Identifying drivers for bedtime social media use despite sleep costs: the adolescent perspective

Objectives: Bedtime social media use is associated with poor sleep during adolescence, which in turn contributes to poor mental health, impaired daytime functioning and lower academic achievement. However, the underlying drivers for these bedtime social media habits remain understudied. This study adds an adolescent perspective on motivations for bedtime social media use and perceived impact on sleep. Methods: Adolescents aged 11–17 years (n = 24) participated in focus group discussions exploring their experiences of using social media, particularly at night. Inductive reflexive thematic analysis produced themes that captured underlying drivers for social media use and associated impact on sleep. Results: Our analyses produced two overarching themes: Missing Out and Norms & Expectations. Adolescents' nighttime social media use was driven by concerns over negative consequences for real-world relationships if they disconnected (often reporting delayed bedtimes, insufficient sleep and daytime tiredness). These concerns included the risk of offline peer exclusion from missing out on online interactions, and the fear of social disapproval from violating norms around online availability and prompt responses. Conclusions: These findings offer novel insight into why adolescents may choose to prioritize social media over sleep. Researchers and practitioners can respond to the evolving needs of today's adolescents by approaching social media use not as a technology-based activity, but as an embedded social experience underpinned by the same concerns as offline interactions

Beyond “screentime”: reframing bedtime social media use as a social interaction with unique implications for adolescent sleep

There is significant current attention towards the possible impact of social media on adolescent wellbeing, with concerns voiced by parents, educators, practitioners and national policymakers. This includes a focus on social media’s influence on sleep, which plays a crucial role in supporting physical and mental health, emotional wellbeing and academic performance during this developmental period. However, there are key limitations in the existing evidence base available to support informed decision-making in this area. These include a prevalent techno-centric focus on “screentime” – which is typically measured only in hours per day and often framed negatively or pathologised – and a lack of adolescent voice. This PhD aims to target gaps in current understanding of adolescent social media use and sleep, enriching the evidence and tools available to support future research, practice and policy. This thesis presents four studies, which contribute to building new understanding of the unique implications that social media interactions – unlike other forms of technology use – have for adolescent sleep. Chapter 3 makes use of data from a large representative UK sample, to establish a normative profile for current adolescent social media use and to quantify links to a range of sleep parameters, controlling for an extensive range of covariates. Chapter 4 uses rich focus group data to provide an adolescent perspective on emotional, social and cognitive drivers for bedtime social media use that can make it difficult for some adolescents to disengage at night. Chapter 5 takes these qualitative findings as a foundation for developing a new validated self-report measure that captures this difficulty disengaging from social media at night due to concerns about staying connected and following etiquette. Chapter 6 considers the practical application of the new knowledge gained from these studies, by consulting with relevant stakeholders to develop and pilot a new school-based lesson programme that specifically targets the role of social influence in adolescent bedtime social media and sleep habits. These studies advance current understanding by highlighting the unique implications that this inherently social and interactive experience has for adolescent sleep, beyond simply another hour of daily “screentime”. Together, these findings indicate that adolescent sleep research and practice need to reframe social media not simply as a technology-based activity, but as a highly motivating and rewarding source of peer interactions, which understandably competes with sleep during a developmental period of heightened sensitivity to social influences. Adopting this approach can extend current models of adolescent sleep, inform up-to-date interventions and education strategies, support more efficient future research and guide a more constructive narrative in public and policy spheres

Smartphone usage habits in youths' social interactions

Ovaj rad istražuje ulogu i značaj korištenja pametnog telefona kada je riječ o socijalnim interakcijama mladih. Sam rad sastoji se od dva dijela. U prvom dijelu analiziraju se dostupni podatci o učestalosti uporabe i rastućem društvenom i osobnom značaju pametnih telefona u općoj populaciji te u populaciji mladih – posebice takozvanoj generaciji Z. Pritom se autor rada oslanja na teorijski okvir koji objašnjava osnove digitalnog doba, te opisuje i predstavlja nalaze nekih istraživanja koji upućuju na pojavu nekih zanimljivih posljedica korištenja pametnih telefona poput povećane razine stresa ili straha od propuštanja (FoMO) društvenih aktualnosti, rekonstrukcije procesa ostvarivanja i održavanja ljubavnih veza i prijateljstava. U drugom se dijelu rada prezentiraju rezultati promatranja navika korištenja pametnih telefona 10 skupina mladih za vrijeme druženja, te rezultati 10 dubinskih intervjua provedenih s pripadnicima generacije Z o važnosti pametnog telefona za društveni život. Prema rezultatima istraživanja, zaključuje se da su mladi za vrijeme socijalnih interakcija razvili funkcionalne navike uporabe pametnog telefona. Prema iskazima ispitanika, autor rada zaključuje da mladi koriste pametne telefona kako bi podigli dinamiku druženja ili „ubili dosadu“. S druge strane, otkriveno je kako su mladi donekle svjesni moralne maksime koja proizlazi iz socijalnih interakcija, prema kojoj bi pametni telefon trebalo izbjegavati za vrijeme druženja budući da uporaba implicira dosadu. Također, zaključeno je da mladi zbog pretjerane osobne dostupnosti generiraju individualne maksime samoregulacije uporabe pametnog telefona – naročito za vrijeme druženja.This paper examines the role of smartphone usage among youth during their social interactions. The paper itself consists of two parts. In the first part, data on usage frequencies and personal as well as the global importance of smartphone are being analyzed – especially among so called generation Z. During this analysis, the author relies on a theoretical framework based on some theories of digital culture. In the first part, the author also presents some empirical research data which reveal some interesting new phenomena connected to smartphone usages, such as high level of stress, fear of missing out (FoMO) and new process patterns of friendship and relationship development and sustainment. For this study, empirical research was conducted. 10 groups of young people were observed during social interactions and 10 in depth interviews with members of generation Z were conducted in order to find out habits, motives, and feelings connected to smartphone usage during social interactions of youth. Thus, in the second part, research results are being presented and interpreted. According to research results, the author concludes that generation Z has developed functional habits regarding smartphone usage during social interactions. When having company and interacting with each other, youngsters primarily use smartphones to avoid boredom and raise interaction dynamics. On the other hand, it is discovered how members of generation Z are mostly aware that social interactions imply abstinence of smartphone usage as a matter of decency. Thus, among users, this is mostly adopted as a principle of behavior. On the other hand, it is concluded that young users of smartphone sometimes feel too available over their smartphones, thus limiting themselves from smartphone usage during social interactions