Social media became the predominant medium for communicating, sharing updates, and monitoring other users. However, due to increasing use of social media, individuals might feel availability pressure ...to be online and production pressure to post content, which might result in negative consequences. The present study aims to disentangle the relationships between active social media use (private interactions), active public social media use (broadcasting), and passive social media use (monitoring) in relation to digital pressure and life satisfaction. The results of a two-wave panel survey with N = 415 late adolescents and young adults (Mage = 19.08, SD = 1.57, 58.31% female) reveal a longitudinal reciprocal relationship between active public use and production pressure. However, availability pressure positively predicts active social media use over time, suggesting increase in private interactions due to perceived peer’s expectations to be reachable over social media. In contrast, production pressure is related to lower active social media use, thus placing focus on active public broadcasting instead. Notwithstanding the reciprocal interplay between social media use and digital pressure, the present study does not demonstrate harmful consequences of digital pressure on life satisfaction.
Mobile social networking sites (SNS) are frequently theorized to lead to perceived information overload, which may affect the well-being of individuals in negative ways. However, the available body ...of research is mainly based on cross-sectional data. Based on the limited capacity model of motivated mediated message processing (Lang, 2002), we tested the over-time relationships between mobile SNS use, information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being in a two-wave panel study. Using a quota sample of adults (NT2 = 461), we found that YouTube use increased perceived information overload for all individuals. WhatsApp and Snapchat use did only lead to perceived information overload for older adults. Facebook as well as Instagram use were unrelated to perceived information overload. Furthermore, perceptions of information overload were a significant predictor of depressive symptoms, which in turn, negatively influenced individuals’ well-being over time. Implications of these findings are discussed.
•YouTube use increased perceived information overload over time.•WhatsApp and Snapchat use only increased information overload for older adults.•Facebook as well as Instagram use were unrelated to information overload.•Information overload was significantly related to depressive symptoms over time.•Depressive symptoms decreased overall well-being over time.
The present study investigates how excessive smartphone use predicts users' stress and loneliness while taking the moderating role of online self-disclosure into account. We conducted a two-wave ...panel survey with a quota sample of smartphone users (
= 461 at time 2 T2). We found no direct effects of excessive smartphone use on stress or loneliness. However, our results showed that online self-disclosure moderates the postulated relationships. That is, excessive smartphone use (time 1 T1) predicts increased stress (T2), for those smartphone users who do engage in little online self-disclosure. However, for those who communicate their feelings, anxieties, and problems online, excessive smartphone use (T1) can even reduce loneliness (T2) and relieve stress (T2).
Social media influencers promote not only products and brands but also their opinions on serious topics like party politics or climate change. These so-called digital opinion leaders may exert a ...powerful impact on their followers’ political attitudes. Accordingly, we explore new directions to explain how influencers’ communication is related to political outcomes by proposing the concept of perceived simplification of politics (PSP). We argue that PSP may fuel political cynicism but also stimulate youth's interest in politics. We also explore important boundary conditions of these associations. We use data from three studies, a two-wave panel survey of adolescents (NT2 = 294), a cross-sectional survey of young adults (N = 632), and a two-wave panel survey of young adults (NT2 = 496) in Germany between 2019 and 2020. Findings of all three studies show that the frequency of exposure to social media influencers’ content increases PSP. In Studies 1 and 2, PSP is related to higher political cynicism, while in Study 3, this relationship is restricted to influencers’ communication about environmental topics and gender equality. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 suggest that PSP also increases political interest—yet this association requires a certain level of parasocial interaction (PSI) with the influencer and is contingent on specific political topics.
Given that governmental prevention measures restricted most face-to-face communications, online self-disclosure via smartphones emerged as an alternative coping strategy that aimed at reducing the ...impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people's psychological health. Prepandemic research demonstrated that online self-disclosure benefits people's psychological health by establishing meaningful relationships, obtaining social support, and achieving self-acceptance, particularly in times of crisis. However, it is unclear whether these dynamics transition well to lockdown conditions where online self-disclosure must stand almost entirely on its own. Longitudinal investigations are needed to gain insights into the psychological functionalities of online self-disclosure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study aimed to determine the temporal associations between smartphone online self-disclosure (as a communicative behavior) and critical indicators of psychological health (including psychopathological, as well as hedonic and eudaimonic states) during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Austria.
We conducted a representative 2-wave panel survey between late March/April 2020 and May 2020. A total of 416 participants completed both waves (43.1% attrition rate, given n=731 participants who completed the first wave). A partially metric measurement invariant overtime structural equation model was used to determine the temporal associations among online self-disclosure, fear of COVID-19, happiness, and psychological well-being.
The analysis revealed that fear of COVID-19 significantly predicted online self-disclosure over time (b=0.24, P=.003) and happiness over time (b=-0.14, P=.04), but not psychological well-being (b=0.03, P=.48), that is, stronger COVID-19 fears at T1 prompted more online self-disclosure and less happiness at T2. Online self-disclosure, on the other hand, significantly predicted happiness (b=0.09, P=.02), but neither fear of COVID-19 (b=-0.01, P=.57) nor psychological well-being (b=-0.01, P=.57) over time. Participants who engaged more strongly in online self-disclosure at T1 felt happier at T2, but they did not differ from less-disclosing participants concerning COVID-19 fears and psychological well-being at T2. Importantly, happiness and psychological well-being were significantly related over time (happiness T1 → psychological well-being T2: b=0.11, P<.001; psychological well-being T1 → happiness T2: b=0.42, P<.001).
Our findings suggest that online self-disclosure might play a pivotal role in coping with pandemic stressors. With restrictions on their options, individuals increasingly turn to their smartphones and social media to disclose their feelings, problems, and concerns during lockdown. While online self-disclosure might not alleviate fears or improve psychological well-being, our results demonstrate that it made people experience more happiness during this crisis. This psychological resource may help them withstand the severe psychological consequences of the COVID-19 crisis over longer timeframes.
During early adolescence children are increasingly using their smartphones not only throughout the day, but also before or even during the nighttime. Prior research has revealed that children’s ...school performance might suffer because of late-night smartphone use. To gain a further understanding of the consequences of nighttime smartphone use on school performance, this study set out to examine whether children’s nighttime smartphone use is associated with children’s attentional problems over time and with their achieved and subjective school performance. We tested these associations using a two-wave panel study among children aged 10–14 years and one of their parents (parent-child pairs, N
Time2
= 384). The findings revealed that children’s nighttime smartphone use was positively related to parent-reported perceptions of children’s attentional problems over time which were negatively related to both subjective and achieved school performance. We discuss the implications of these results for the regulation of children’s smartphone use at night.
Constant reliance on smartphones has resulted in frequent interruptions of face-to-face interactions. In the present study, we focused on three instances of co-present smartphone use: phubbing, i.e., ...using smartphones during in person social interactions with friends; being phubbed, i.e., being ignored by conversation partners due to smartphone use; and co-use, i.e., sharing and using the smartphone together with friends. Taking into account the moderating role of direct and avoidant coping strategies, we tested associations between co-present smartphone use, friendship satisfaction, and social isolation. We conducted a survey among late adolescents and young adults who are active smartphone users (N = 840). Results revealed no association between phubbing and friendship satisfaction, however, both phubbing and being phubbed were positively associated with social isolation. An avoidant coping strategy further strengthened the association between being phubbed and social isolation. Being phubbed was inversely associated with friendship satisfaction, a relationship which was stronger only for those with lower levels of a direct coping strategy. As expected, co-use positively related to friendship satisfaction and negatively to social isolation. We discuss the findings in the context of negative consequences of phubbing and being phubbed, while emphasizing the importance of co-use in fostering friendship satisfaction and reducing social isolation. Furthermore, the role of coping strategies in moderating these associations underscores the need for targeted interventions to address the smartphone-related challenges in social settings.
•A survey among 840 active smartphone users aged 16 to 25•Being phubbed is negatively related to friendship satisfaction•Phubbing and being phubbed is positively related to social isolation•Coping strategies moderate these relationships•Co-use of smartphones is positively related to friendship satisfaction and negatively related to social isolation
Considering that insufficient sleep has long been regarded as a significant public health challenge, the COVID-19 pandemic and its co-evolving infodemic have further aggravated many people's sleep ...health. People's engagement with pandemic-related news, particularly given that many people are now permanently online via smartphones, has been identified as a critical factor for sleep health, such that public health authorities have recommended limited news exposure. This two-wave panel survey, conducted with a representative sample in Austria during its first COVID-19 lockdown, examines (a) how fear of missing out on pandemic-related news (i.e., COVID-19 information FOMO) is reciprocally related to smartphone-based bedtime news engagement, as well as (b) how both bedtime news engagement and COVID-19 information FOMO predict daytime tiredness. Partial metric measurement invariant structural equation modeling revealed that COVID-19 information FOMO and bedtime news engagement are reciprocally associated over time, indicating a potentially harmful reinforcing loop. However, results further suggested that COVID-19 information FOMO may be the primary driver of daytime tiredness, not smartphone-based bedtime news engagement. These findings suggest that a perceived loss of (informational) control over the pandemic outbreak more strongly than poor sleep habits accounts for depleted energy resources during lockdown. However, given the initial evidence for a reinforcing loop, this effect pattern may change in the long term.
•First longitudinal study to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 infodemic.•COVID-19 information FOMO and bedtime news engagement may form a reinforcing loop.•Bedtime news engagement via smartphone did not predict daytime tiredness over time.•Perceived loss of informational control may be the key driver of daytime tiredness.
Prisutnost ženskih lica, glasova i karaktera u medijima, osobito audio-vizualnim, ima značajan utjecaj na perpetuiranje i/ili kreiranje vrijednosti, stavova i ponašanja publike (građana) koji se tiču ...roda te rodno stereotipnih obrazaca. U fokusu je ovog istraživanja rodna reprezentacija u središnjim informativnim emisijama HTV-a, Nove TV i RTL-a. Cilj je bio utvrditi postoji li međusobna korelacija između autorstva i zastupljenosti žena i muškaraca u vijestima – tko i o kome izvještava, koga se (re)prezentira, čiji se glasovi čuju? Autorice su istražujući rodnu reprezentaciju nastojale utvrditi je li i u kojoj mjeri spomenuta televizijski posredovana slika svijeta rodno označena. Kvantitativna analiza sadržaja provedena je na uzorku od 3 148 vijesti iz 180 središnjih informativnih televizijskih emisija emitiranih u razdoblju od pet godina (2009. – 2013.). Istra- živanje pokazuje kako su žene u središnjim informativnim emisijama zauzele vodeće pozicije: autorice su 42,6 % analiziranih vijesti, dok su muškarci njih 23, 9 %; uredničke pozicije ostvaruju u gotovo jednakome omjeru (38,33 % žene i 39,44 % muškarci). Međutim, muškarci su vidljiviji kao autori vijesti – ispred kamera pojavljuju se u autorskoj ulozi u četvrtini analiziranih vijesti, dok su žene vidljive tek u jednoj petini. Muškarci se kao voditelji pojavljuju u 60 % analiziranih informativnih emisija. Žene su izrazito podzastupljene kao nositeljice sadržaja vijesti – u toj se ulozi pojavljuju u tek 8,3 % slučajeva, a muškarci u četiri puta više – 33,4 %. Izjave muškaraca triput su češće u dnevnicima, dok ženskih glasova uopće nema u 40 % priloga koje potpisuju novinarke te u više od polovine priloga koje potpisuju muškarci.
•First study to explore longitudinal effects of mobile SNS use on adults’ well-being.•Facebook use significantly predicts upward social comparison across all age groups.•Upward social comparison ...harms individuals’ self-esteem and well-being over time.•Instagram use has a direct negative influence on well-being over time.
Exposure to carefully selected information on social networking sites (SNSs) showing a flawless self and an ideal life has been found to harm young individuals’ self-esteem and well-being. However, SNS use is no longer limited to young people. Fueled by the sharp increase of smartphone ownerships, which allow users to access information about others anytime and anywhere, nowadays, a wide range of age groups uses SNSs. Accordingly, this study investigated the relationships between mobile SNS use, upward social comparison, self-esteem, and well-being for the first time. We employed a two-wave panel survey (NT2 = 461) using a quota sample of adults. Results revealed that Facebook use predicted upward social comparison, which harmed individuals’ self-esteem and well-being over time, while Instagram use directly influenced well-being negatively over time. Additionally, we found support for reciprocal relationships between upward social comparison on SNSs and self-esteem as well as well-being in a longitudinal context. The potential negative implications of SNS use on well-being are discussed.
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