College Students Social Media Use, Time Spent Alone, and Depression/Anxiety Symptoms
Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Advisor
Jazmin Reyes-Portillo
Access Type
Event
Start Date
26-4-2024 9:45 AM
End Date
26-4-2024 10:44 AM
Description
Social media (SM) has become ubiquitous in our lives. Increased time spent on SM has been linked to poor mental health outcomes among young adults, though the reason behind this is unclear. It is possible that time spent on SM is replacing real life social interactions and activities, leading to isolation, a well-documented risk factor for increased depression/anxiety. Thus, this study aims to explore whether time spent alone versus in the company of others mediates the relationship between social media use and depression/anxiety symptoms. Methods: 96 college students (80.2% female; mean age = 19.84) completed daily mobile surveys assessing depression/anxiety symptoms, hours spent on SM, and time spent alone versus with others for 21 days. 43% identified as non-Latinx White, 38.5% as Latinx, 16.7% as non-Latinx Black, 3.1% as non-Latinx Asian, 7.2% as Mixed, 25% as Other and 4.2% preferred not to disclose. Results: Participants reported spending 2.94 (SD=2.47) hours on SM on average. Multilevel modeling indicated that increased hours on SM and time spent alone were associated with increased depression/anxiety symptoms. Time spent alone mediated the relationship between time spent on SM and depression/anxiety symptoms. Discussion: Time spent alone partially accounted for the association between time spent on social media and depression/anxiety symptoms. Clinicians working with depressed/anxious youth should assess social media use and provide clients with psychoeducation about the importance of in-person activities and offline human interactions to promote better mental wellbeing.
College Students Social Media Use, Time Spent Alone, and Depression/Anxiety Symptoms
Social media (SM) has become ubiquitous in our lives. Increased time spent on SM has been linked to poor mental health outcomes among young adults, though the reason behind this is unclear. It is possible that time spent on SM is replacing real life social interactions and activities, leading to isolation, a well-documented risk factor for increased depression/anxiety. Thus, this study aims to explore whether time spent alone versus in the company of others mediates the relationship between social media use and depression/anxiety symptoms. Methods: 96 college students (80.2% female; mean age = 19.84) completed daily mobile surveys assessing depression/anxiety symptoms, hours spent on SM, and time spent alone versus with others for 21 days. 43% identified as non-Latinx White, 38.5% as Latinx, 16.7% as non-Latinx Black, 3.1% as non-Latinx Asian, 7.2% as Mixed, 25% as Other and 4.2% preferred not to disclose. Results: Participants reported spending 2.94 (SD=2.47) hours on SM on average. Multilevel modeling indicated that increased hours on SM and time spent alone were associated with increased depression/anxiety symptoms. Time spent alone mediated the relationship between time spent on SM and depression/anxiety symptoms. Discussion: Time spent alone partially accounted for the association between time spent on social media and depression/anxiety symptoms. Clinicians working with depressed/anxious youth should assess social media use and provide clients with psychoeducation about the importance of in-person activities and offline human interactions to promote better mental wellbeing.