Does Objectively Measured Social-Media or Smartphone Use Predict Depression, Anxiety, or Social Isolation Among Young Adults?

ABSTRACT: Despite a plethora of research, the link between digital technology use and psychological distress among young adults remains inconclusive. Findings in this area are typically undermined by methodological limitations related to measurement, study design, and statistical analysis. Addressing these limitations, we examined the prospective, within-person associations between three aspects of objectively-measured digital technology use (smartphone use duration and frequency; social media use duration) and three aspects of psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and social isolation) among a sample of young adults (N = 384). Across 81 different model specifications, we found that most within-person prospective effects between digital technology use and psychological distress were st

SUBMITTER: Sewall CJR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9671480 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature