Problematic Social Media Use and Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: This study examined time trends in significant child and adolescent internalizing symptoms and explored the association of excessive and problematic social media use with these symptoms. Methods: Time trends in internalizing symptoms were assessed using data from five waves of the international survey of Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC), conducted between 2001 and 2018 (N=1,036,869). The associations of frequent and problematic social media use with significant internalizing symptoms were assessed by hierarchical multinomial logistic regression using data from 2001-2002 and the 2017-2018 survey waves. Causal direction between social media use and internalizing symptoms was assessed using linear non-gaussian acyclic models (LiNGAM). Results: Prevalence of more severe internalizing symptoms increased from 6.7% in 2001-2002 to 10.4% in the 2017-2018 survey waves. The increase was especially large among 15-year old and older girls: from 10.9% to 19.1%. The difference in prevalence of more severe internalizing symptoms across survey waves was fully explained by problematic social media use. LiNGAM analysis confirmed the causal direction of social media use variables with internalizing symptoms. Conclusions: The study findings suggest that widespread use of social media may explain the increased prevalence of internalizing symptoms in adolescents in recent years.