Family Matters More Than Friends on Problematic Social Media Use Among Adolescents: Mediating Roles of Resilience and Loneliness

Abstract

Problematic social media use (PSMU) among adolescents has raised global concern in the current digital age. Despite the important role of perceived social support in adolescents' PSMU has been examined, possible different influences between perceived support from family and friends are still unknown. To address the gap, the present study aimed to examine how perceived support from family and friends is associated differently with PSMU and the mediating roles of resilience and loneliness therein. A sample of 1056 adolescents was recruited to complete standard questionnaires. Mediation analysis showed that resilience and loneliness mediated this association partially between perceived support from family and PSMU but totally between perceived support from friends and PSMU. Further, ANOVA-based analysis showed that influences of perceived support from family and friends on PSMU were mutually independent, and there was no interaction between them. Our results not only highlight different and independent impacts of perceived support from family and friends on PSMU, but also clarify the mediating mechanisms linking perceived social support to adolescent PSMU.

Social Support and Daytime Sleepiness Among Chinese Medical Students: Mediating Roles of Loneliness and Problematic Smartphone Use

“… 51 Recent research on adolescents also revealed that loneliness mediates the association between perceived social support from family and friends and problematic smartphone use. 46 These findings might provide support for the hypothesis that loneliness and problematic smartphone use might sequentially mediate the association between social support and daytime sleepiness. Therefore, further research is needed to determine the causal relationships between these variables with the aim of exploring the pathways in which social relationships affect sleep health.…”

“…These findings are consistent with a previous study conducted among 1056 Chinese adolescents, which reported that loneliness mediated the relationship between social support and problematic smartphone use. 46 Also, the results of a study conducted among Turkish university students found that loneliness predicted problematic smartphone use. 69 In the present study, social support had significant indirect effects on problematic smartphone use through loneliness.…”

“…Social support has been found to be a protective factor for individual development and health. 46 Among the consequences of problematic smartphone use, most research has focused on sleep disorders. 45 Previous findings suggest that adolescents with lower perceived social support have problematic smartphone use behaviors and significantly higher severity of depressive symptoms and daytime sleepiness.…”

Longitudinal Problematic Social Media Use in Students and Its Association with Negative Mental Health Outcomes

“…32,33 Individuals with more social support may be less likely to engage in problematic social media use. 34 Resilience has been proposed as a possible factor influencing the relationship between social support and problematic social media use. 34,35 More specifically, resilience could protect against negative coping styles, such as problematic social media use.…”

“…34 Resilience has been proposed as a possible factor influencing the relationship between social support and problematic social media use. 34,35 More specifically, resilience could protect against negative coping styles, such as problematic social media use. 34 Individuals who are more resilient may be less likely to experience problematic social media use.…”