Beyond self-report: tools to compare estimated and real-world smartphone use

Psychologists typically rely on self-report data when quantifying mobile phone usage, despite little evidence of its validity. In this paper we explore the accuracy of using self-reported estimates when compared with actual smartphone use. We also include source code to process and visualise these data. We compared 23 participants' actual smartphone use over a two-week period with self-reported estimates and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. Our results indicate that estimated time spent using a smartphone may be an adequate measure of use, unless a greater resolution of data are required. Estimates concerning the number of times an individual used their phone across a typical day did not correlate with actual smartphone use. Neither estimated duration nor number of uses correlated with the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. We conclude that estimated smartphone use should be interpreted with caution in psychological research

Влияние социальной сети Facebook на психологическое благополучие детей и молодежи

В статье рассматриваются функции, преимущества и ограничения социальной сети Facebook, ее влияние на психологическое благополучие современных детей и молодежи на основе интерпретации статистических данных, результатов исследований отечественных и зарубежных ученых

Adolescent Attitudes Towards Social Media in the Classroom

As a future educator, I am concerned with the growing influence of social media in the lives of adolescents. With technology constantly changing, educators must reevaluate their techniques in order to teach effectively. For example, teachers might consider the relationship between students’ attention spans and their social media use. Teachers might also consider the effects of the different styles of writing students read online. This project examines the correlation between high school students\u27 writing habits and their social media usage. Data has been gathered from 19 high school juniors in an AP Language and Composition class. The methodology for this project uses grounded theory research and includes surveys and writing samples. Students completed a survey about their social media usage that asked what websites they use, how often they use these websites, and whether or not they try to use proper spelling and grammar when posting online. In addition to the survey, students also provided an on demand writing sample of approximately 180 words. In order to discern any correlation between social media usage and writing habits, data was coded to identify differences in sentence length, spelling/grammar issues, incorrect punctuation usage, usage of transitions, awkward phrasing, and usage of the first person. This study found that there was no correlation between students’ social media habits and their writing styles. However, the data revealed students’ attitudes towards using social media in the classroom, information that is essential for teachers to understand in order to utilize technology effectively

Social Media Use and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adolescents:Cross-sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Using social media is a time-consuming activity of children and adolescents. Health authorities have warned that excessive use of social media can negatively affect adolescent social, physical, and psychological health. However, scientific findings regarding associations between time spent on social media and adolescent health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are not consistent. Adolescents typically use multiple social media platforms. Whether the use of multiple social media platforms impacts adolescent health is unclear. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between social media use, including the number of social media platforms used and time spent on social media, and adolescent HRQoL. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 3397 children (mean age 13.5, SD 0.4 years) from the Generation R Study, a population-based cohort study in the Netherlands. Children reported the number of social media platforms used and time spent on social media during weekdays and weekends separately. Children’s HRQoL was self-reported with the EuroQol 5-dimension questionnaire–youth version. Data on social media use and HRQoL were collected from 2015 to 2019. Multiple logistic and linear regressions were applied. RESULTS: In this study, 72.6% (2466/3397) of the children used 3 or more social media platforms, and 37.7% (1234/3276) and 58.3% (1911/3277) of the children used social media at least 2 hours per day during weekdays and weekends, respectively. Children using more social media platforms (7 or more platforms) had a higher odds of reporting having some or a lot of problems on “having pain or discomfort” (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.99) and “feeling worried, sad or unhappy” (OR 1.99, 95% CI 1.52 to 2.60) dimensions and reported lower self-rated health (β –3.81, 95% CI –5.54 to –2.09) compared with children who used 0 to 2 social media platforms. Both on weekdays and weekends, children spent more time on social media were more likely to report having some or a lot of problems on “doing usual activities,” “having pain or discomfort,” “feeling worried, sad or unhappy,” and report lower self-rated health (all P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that using more social media platforms and spending more time on social media were significantly related to lower HRQoL. We recommend future research to study the pathway between social media use and HRQoL among adolescents

The sentence continues: Breaking silences and becoming authors through The Semicolon Project

Through its many digital platforms, The Semicolon Project, a suicide and self-harm prevention initiative, offers its users a creative means of using writing to heal. As its name suggests, the semicolon is an essential mark for this group—grammatically a semicolon represents a place in the sentence that an author could have ended and for the members of this prevention initiative, the semicolon acts in a similar way. By tattooing or drawing a semicolon on the body, the semicolon bearer embody a sense of authorial agency, positioning herself as author and using the semicolon as a representation of her dedication to continue the sentence that is her life. In this small though significant way, the tattoo bearer engages in a form of narrative therapy that enables healing to take place, thus enabling the individual to move away from self-injurious behavior and find more positive means of coping with moments of emotional distress. Though these negative coping mechanisms plague individuals all over the world, the lack of societal discourse surrounding these issues prevents many from seeking the help needed to overcome these struggles. Even today, many of those battling mental illness or self-injurious behavior remain voiceless—silenced by stigma and fear of societal backlash, rejection, even shame. The Semicolon Project aims to provide one outlet for these voices—a safe space that encourages candid sharing and employs writing as a means of healing. Using two separate theories, this project analyzes the writing left on The Semicolon Project’s Facebook page. The first uses theories of material rhetoric to shed light on the rhetorical significance of the semicolon tattoo, both as a performance and as a material product. The second approach applies narrative therapy to the tattoo bearers’ verbal and visual Facebook posts, analyzing how these images and reflective comments enable tattoo bearers to heal from personal trauma. Analyzing the users’ writing practices in this space can help to determine why this initiative is successful and how these successes might be replicated in future organizations

El impacto de la mensajería instantánea en los estudiantes en forma de estrés y ansiedad para el aprendizaje: análisis empírico

La relación entre educación y TIC es especialmente dinámica en el siglo XXI, sobre todo a raíz de la aparición y popularización de las aplicaciones telefónicas móviles, encabezadas por la mensajería instantánea (WhatsApp o BlackBerry Messenger). La difusión de estas aplicaciones entre los estudiantes puede generar conductas adictivas o causantes de estrés. Ello puede afectar al aprendizaje. En este estudio se pretende detectar si existe adicción a estas aplicaciones, y averiguar si provocan estrés o ansiedad en los jóvenes. Tras la encuesta realizada a 247 jóvenes, se concluye que el uso de estas aplicaciones produce estrés y ansiedad por la necesidad de recibir respuesta inmediata a los mensajes. También se observa cierto grado de adicción a estas aplicaciones.The relationship between education and ICT is particularly dynamic in the XXI century, especially following the emergence and popularization of mobile phone applications, led by instant messaging (WhatsApp or BlackBerry Messenger). The spread of these applications can generate among students addictive or stressors behaviors. This can affect learning. This study aims to determine if there is addiction to these applications, and find out if they cause stress or anxiety in young people. After the survey of 247 young people, it is concluded that the use of these applications creates stress and anxiety about the need for immediate response to messages. Degree of addiction is also observed for these applications

Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions

Adolescents are spending an increasing amount of their time online and connected to each other via digital technologies. Mobile device ownership and social media usage have reached unprecedented levels, and concerns have been raised that this constant connectivity is harming adolescents’ mental health. This review synthesized data from three sources: (a) narrative reviews and meta-analyses conducted between 2014 and 2019, (b) large-scale preregistered cohort studies and (c) intensive longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment studies, to summarize what is known about linkages between digital technology usage and adolescent mental health, with a specific focus on depression and anxiety. The review highlights that most research to date has been correlational, focused on adults versus adolescents, and has generated a mix of often conflicting small positive, negative and null associations. The most recent and rigorous large-scale preregistered studies report small associations between the amount of daily digital technology usage and adolescents’ well-being that do not offer a way of distinguishing cause from effect and, as estimated, are unlikely to be of clinical or practical significance. Implications for improving future research and for supporting adolescents’ mental health in the digital age are discussed

Problematic smartphone use and the quantity and quality of peer engagement among adolescents: A longitudinal study

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has recently attracted a lot of attention, especially among adolescents. The knowledge about the role peer engagement might play in the development of PSU is still limited. We aimed to investigate the bidirectional relationships between PSU, the quantity of online (i.e., passive and active social media messaging on smartphone) and offline peer engagement (i.e., intensity of face-to-face meeting with friends) and the quality of peer engagement (i.e., perceived competence in close friendships) among adolescents. Data from a three-wave longitudinal study among 2100 Dutch high school students (56.7% boys) was used. Cross-lagged models indicated that: (1) perceived competence in close friendships at T1 negatively predicted PSU at T2 and PSU at T2 negatively predicted perceived competence in close friendships at T3; (2) there were positive and reciprocal cross-lagged correlations between PSU and passive social media messaging on smartphone; (3) there were positive and reciprocal cross-lagged correlations between intensity of face-to-face meeting with friends and active social media messaging on smartphone. This implies that adolescents who perceive a low competence in close friendships and/or intensively check their smartphone for messages from their peers may be particularly vulnerable to developing problematic smartphone use over time

Exploring digital fiction as a tool for teenage body image bibliotherapy

This article reflects on the findings of the interdisciplinary ‘TransForm’ project, which ran between 2012 and 2014 and aimed to explore how reading and writing digital fictions (DFs) might support young women in developing frameworks for more positive thinking regarding their body image. The project comprised the following stages: (1) a review and compilation of DFs thematising and/or problematising female corporeality; (2) a series of cooperative inquiries with 3 groups of young women (aged 16–19 years) over a period of 5 weeks, examining participants’ responses to a selection of the previously compiled DFs, as well as the challenges these young women face in relation to body image and (3) an interventionist summer school in which participants aged 16–19 explored body image issues via writing DFs. This article reports on the main observations and findings of each stage, and draws conclusions for future research needs in this area