Facebook use and depressive symptomatology: Investigating the role of neuroticism and extraversion in youth

Abstract

The popularity of social networking sites, such as Facebook, has increased rapidly over the past decade, especially among youth. Consequently, the impact of Facebook use on mental health problems (e.g., depressive symptomatology) has become a recent area of concern. Yet, evidence for such a link has been mixed and factors that contribute to heterogeneity of findings have not been identified. In this study, we examined whether the association between Facebook use and depressive symptoms is moderated by individual factors (i.e., personality and sex). To this end, we measured Facebook use, depressive symptoms, and personality domains (i.e., extroversion and neuroticism) among 237 young adults. No direct association was found between Facebook use and depressive symptoms. However, for females with high neuroticism, more frequent Facebook use was associated with lower depressive symptoms. Our findings suggest a complex relationship between Facebook use and depressive symptomatology that appears to vary by sex and personality. Facebook use may be protective against depressive symptoms for female users with high levels of neuroticism, while Facebook use may be unrelated to depressive symptoms among males.

The Relationship Between Online Social Networking and Depression: A Systematic Review of Quantitative Studies

“…Gender and personality were also found to influence the relationship between online social networking and depression, 27,34,35,45,47 highlighting the role of individual differences alongside usage variables cited above. For example, Giota & Kleftaras 27 found that participants higher in neuroticism had significantly higher levels of problematic SNS use and exhibited more depressive symptoms than those who scored lower on measures of neuroticism.…”

“…50 Simoncic et al 35 suggest that the regulated social environment offered by Facebook, which allows users to carefully craft messages, may facilitate some to maintain relationships and promote their positive qualities in an adaptive way. Elsewhere, Facebook use has been found to help students form and maintain social capital 51 and this is a factor previously found to reduce the risks of developing depression.…”

Increasing Interest of Mass Communication Media and the General Public in the Distribution of Tweets About Mental Disorders: Observational Study (Preprint)

“…The reported use of Twitter by transgender individuals and allies to discuss health and social needs supports this statement [43]. Second, Twitter is becoming more popular in our society, and the average user profile is spread out among different age groups.…”

For Better or for Worse? A Systematic Review of the Evidence on Social Media Use and Depression Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Minorities (Preprint)

“…Although no clear consensus exists regarding which specific measures should be counted as SMU, common ones include time (time elapsed while using SM over 24 hours), frequency (number of times people check their SM per day) [11], number of platforms (sites or apps) used [12], closeness to online friends, and activities performed (e.g., posting updates, sharing pictures, etc.) [13], as well as other SMU patterns (e.g., active vs passive use, negative experiences such as experiencing cyberbullying, problematic SMU, motivation to use SM) [14][15][16][17][18][19].…”