Habitual and problematic use of social media: What you should be aware

To begin with my thought blog this week, I invite you to watch this short video.

"Problematic Internet uses and depression in adolescents: A meta-analysis." Source: RevistaComunicar (Media Communication Research Journal).

The video is about problematic internet use, summarized from the key findings of a study with the same name. The authors performed a meta-analysis of 19 samples obtained from 13 studies (N=33,458). The subjects of these studies are adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 years (M=15.68) from different cultures and continents (Europe, Euro-Asia, America, and Asia). They found a correlation between the comorbidity of some problematic uses of the Internet and depression. They also suggested that the need for specific interventions in secondary education dealing with this issue is evident to ensure that it does not extend into adult life.

But is the correlation between problematic use and mental health true? For further understanding, the article "Differentiating Problematic from Habitual Instagram Use: A Uses and Grats 2.0 Perspective" (Chen et al., 2022) presents some information to differentiate between habitual and problematic use in Instagram users.

Problematic media use is characterized by prolonged, intense media use for satisfaction, which can be time-consuming and divert attention from other aspects of life. Theoretical frameworks aimed at investigating problematic media use implicate individuals with addictive personalities, past psychopathology, maladaptive cognitive processes, or inadequate self-regulation. Due to its reinforcing features, which cause excessive human-machine interaction and eventually lead to technological addiction, technology may also be at blame. According to recent research, interactions between users and technology may lead to problematic and addictive behaviors. Environmental influences and media-specific elements may speed up or slow the development of problematic or addictive behavior, while psychological and neurobiological traits can influence its emergence. Problematic media use negatively affects people's lives, including disruptions to relationships, jobs, sleep, and education. In severe situations, it can also cause psychological distress and cause everyday functions to malfunction. Daily media use creates habits that lead to addictions, where positive experiences become conditioned reactions to adverse outcomes. For instance, using Instagram for gratification at first may become a primary coping mechanism for bad days as time spent on the platform interferes with everyday activities. When Instagram use becomes more disruptive to daily life, there are more bad days, which increases the amount of time spent on the platform as a means of escaping personal issues. This can result in problematic media use and addiction. The shift from satisfaction to compensation aids in distinguishing between the various stages of media addiction; the former is associated with more habitual and voluntary media consumption, while the latter suggests more problematic and compulsive patterns of use.

My female classmate may be interested in the Self-esteem campaign by Dove. Source: Dove US

As mentioned above, one more critical theory is uses and gratification (U&G). Regular media consumption gives rise to both problematic and habitual media use, with habitual media users being active consumers who choose media to meet their needs. However, this theory has drawn criticism for failing to acknowledge how vital technology is in determining how people interact with media. Sundar and Limperos (2013) proposed a revised framework called U&G 2.0 that emphasizes the interaction between users and technologies. This new framework suggests that new gratifications can arise from the affordances of media technology, such as action possibilities offered by interface features. This new set of affordance-based gratifications contributes to understanding how technologies meet users' needs and take center stage in their lives. Particularly when it comes to platforms like Instagram, the original U&G paradigm and the more recent U&G 2.0 formulation provide helpful frameworks for examining the formative stage of habitual and problematic media use.

Taking all this together with the data collected from Instagram users, Chen et al. (2022) differentiate habitual and problematic uses, but both types of usage are correlations. In simple words, problems can be formed by habitual uses. I also present this paper in our class, so you can "jump into" the class's discussion if interested. To sum up, the authors suggested that Instagram users should know how not to use excessively and that Instagram's engineers should have tools to help their users limit their use time. Fortunately, Instagram has already updated it, and I will share this function with you in my presentation. Regarding teenagers' parents, they also can help their children by reminding the time spent on Instagram.

References:

Chen, C., Cohen, O., & Sundar, S. S. (2022). Differentiating Problematic from Habitual Instagram Use: A Uses and Grats 2.0 Perspective. Social Media + Society, 8(3). https://doi-org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1177/20563051221116339

Dove US. (2021, April 20). Dove | Reverse Selfie | Have #TheSelfieTalk. YouTube. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2T-Rh838GA

Lozano-Blasco, R. and Pascual, A. C. (2020). Problematic internet uses and depression in adolescents: a meta-analysis. Comunicar, 28(63), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.3916/c63-2020-10

Sundar S. S., Limperos A. M. (2013). Uses and grats 2.0: New gratifications for new media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 57(4), 504–525. https://doi-org.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/10.1080/08838151.2013.845827

RevistaComunicar. (2020, March 25). Problematic Internet Uses and Depression in Adolescents: A Meta-analysis. YouTube. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAh3PVuKBFo