Social Media

Question 1

What is social media?

Answer 1

American academy of paediatrics 2011- Any website that allows social interaction

Kim et al 2010 - Websites which make it possible to form online communities and share user created content

Frith, 2017 - Forms of electronic communication, users create online communities to share information, ideas etc

Question 2

What are the statistics on social media use?

Answer 2

3-4-year olds: a lot of them accessing online content through tablets, tv, YouTube

5-7-year olds: using tablets, playing games, small proportion have SM accounts (3%)

8-11: 23% have a social media profile, 94% online for nearly 13 hours a week

12-15: 74% have a social media profile, 99% go online, for around 12 hours a week

Question 3

What did Frith find in his review in terms of 5 key issues?

Answer 3

Rapid rate of chance - way in which people connect with SM is changing rapidly due to technological innovation, such as live streaming

Becoming more private - use in bedrooms on smartphones increasing, conversations more private, move away from public discussions. VR further this

Earlier age of access - nearly 1/3 of children in UK 6 or younger when first used internet. 9/10 year olds on average used internet at age 6, whereas 15/16 it was 9

Excessive use - linked to MH issues, extreme users spend 6 plus hrs a day, more cyberbullying, lower wellbeing, lower life satisfaction etc. using 3 hours a day = high strength and difficulties questionnaire scores higher

Online / offline - issues in the two words closely related

Question 4

What has research into social media shown?

Answer 4

Social media revolution has prompted a large body of research literature

Boyd & Ellison (2007) co-edited the first academic collection of research focused on social networking sites

In 2012 Wilson, Gosling & Graham reviewed research into just one social networking site – Facebook – and found over 400 relevant articles

Researchers continue to examine other platforms as they emerge

Research influences policy: e.g. in 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics announced 2x2 rule

Question 5

What is the 2X2 rule?

Answer 5

Not for 2 year olds, if older than 2 limited for 2 hours a day

Question 6

What are the negatives of social media?

Answer 6

Excessive use / addiction including FOMO, impact on sleep, learning and work
Cyberbullying or online harassment
Privacy issues and oversharing / digital footprint
Influence of social media on body image
Sourcing of harmful content or advice, such as networks or websites promoting self-harm or suicide
Facebook depression
Influence of targeted advertisements
Association between use and poorer mental health and wellbeing

Question 7

What are the mixed findings found to do with SM and MH?

Answer 7

Many studies report significant associations between time spent on SNS and higher levels of depression and anxiety in adolescence
Other reviews and meta-analyses find mixed or tenuous associations

Question 8

Why are there mixed findings?

Answer 8

Mixed findings may be due to different measures; who reports (e.g. parents vs child/young person); cross-sectional vs longitudinal design; other variables that are looked at in the relationship (e.g. sleep, activity levels, cyberbullying / online harassment); age of children and adolescents etc

Question 9

What did Kelly et al look at?

Answer 9

Mediating mechanisms - sleep, online harassment, low self-esteem and body image
Study using millennium cohort study date set, 14 year olds
Assessed whether SM is associated with depressive symptoms
Explored different pathways between SM and depression

Question 10

What did Kelly et al find?

Answer 10

All 4 mediators associated with depression for boys and girls - stronger for girls
girls more likely to be involved in online harrasment
girls more hours of SM
girls have lower self-esteem, less sleep, body weight dissatisfaction

Strongest/most important pathway: poor sleep and online harrassment
high SM - poor sleep - depression
high SM - online harassment - poorer sleep - poorer self esteem - poorer body image - depressive

But cross sectional - only looks at snap shots of 14 year olds

Question 11

What is mediation vs moderation?

Answer 11

Mediation - A variable via which an IV can produce changes on a DV (how does X predict Y?)

Moderation - A variable that strengthens or weakens the relationship between the IV and DV (when does X predict Y?)

Question 12

What are the hypothesis to explain impacts of SM?

Answer 12

Displacement hypothesis
Goldilocks hypothesis
Users and gratification theory

Question 13

What is the user and gratification theory?

Answer 13

We use social media for different reasons - use media that satisfies our needs

Poor MH - predicts - higher time spent on SM to reduce problems

Question 14

What is the displacement hypothesis? Neuman

Answer 14

Time spent on SM - displaces - activities that might be protective for mental health

any moment we spend on SM could be the spent doing something better (socialising, reading, exercising)- harms of technology are proportionate to exposure

Question 15

What is the goldilocks hypothesis? Pryzbylki and Weinstein, 2017

Answer 15

Believes there is:
too much - overuse may support displacement hypothesis
too little - may deprive children and young people of important social information
just right - moderate levels of use are not harmful and might be to their advantage in a connected world

Question 16

Is there evidence to support the goldilocks hypothesis?

Answer 16

Pryzbylski and Weinstein - looked at WB as a function of daily digital screen time

rather than linear relationship, see a quadratic trend - relationship between screen time and WB varies with the level of screen time
relationship between digital screen engagement on smartphones for those who use falls above and below inflexion point for being to harmful
cut off point about 4 hours for weekend users - downward trends but not much impact on WB up to 4 hours, using it more = decrease

Question 17

What is the problem with the research which supports the goldilocks hypothesis?

Answer 17

Effect sizes are important - average effect size for engagement in excess of the inflection points = 0.18 - these negative slopes accounted for 1% or less than the variability in WB

this is less than 1/3rd of the positive association between WB and eating breakfast or getting regular sleep

Question 18

What are effect sizes?

Answer 18

The amount of variability accounted for in outcome by the predictors

Question 19

What is increased intensity of usage related too?

Answer 19

Risk of cyberbullying - but overall for adolescents there is little evidence of associations between time spent online and decreased wellbeing

Question 20

What is research moving more towards due too little evidence?

Answer 20

Moving away from variables relating to intensity of use and is shifting towards the impact of different and discrete online activiites

Question 21

What do people believe adolescents use SM for?

Answer 21

To support the critical developmental tasks of this stage of development

Question 22

What is identity development?

Answer 22

Erikson - stages of psychosocial development

stages are presented as crises that are gradually resolved before moving towards another stage
5 stage age 12-18 - identity vs confusion - young people searching for a sense of self, big role as changes in body image
there is a period of instability before secure identity and positive self-esteem are achieved
change might enhance vulnerability and SNS might have increased effects

Question 23

What is aspirational development?

Answer 23

Time where people explore roles they may occupy as an adult - develop sense of what one wants to do or be - experiment with different lifestyles

Question 24

What is peer engagement?

Answer 24

Creation and maintenance of friendship networks is crucial development process during adolescence - become more intimate
amount of time spent with peers increases - peer groups become the most important socialising influence on adolescent behaviour - intimacy increases - peers serve as a bridge to support the move away from parental support to adult independence and autonomy

Question 25

What are the psychological mechanisms associated with adolescents behaviour on social media?

Answer 25

Social comparison (e.g. Festinger): comparisons in an upward or downward direction with those who are seen as ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than oneself

Self-disclosure: sharing information about the self with others

Impression management: carefully curating information to emphasise positive aspects of the self and minimise aspects perceived as less attractive

All important when creating sense of self and identity

Question 26

What did Best, Manktelow and Taylor find in their review in terms of identity?

Answer 26

Online interaction can support identity exploration and experimentation in lonely adolescence - can increase feelings of belongingness, reduce social exclusion and increase integration
can be a source of bridging (putting u in touch with social groups wouldn’t usually see) and bonding social capital (deepening relationships)
can provide informal sources of support and information processing disclosure - but might not always be positive (self harm websites)
technology acts as a facilitator of human interaction and is value free - neither promoting good or bad

Question 27

What does the social displacement theory believe SM decreases?

Answer 27

Internet communication
Time spent with friends
Friendship quality
Well-being

Question 28

What does social stimulation theory believe SM increases?

Answer 28

Internet communication
Time spent with friends
Friendship quality
Well-being

Question 29

Is it social displacement or social stimulation? Valkenburg and Peter

Answer 29

Tested both models with large sample of dutch adolescence (10-17), looked at time spent with friends and quality of relationship as mediators

mediation analyses found support for stimulation hypothesis but not displacement hypothesis
but type of online communication matters!! (moderation)
instant messaging positively predicted well being via the mediators (time spent with friends and quality of friendship)
chat in public chatroom had no effect on adolescents wellbeing via the mediating variables
depends how you are using it and why

Question 30

What are the limitations of Valkenburg and Peter’s research?

Answer 30

Key issue with Valkenburg & Peters study: cross-sectional data

Direction of effects are only theory-driven

Could argue for effects running in the opposite direction

Longitudinal findings in the adult literature (e.g. Hall, Kearney & Xing, 2018) support the social stimulation hypothesis, but this need investigating further with younger children and adolescents

Question 31

Does how we use SMS site differ?

Answer 31

Active use: e.g. activities that facilitated direct exchanges with others like messaging, status updates, sharing links, tweeting associated with better SWB - creates social capital and feelings of connectedness, better subjective well being

Passive use: e.g. scrolling through feeds, profiles, pictures and status updates associated with poorer SWB - provokes social comparisons and envy

Question 32

Does the type of use matter?

Answer 32

Focussing on everyday use, not a problematic sense

teenagers are actively involved in negotiating what a rapidly evolving social media environment can offer
engagement involves making and responding to audiences - being consumers and produces

Question 33

What did Berriman and Thomson find in terms of high and low participation?

Answer 33

A map of the moral landscape of teenage media use

high vs low participation
high vs low visibility

1. the incompetent / victim (low participation, high visability) - tagged, shared, sexting
2. the fan/lurker (low participation, low visability) - commenting, following, liking, sharing)
3. the geek (low visibility, high participation) - animations, lets play, music videos, fake identity)
4. the e-celeb (high visibility, high participation) - celeb, daily blogging, youtube, twitter

Question 34

What did Hazebrink et al find in terms of different types of use?

Answer 34

Low use / learning orientated
Low use / social networking site orientated
Moderate use
Diversity and risky opportunities
High use / entertainment orientated
Focused social web use

Question 35

What did Hazebrick et al find when looking at types of use with harm and risk?

Answer 35

Looked at 6 user types with indicators of risk and harm

low use / learning orientated - risk indicators very low, but risk for harm quite high (sexual content and meeting new people) likelihood risk is connected with harm is higher than any other group

diverse and risky opportunity - highest level of risky experiences and at the same time, lowest likelihood that risk is associated with neg experiences

high use / entertainment orientated - likelihood that risk experiences is also quite high, including index for excessive online use

Question 36

What is cyberbullying?

Answer 36

Any kind of bullying that occurs online, for example, through social networks or instant messaging - sending abusive messaging, cyber stalking

Question 37

What are the differences between offline bullying and online bullying?

Answer 37

Constant nature of bullying - no escape when at home

concrete tail - can be shared to anyone

greater anonymity for perpetrators - so more frequent or violent content and greater curelty

Question 38

What is the prevalence of online bullying?

Answer 38

Across Europe, 6% of 9-16 year olds report being bullied online

Question 39

What is the link between online and offline bullying?

Answer 39

56% of online bullies said they had bullied others face-to-face and 55% of online bullying victims also claimed to be victims of face-to-face bullying

Being bullied offline increases the chances of being bullied online by 15 times

Psychological difficulties were associated with both online bullying and victimisation

Sensation seeking was associated with online bullying Ostracism was associated with victimisation from online bullying

Question 40

What are the offline vulnerability factors?

Answer 40

Online victims of bullying more likely to be younger age, girls, and from low socio-demographic background - those most at risk

Question 41

Who should policy initiatives focus on?

Answer 41

Those who are vulnerable off-line should be the target of support and policy initiatives

Question 42

What is the link between offline psychological vulnerability and online bullying?

Answer 42

EU Kids Online survey measured psychological difficulties (SDQ items – one from each subscale); sensation seeking (‘I do dangerous things for fun’) and ostracism (‘Other people my age often treat me as if I wasn’t there’)

Psychological difficulties were associated with both online bullying and victimisation
Sensation seeking was associated with online bullying
Ostracism was associated with victimisation from online bullying

Question 43

Should we build resilience or control access?

Answer 43

We should move away from control time, sometimes lower time on SM = more risk of harm

Strategies should focus on developing young peoples resilience and critical thinking skills in the face off online threats - shouldn’t eliminate all risks

Education policy called for a gov strategy to empower young people to live safe lives - too much parental control, can inhibit acquisition of safety skills in children

Question 44

What did the EU kids online report find about coping and build online resilience?

Answer 44

Develop self-efficacy, proactive coping strategies, tackle psychological problems, build self- confidence, parental mediation and monitoring rather than restricted access

Question 45

What are the positives of social media?

Answer 45

Connecting with friends and family

Making new friends particularly with people with shared interests and from more diverse backgrounds

Community involvement, such as charitable or political activism
Sharing new creative projects such as online videos, blogs, podcasts

Enhancement of individual and collective creativity through development and sharing of artistic and musical endeavours

Developing individual identity during adolescence

Enhanced learning opportunities e.g. Collaborating on projects via online communities e.g. homework WhatsApp groups, using twitter hashtags for exams, interaction online with teachers, blogs as teaching tools

Accessing online health information and support

Question 46

What are limitations of the literature?

Answer 46

Vast majority of studies are cross-sectional

Don’t capture developmental change over time

Can’t show direction of effects

Rely on traditional techniques that model between-person relationships among variables

Ignore individual processes of change: within subject analyses

Empirical evidence often based on secondary analyses of large-scale datasets

Provide high power but means small effects can be statistically significant

Risk of false positives and conflicting results

Question 47

What did Coyne et al look at?

Answer 47

Does time spent using social media impact mental health?
longitudinal study using data across 8 time points from ages 13. Measures of time spent on social media at each time point and then depression and anxirty
tested the social displacement theory and the users and gratification theory

Wanted to look at the associations between social networking and mental health at both the between (overall relationship between SM and MH) and within person levels (see if whether when adolescent increases their time using SM over typical levels, their anxiety and depression goes up beyond typical levels)

First study to examine both between person and within person effects longitudinally

Question 48

What did Coyne et al find?

Answer 48

Didn’t find any significant within difference pathways apart from one
young people that increased SM at use above own average - lower levels of depression
no evidence when you look at within person effect to support displacement theory and the gratification theory
no significant within person effects for anxiety

Some evidence for displacement theory from between subjects analysis (time spent = anxiety and depression0 but changing over levels of SMU above own average doesn’t predict depression or anxiety

Question 49

What did Best et al find?

Answer 49

Systematic review of data between 2003 and 2013

The benefits of using online technologies were reported as increased self-esteem, perceived social support, increased social capital, safe identity experimentation and increased opportunity for self-disclosure

Harmful effects were reported as increased exposure to harm, social isolation, depression and cyber-bullying

The majority of studies reported either mixed or no effect(s of online social technologies on adolescent wellbeing