen time (e.g., TV viewing or computer screen time).…”

“…One of the most interesting findings in the current study suggests that those participants with low levels of physical activity are almost three times more likely to increase the use of smartphones. Previous studies in young adults conducted in the United States have reported that screen time was associated with low levels of subjectively measured physical activity [43]. Specifically, related to the present investigation, research that has tested the relationship of smartphone use and physical activity in college-aged individuals have reported no relationship [29].…”

Examining the Relationship between Cellphone Use Behavior, Perceived Exercise Benefit and Physical Exercise Level among University Students in Taiwan

“…Nevertheless, cellphones do have their benefits. When used appropriately, sports applications on smartphones can be used to support and promote physical activity [ 47 , 48 ], but this requires knowledge of what cellphone use is appropriate and an awareness of the benefits of sports to health.…”

Millennials and their parents: How to find a common digital language?

“…Prema dosadašnjim istraživanjima, preko 90% mladih uzrasta od 13 do 17 godina ima bar jedan profil na bar jednoj društvenoj mreži, dok veliki procenat provodi više od dva sata dnevno na istim [3]. Istraživanje sprovedeno od strane Pju istraživačkog centra (eng.…”