Frequency and quality of social networking among young adults: Associations with depressive symptoms, rumination, and corumination.

Abstract

Two studies examined associations between social networking and depressive symptoms among youth. In Study 1, 384 participants (68% female; mean age = 20.22 years, SD = 2.90) were surveyed. In Study 2, 334 participants (62% female; M age = 19.44 years, SD = 2.05) were surveyed initially and 3 weeks later. Results indicated that depressive symptoms were associated with quality of social networking interactions, not quantity. There was some evidence that depressive rumination moderated associations, and both depressive rumination and corumination were associated with aspects of social networking usage and quality. Implications for understanding circumstances that increase social networking, as well as resulting negative interactions and negative affect are discussed.

Social networking’s peril: Cognitive absorption, social networking usage, and depression

“…Consistent with the associated decrease in happiness, increases in depression associated with SNS usage have been found for both compulsive/dysfunctional users (Tsitsika et al, 2014;Young & Rogers, 1998) and general users (e.g. Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2008;Davila et al, 2012). Even the amount of time spent with these technologies is associated with increased depression (Rosen et al, 2013).…”

“…In line with a number of practitioner outlets and academic research (e.g. Ceyhan & Ceyhan, 2008;Davila et al, 2012;Young & Rogers, 1998), greater SNS usage is associated with higher levels of depression.…”

“…In the years since this research, SNS usage has become the most popular activity on the Web (Qualman, 2012); this change in usage prompts taking another look at this relationship. Research into this relationship between social networking usage, a subset of Internet usage, and depression, has shown researchers that they share a significant relationship: increased usage is related to increases in depression (Chou & Edge, 2012;Davila et al, 2012). As stated previously, SNS has become a ubiquitous technology with a massive number of people involved on a daily basis.…”

“…Further, prior research has shown that hedonic technologies like social networking tend to promote prolonged engagement due to the pleasure that one receives through participation (van der Heijden, 2004). This increased engagement may coincide with a decrease in an individual's overall well-being by increasing negative life outcomes such as depression (Chou & Edge, 2012;Davila et al, 2012).…”

The Virtual Blues: Facebook and Depression in Young Adults

“…Davila et al (13) suggested that the nature of the social networking site activities mattered more than the frequency of usage. The negative quality of the Facebook activities (e.g., experiences of rejection, conflict, or exclusion) was associated with depressive symptoms over time; however, the act of using Facebook by itself was not correlated with depressive symptoms, as measured by BDI.…”