Miller, Lois; (2022) Children of the internet: An investigation into the associations between social media use, gaming, and young people’s mental health. Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

In the context of rapid development of digital technologies and the COVID-19 pandemic, young people are increasingly socialising online. Concerns about time spent on social media and/or gaming are prominent in public discourse. These concerns commonly relate to young people’s mental health, with the suggestion that high levels of social media and gaming use might contribute to poor mental health. However, some research indicates that social media and gaming use is associated with higher social connectedness and social capital. There is a lack of longitudinal research that investigates the relationship between social media use/gaming and mental health and psychosocial outcomes. This longitudinal study aims to explore these relationships in a sample of adolescents aged 11-18, across two time points. Regression analyses are used to explore associations between social media use and measures of depression, social connectedness, and social capital. The same analyses are also used to explore associations between time spent gaming and these variables. Findings indicate that higher social media use in particular is associated with lower social connectedness and higher depressive symptomology, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Findings for gaming use show weaker associations with depression and social variables.

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