International perspectives on social media use among adolescents: Implications for mental and social well-being and substance use

Meyran Boniel-Nissim; Regina J.J.M. van den Eijnden; Jana Furstova; Claudia Marino; Henri Lahti; Joanna Inchley; Kastytis Šmigelskas; Alessio Vieno; Petr Badura

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144

International perspectives on social media use among adolescents: Implications for mental and social well-being and substance use

Meyran Boniel-Nissim, Regina J.J.M. van den Eijnden, Jana Furstova, Claudia Marino, Henri Lahti, Joanna Inchley, Kastytis Šmigelskas, Alessio Vieno, Petr Badura^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

In the present study, we aimed to explore the relationship between intensity of social media use (SMU), problematic SMU and well-being outcomes. Four categories of SMU were developed taking into account both intensity of use and problematic SMU simultaneously: non-active; active; intense; and problematic use. Using these four categories, we assessed associations between SMU and mental and social well-being, and substance use. Data from 190,089 respondents aged 11, 13, and 15 years from 42 countries involved in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were analyzed. With a slight cross-national variance, 78% of adolescents in the sample were classified as active or intense users, and 7% showed signs of problematic SMU. The remaining 15% belonged to the non-active users. Three-level regression analyses revealed that the problematic users showed the least favorable mental and social well-being profile and the highest level of substance use. Compared with active users, non-active users reported lower mental and social well-being, but also the lowest substance use levels. Intense non-problematic users showed the highest levels of social well-being. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing both the intensity and problematic component of SMU to reliably assess associations with mental and social well-being and substance use.

Original language	English
Article number	107144
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Journal	Computers in Human Behavior
Volume	129
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144
Publication status	Published - Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The work was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic ( ÉTA TL03000291 ) and by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Inter-Excellence; LTT18020 ). Henri Lahti's contribution to the manuscript was further supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland. Joanna Inchley is supported by the UK Medical Research Council ( MC_UU_00022/1 ) and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office ( SPHSU16 ).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors

Funding

The work was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic ( ÉTA TL03000291 ) and by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Inter-Excellence; LTT18020 ). Henri Lahti's contribution to the manuscript was further supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland. Joanna Inchley is supported by the UK Medical Research Council ( MC_UU_00022/1 ) and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office ( SPHSU16 ).

Keywords

Adolescence
Cross-national research
HBSC
Social media use
Substance use
Well-being

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1-s2.0-S0747563221004672-mainFinal published version, 3.63 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Boniel-Nissim, M., van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., Furstova, J., Marino, C., Lahti, H., Inchley, J., Šmigelskas, K., Vieno, A., & Badura, P. (2022). International perspectives on social media use among adolescents: Implications for mental and social well-being and substance use. Computers in Human Behavior, 129, 1-11. Article 107144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144

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abstract = "In the present study, we aimed to explore the relationship between intensity of social media use (SMU), problematic SMU and well-being outcomes. Four categories of SMU were developed taking into account both intensity of use and problematic SMU simultaneously: non-active; active; intense; and problematic use. Using these four categories, we assessed associations between SMU and mental and social well-being, and substance use. Data from 190,089 respondents aged 11, 13, and 15 years from 42 countries involved in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were analyzed. With a slight cross-national variance, 78% of adolescents in the sample were classified as active or intense users, and 7% showed signs of problematic SMU. The remaining 15% belonged to the non-active users. Three-level regression analyses revealed that the problematic users showed the least favorable mental and social well-being profile and the highest level of substance use. Compared with active users, non-active users reported lower mental and social well-being, but also the lowest substance use levels. Intense non-problematic users showed the highest levels of social well-being. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing both the intensity and problematic component of SMU to reliably assess associations with mental and social well-being and substance use.",

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note = "Funding Information: The work was supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic ( {\'E}TA TL03000291 ) and by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (Inter-Excellence; LTT18020 ). Henri Lahti's contribution to the manuscript was further supported by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health of Finland. Joanna Inchley is supported by the UK Medical Research Council ( MC_UU_00022/1 ) and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office ( SPHSU16 ). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors",

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AU - Furstova, Jana

AU - Marino, Claudia

AU - Lahti, Henri

AU - Inchley, Joanna

AU - Šmigelskas, Kastytis

AU - Vieno, Alessio

AU - Badura, Petr

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PY - 2022/4

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N2 - In the present study, we aimed to explore the relationship between intensity of social media use (SMU), problematic SMU and well-being outcomes. Four categories of SMU were developed taking into account both intensity of use and problematic SMU simultaneously: non-active; active; intense; and problematic use. Using these four categories, we assessed associations between SMU and mental and social well-being, and substance use. Data from 190,089 respondents aged 11, 13, and 15 years from 42 countries involved in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were analyzed. With a slight cross-national variance, 78% of adolescents in the sample were classified as active or intense users, and 7% showed signs of problematic SMU. The remaining 15% belonged to the non-active users. Three-level regression analyses revealed that the problematic users showed the least favorable mental and social well-being profile and the highest level of substance use. Compared with active users, non-active users reported lower mental and social well-being, but also the lowest substance use levels. Intense non-problematic users showed the highest levels of social well-being. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing both the intensity and problematic component of SMU to reliably assess associations with mental and social well-being and substance use.

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International perspectives on social media use among adolescents: Implications for mental and social well-being and substance use

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

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