Social media's enduring effect on adolescent life satisfaction

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 May 21;116(21):10226-10228. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1902058116. Epub 2019 May 6.

Abstract

In this study, we used large-scale representative panel data to disentangle the between-person and within-person relations linking adolescent social media use and well-being. We found that social media use is not, in and of itself, a strong predictor of life satisfaction across the adolescent population. Instead, social media effects are nuanced, small at best, reciprocal over time, gender specific, and contingent on analytic methods.

Keywords: adolescents; life satisfaction; longitudinal; random-intercept cross-lagged panel models; social media.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / psychology*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Personal Satisfaction
  • Social Media / statistics & numerical data*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires