Early adolescent wellbeing and expressions of peer emotional support on social media

1. Early adolescent wellbeing and expressions of peer emotional support on social media Linda Charmaraman, PhDDirector, Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab, Wellesley CollegeMegan Moreno, MD, MPH, MSEdSocial Media and Adol Health Research Team (SMAHRT), Univ of Wisconsin, MadisonFunding provided by Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, WCW student internship program

2. The youngest users of social media (SM) • Despite the federally mandated COPPA age limits, Pew (2010) reports that 38% of US 12 yr olds use online social networks • 2011 survey of 25 European countries --38% of 9-12 year olds had a SM profile • Raises questions about early SM use safety, motivations for use, and need for oversight by concerned adults • Young adolescents have limited capacity to self-regulate, are susceptible to peer pressure, and seek autonomy from family networks

3. Research QuestionsIn early adolescence… • …what relationship and wellbeing topics are most frequently browsed about online? • …how does early initiation into SM use influence mental health and relationship dynamics? • …what help-seeking and help-receiving behaviors occur online? • …are online social obligations associated with wellbeing?

4. Student Survey Sample Description • 700 middle school students in Northeast aged 11-16, mean=12.7 • Average rate of survey participation: 90% • 52% female • Racially/ethnically diverse: 47% White, 16% Asian, 14% Black, 11% Hispanic, 4% Multiracial, 6% Other • Low income levels at each school ranged widely: 8% (suburban), 25% (urban), and 75% (urban) • Mother’s education average = completed college and beyond

5. Most read online topics (in order of frequency) 6th and 7th graders 8th graders • Animals • Science/technology • Hobbies • Books/authors • Politics • Environment • Celebrities • Online games • Sports • TV shows • Online games • Relationships • Depression • Music/musicians • Science/technology • Books/authors • Race/culture • Animals

6. First-time phone and SM use

7. Early SM initiators vs. Later SM initiators 11 and under vs. 12+ 10 and under vs. 13+ • Early initiators more likely to report • online social anxiety • online friends parents would disapprove of • Even earlier initiators more likely to report • online social anxiety • fewer hours of sleep • that they have begun dating

8. Online relationship dynamics: Through SM or text, has someone ever…

9. Online relationship dynamics: Social/emotional support • 60% have provided online support about: • School • Worries/anxieties • Dating (esp. in 8th grade) • Not getting along with others • Friends they care about • 54% have received onlinesupportabout: • School • Worries/anxieties • Not getting along with others • Friends they care about • Family

10. Social obligations(controlling for age, gender, race, and mother’s education)

11. Implications for early adolescent SM use • The earlier they start SM, the more likelihood of some psychosocial and physical health consequences (but fewer than expected). • Online social obligations are most associated with social anxiety, and sometimes associated with depressive symptoms, frequency of use, and the need to appear popular. • Early adolescents also report benefiting from online socioemotional support.

12. Future Directions • In follow-up adolescent and parent qualitative studies, we will probe further about parent-child match, secretive online behaviors, body dissatisfaction, celebrity obsession, civic engagement • 2018-2021 – Launching a three-year NICHD funded study of longitudinal impacts of early social media use on physical and socioemotional health • Recruiting middle schools to begin Spring 2019…stay tuned…

13. OUR NEW “SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY” IS MAKING KIDS TAP HAPPY Children and Screens October 16, 2018 Dr. Larry D. Rosen California State University, Dominguez Hills

14. THREE VITAL QUESTIONS WHAT? WHY? HOW?

15. TECHNOLOGY USE CHANGES OVER 5 YEARS • E-Mailing • Facebook Friends • Smartphone Usage • Social Media Usage • Texting • Anxiety About Not Being Able to • Access One’s Smartphone (nomophobia • or FOMO) SOME TECHNOLOGY USE IS INCREASING, SOME IS DECREASING (young adults) DAILY APP USAGE: COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL 

16. Every 13.5 waking minutes Every 17 waking minutes Every 19 waking minutes Every 13.2 waking minutes

17. 3.66 minutes per unlock 3.93 minutes per unlock 3.70 minutes per unlock 5.24 minutes per unlock

18. HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS SOME PRELIMINARY RESULTS • MORE DAILY MINUTES • Lower GPA • More smartphone separation anxiety • More boredom and inattention • Less likely to have study strategies • MORE DAILY UNLOCKS • More use of communication apps

19. WHY? IT’S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION TOTAL E-COMMUNICATION 66%

20. SOCIAL MEDIA USE IS EXPLODING

21. TESTING THE “WHY” Mediators IVs DV

22. PREDICTING SLEEP PROBLEMS Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., Miller, A., Rokkum, J., & Ruiz, A. (2016). Sleeping With Technology: Cognitive, Affective and Technology Usage Predictors of Sleep Problems Among College Students. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 2, 49-56.

23. PRELIMINARY MODEL PREDICTING COURSE PERFORMANCE (N=358)

24. HOW? SOME GENERAL STRATEGIES • REDUCE ACCESSIBILITY • DEVELOP METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES • REDUCE ANXIETY • REDUCE BOREDOM • INCREASE ATTENTION SPAN

25. Adolescents’ perspectives on how digital media influence their everyday social and emotional experiences V Emily Weinstein emily_weinstein@harvard.edu Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education • Children and Screens • October 16, 2018 •

26.   Interviews(n=28+) Surveys(n=568) Co-browsing SM accounts E.g., How do you generally feel when you’re on social media? E.g., When and how does social media make you feel good vs. bad? Tell me about a time… E.g., What is your relationship with the poster? What is your reaction to this post?

27. “I feel happy a lot when I’m on social media, with every social media I would say. ‘Cause I could be chatting with friends, I could be seeing snaps that my friends send me on Snapchat and they could be doing something really cool or fun or something really funny.” “I always get amused on Tumblr because I follow things that make me laugh because I like to laugh.” “On Instagram, people will post pictures of them at the beach and it will make me a little self-conscious of the way I look. Because I don’t look like them.” “You can look back at all your old photos…and you can just see how you’ve developed over all of that [time]. And that’s cool! … I think it’s cool to see how you progress over [time], like how your personality changes, if it does.” “I worry a lot” about the possibility that peers “don’t like something about [my post] or they do like something about it and they’ll screenshot it and…it could go anywhere”

28. key dimensions of social media use Self-Expression Concern about Judgment Affirmation; Acceptance Relational Interactions Disconnection; Isolation Closeness; Connection Exploration Inspiration; Engagement Distress Social Browsing Envy; Inferiority Admiration; Prosocial Interest Content Browsing Entertainment; Amusement Boredom; Wasted Time

29. Key: SE=Self-expression; RI=Relational interactions; EX=Exploration; CB=Content browsing; SB=Social browsing  defining element;  present/active element;  absent

30. ELIZABETH • Positive emotions related to: • Self-expression • Relational interactions • Negative emotions related to: • Social browsing • JULIA • Positive emotions related to: • Content browsing • Social browsing • Relational interactions • Negative emotions related to: • Self-expression • Relational interactions • Social browsing Key: SE=Self-expression; RI=Relational interactions; EX=Exploration; CB=Content browsing; SB=Social browsing  defining element;  present/active element;  absent

31. the social media ‘see-saw’ Content Browsing Entertainment; Amusement Boredom; Wasted Time Self-Expression Concern about Judgment Affirmation; Acceptance Relational Interactions Disconnection; Isolation Closeness; Connection Exploration Inspiration; Engagement Distress Browsing Social Browsing Envy; Inferiority Admiration; Prosocial Interest Habits

32. tools & classroom resources for personal assessment

33. Taking STOCK

34. Taking STOCK

35. Rideout & Fox (2018) Digital health practices, social media use, and mental well-being among teens and young adults in the U.S. “Young people with moderate to severe depressive symptoms [PHQ-8] report having heightened responses to social media – both positive and negative — compared to those without symptoms of depression.”

36. benefits + challenges (by dimension) Self-expression (-) performance pressure re: mental health; explaining absences (+) telling their stories, raising awareness about mental health II. Relational interactions(-) skewed networks, more depressed peers seeking support (+) socially supportive similar peers III. Exploration: (-) Pro-ana, pro-mia, thinspo, depressogenic, pro-SI (+) resources on coping, mental health, identity experiences IV. Browsing: (-) comparison to others w/o mental health challenges + inspiration and recovery-oriented content V. Habits: (-) sleep influences (+) distraction; mood tracking; deep-breathing apps

37. Painting by Oleg Shuplyak

38. Thank you • Carrie James & Howard Gardner • Common Sense Media • Evan Kleinman & Matthew Nock • Bob Selman & Beth Gamse • Germanacos Foundation • Bezos Foundation • Sherwood Foundation Painting by Oleg Shuplyak