Investigating the Impact of Social Media Use on Symptoms of Depression among Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Multi-Method Approach
Research Project | 1 Project Members
The pervasive influence of social media content on platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok, on the psychological and social development of adolescents and emerging adults has raised concerns regarding its contribution to the prevalence of mental disorders, including depression. While social media offers social connectivity, it also carries potential risks, such as reduced mental well-being and symptoms of depression and anxiety, addiction-like behaviors, low self-esteem, body dissatisfaction, and other mental health problems. However, we do not yet understand the mechanisms underlying the vulnerability to problematic consumption
of social-media content, its effect on mental wellbeing and depression, or whether it is related to different characteristics of adolescents and emerging adults. The proposed project aims to examine potential mechanisms in the association of social media use with symptoms of depression (primary outcome) and emotion regulation, self-esteem, and mood (secondary outcomes) among adolescents and emerging adults, considering several psychosocial and psychophysiological mechanisms.
The study design entails three subprojects, comprising cross-sectional and longitudinal online surveys, as well as a laboratory study involving adolescents and emerging adults. Subproject 1 will investigate the association between social media use (duration, content, context) and symptoms of depression, featuring an online survey. In subproject 2, we will examine longitudinal associations between social media use and symptoms of depression in the same target population using a repeated measures design. Subproject 3 will be conducted in the laboratory and aims to assess psychophysiological changes, including facial emotion expressions, heart rate, and heart rate variability, in response to different social media content.
