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Connected or Disconnected: When Media and Social Media Affect
Adolescent Mental Health
Kelly Dean Schwartz PhD RPsych Associate Professor, School and Applied Child Psychology
Children’s Mental Health Learning Series April 14, 2015
Why does my head always hurt??
Where are we going today?
This session will: 1. Explore the pervasiveness of social media in the
lives of adolescents; 2. Discuss how social media is changing the way
youth relate to their social world; and 3. Review the literature on the posiFve and
negaFve effects of social media on adolescent mental health.
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The ecological model (ala Bronfenbrenner)
Again, Canadians don’t win, but . . .
Source: Carew, 2013
Pervasive doesn’t even get close . . .
Joan Ganz Cooney Center 2011!
This is the first generaFon to have lived their enFre lives with Facebook and other social networking sites (SNS).
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Teenagers are seriously connected The Internet: Then and Now !
(PEW Internet Project)"
" " 2000 " " " " 2010"
"73% of teens online " " 94% of teens online"
"8% Home Broadband " 73% Home Broadband"
"30% own Cell Phone" " 75% Own Cell Phone"
"?? Connect Wirelessly " 70% Connect Wirelessly"
"Slow and stationary Fast and Mobile
connections connections"
Teenagers are digital naKves
• 95% of teens use the internet • 93% of teens have a computer or have access to one
• 71% of teen computer users say the computer they use most oTen is shared with family members
• 23% of teens have a tablet computer
Source: Pew Research Center (2014)
• 78% of teens have a cell phone • About three in four (74%) teens ages 12-‐17 are
“mobile internet users” who say they access the internet on cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices at least occasionally
• 37% of all teens own smartphones, up from just 23% in 2011
• One in four teens are “cell-‐mostly” internet users
Source: Pew Research Center (2014)
Teenagers’ internet use is increasingly mobile
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Defining social media
• Social media is defined as any technology or pla\orm used to communicate with more than one person at a Fme
• Jones (2012) defines social media as “essenFally a category of online media where people are talking, parFcipaFng, sharing, and networking online”
• Social media includes social networking sites (SNS) e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat; micro-‐blogging sites like Twi_er and Tumblr; text or voice chat during mulFplayer online games; and communicaFon within virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life)
How deep and wide is SM?
What do we know about adolescent SM use?
• In early 2012, Knowledge Networks surveyed over 1000 13-‐17 year-‐olds about their social media use
• They also included quesFons to measure teens’ emoFonal and social well-‐being
• Here are some of the key findings from this study
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Teens are avid, daily users
• Almost all the teens -‐ 90% -‐ in the study have used some form of social media
• 68% say Facebook is their main social networking site, and 2/3 text every day
• More than one in four teens say that SM makes them feel less shy and more outgoing
• One in five say it makes them feel more popular, confident, and more sympatheFc to others
Teens see SM use as posiKve than negaKve
How does SM impact relaKonships?
• Many teens -‐ 52% -‐ in the study think that using SM has helped in their relaFonships with friends
• More than a third -‐ 37% -‐ say SM has also helped in their relaFonships with family
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Most teens prefer the face-‐to-‐face
• About half of all teens said that the favourite way to communicate with friends is in person; texFng is the next most favourite
• Teens said face-‐to-‐face conversaFons are “more fun” and that they can understand what people “really mean” be_er in person
• A third of teens in the study agreed that using SM takes away from Fme they could be spending with people face-‐to-‐face
• Almost half -‐ 44% -‐ agreed that using SM oTen distracts them from the people they are with when they do get together in person
• Nearly a third say they have flirted with someone online that they wouldn’t have in person, and 25% said they’ve said something about someone online that they wouldn’t have said in person
But there is a trade off
Teens wish they could disconnect more
• A substanFal percentage of teens -‐ 41% -‐ answered “yes” when asked if they were addicted to SM; 28% say their parents are also addicted to their gadgets
• Many wished that they could unplug, and more than a third agreed that they someFmes wished they could go back to a Fme when there was no Facebook (more so for those not using a SN site)
• “SomeFmes it’s nice to just sit back and relax with no way possible to communicate with anyone”
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An overexposed life?
• Most teen social media users agreed that they “loved” posFng photos of themselves – with girls (75%) more likely than boys (42%) to feel that way
• Almost half of SM users agree that they someFmes feel leT out or excluded aTer seeing pictures of other people together online
• 35% say they worry about others tagging them as una_racFve; 22% say they feel bad about themselves if nobody comments on or “likes” the photos they post
Size maQers and maQers of size
• The typical teen Facebook user has 300 friends. • Teens with large FB networks (601+ friends) are:
• More frequent users of the site • Have profiles on a wider range of other social media pla\orms
• More likely to be FB friends with teachers + coaches
• More likely to be FB friends with people they have not met in person
The more “friends” . . . the more sharing
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The more “friends” . . . the more sharing
MulK-‐channeled . . . Over connected??
Changing trends in SNS: TwiQer rules
55%#60%#
65%#73%#
80%#81%#
16%#
29%#
47%#
64%#67%#
8%#
16%# 24%#
12%#
16%#
0%#
10%#
20%#
30%#
40%#
50%#
60%#
70%#
80%#
90%#
2006# 2007# 2008# 2009# 2011# 2012#
Teens#1#social#networking#sites#
Adults#1#social#networking#sites#
Teens#1#Twi?er#
Adults#1#Twi?er#
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Facebook is waning . . .
• Focus group discussions with teens suggest that they have waning enthusiasm for Facebook
• Teens expressed negaFve views about: • the increasing adult presence • people sharing excessively • stressful “drama” associated with interacFons on the site
• …but they keep using it because parFcipaFon is an important part of overall teenage socializing
TwiQer and Instagram are waxing . . .
• Female (age 19): “Yeah, that's why we go on Twi_er and Instagram [instead of Facebook]. My mom doesn't have that.”
• Male (age 18): “On Twi_er, there's only so much you can say. On Facebook, they say so many details of things that you don't want to know. You'd be like, are you serious? No one really cares that much.”
• Female (age 14): "OK, here's something I want to say. I think Facebook can be fun, but also it's drama central. On Facebook, people imply things and say things, even just by a like, that they wouldn't say in real life.”
And rising in popularity -‐ Snapchat
• More like a visual conversaFon than other digital tools – when it’s over, it’s gone, like a hallway chat.
• Doesn’t become a part of the curated durable portrait of YOU online.
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Social media use and development
1. Social media is the fabric of interpersonal relaFonships for teens
2. Some research suggests that SM is not the cause of great angst/tumult in teens’ lives
3. SM use can even be a source of encouragement and support for teens
4. Although pervasive in use, teens sFll prefer meeFng face-‐to-‐face
Social media use and development
5. Rise in “Facebook faFgue” and addiFonal pressure to be in contact 24/7
6. Real issues sFll exist with SM: privacy, bullying, hate speech, body image, and oversharing
7. 4 in 10 say they are addicted 8. Heavy SM users more likely to expose
themselves to rejecFon, unfriending, and criFque; being ignored worst outcome??
Social media and adolescent wellbeing SM and sense of belonging • Davis (2012) found that casual exchanges using texFng, SNS, and IM (instant messaging) fostered sense of belonging
• Broadens friendship groups and contributes to validaFon of thoughts and experiences, fulfilling what Baumeister (1995) called the “need to belong”
• D’Amato et al. (2012) suggest that SM use can also contribute to cyberostracism, suggesFng that being excluded, rejected, or ignored can be as hur\ul online as it can in offline relaFonships
• Being denied access to Facebook groups, de-‐friending, or blocking profile views
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Social media and adolescent wellbeing
SM and psychosocial wellbeing • Margalit (2010) asked: “Do SM enhance social connectedness, provide training in social relatedness, or contribute to growing alienaFon and social exclusion?”
• Adolescents can oTen feel caught b/w the need to feel a sense of social connectedness and a yearning to create their own sense of idenFty & individuality
Social media and adolescent wellbeing
SM and psychosocial wellbeing • SupporFng social compensaFon hypothesis, Bonew et al. (2010) found that lonely teens (age 10-‐16) were more likely to use online chat forums to discuss personal topics
• Laghi (2013) found same for shy students and for students with LD (Sharabi et al 2011); though for LD, if they only conversed with people they met online, it increased loneliness
Social media and adolescent wellbeing
SM and idenKty development • Adolescents are prone to seek out informaFon and experiences that affirm their pre-‐exisFng social idenFFes – known as social idenFty graFficaFon (Barker, 2012)
• The ease with which info is shared can play a protecFve role in helping adolescents understand what it means to be me; contributes to what Davis (2012) calls self-‐concept clarity
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Social media and adolescent wellbeing
SM and idenKty development • SNS exposes private informaFon to a semi-‐permanent records of acFons and awtudes; a negaFve cascade
• Given that many adolescent brains are sFll developing, Tortajada et al., (2013) found that over 40% of teens indicated they shared sexual desires, lewd photographs, or provocaFve vides of themselves online, leaving them vulnerable to hur\ul comments
Conclusions
• As digital na=ves – those who have only known life with social media – we are only beginning to understand how, why, and to what end youth use SM
• Far from benign, the worst effects may be a mul=phrenia (Gergen, 1991), the condiFon, largely a_ributed to technologies that increase social contact, of being simultaneously drawn in mulFple and conflicFng direcFons
• A saturated self-‐with-‐other may be ulFmate end
References
Buckingham, D. (Ed.) (2007). MacArthur Founda=on series on digital learning: Youth, iden=fy, and digital media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ito, M. et al. (2010). Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out: Kids living and learning with new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Turkle, S. (2011). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. New York: Basic Books.
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Online Resources
Common Sense Media h_p://www.commonsensemedia.org Pew Trust Internet Research h_p://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_detail.aspx?id=56 Kaiser Family FoundaFon h_p://kff.org/other/event/generaFon-‐m2-‐media-‐in-‐the-‐lives-‐of/ Teen Mental Health h_p://teenmentalhealth.org/
1. Acknowledging the lack of Canadian data in this area, what do you think are the most prominent issues facing Canadian teens as it relates to social media use?
2. As you consider your work/interacFon with teens, what posiFve outcomes would you a_ribute to social media?
3. As you again consider your work with/interacFon with teens, what negaFve outcomes would you a_ribute to social media?
Discussion QuesKons
