The Effect of Problematic Social Media Use on Happiness among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Lifestyle Habits
Zhang J, Marino C, Canale N, Charrier L, Lazzeri G, Nardone P, Vieno A
International journal of environmental research and public health · 7 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Cross-sectional study (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- The Italian HBSC survey was promoted and funded by the Ministry of Health /Centro per la Prevenzione e Controllo delle Malattie and the Italian National Institute of Health
Based on 1 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2022-02-23 · Int J Environ Res Public Health · vol. 19 · issue 5 · p. 2576
- Publisher
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
- Cited
- 31 citations · more than 98% of similar papers · 9.9× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 77 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Child Development and Digital Technology · Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Keywords
- social media addiction, happiness, adolescents, lifestyle habits, sleep disorders, physical activity, mediation, gender differences, age differences
- MeSH
- humans, exercise, habits, happiness, life style, adolescent, child, female, male, social media
7 authors
From IT
- Jiewen Zhang · correspondingUniversity of Padua
- Claudia MarinoUniversity of Padua
- Natale CanaleUniversity of Padua
- Lorena CharrierUniversity of Turin
- Giacomo LazzeriUniversity of Siena
- Paola NardoneIstituto Superiore di Sanità; National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Abstract
Background: Although the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU) and happiness has been already explored, less is known about the mechanisms that translate PSMU into lower happiness through lifestyle habits. Therefore, the current study focuses on the association between PSMU and happiness, exploring a mediating effect of lifestyle habits (e.g., difficulties in getting to sleep and frequency of physical activity) among Italian adolescents. Methods: A total of 58,976 Italian adolescents (mean age = 13.6, SD = 1.63; age range = 10.5−16.5; 49.4% females) were included. The pattern of relationships specified by the theoretical model was examined through path analysis. Results: Difficulties in getting to sleep (β = −0.037, p < 0.001) and frequency of physical activity (β = −0.012, p < 0.001) were mediators in the relationship between PSMU and happiness. Multi-group analyses across gender and age groups (11, 13, and 15 years old) showed that the chain mediating effect of the frequency of physical activity on the difficulties in getting to sleep was not significant for females but significant for males and for all of the three age groups. Overall, females and older ages were sensitive to the whole model. Conclusion: Along with difficulties in getting to sleep and the frequency of physical activity, lifestyle habits may contribute to the association between PSMU and happiness. We also recommend that future studies focus on PSMU in females and older adolescents, as they show more general sleep problems and reduced physical activity.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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