Background: Few studies have examined the connections between psychological distress, meaning in life, internet gaming disorder (IGD), problematic smartphone use (PSU), and problematic social media use (PSMU). Methods: The central and bridging nodes of IGD, PSMU, and PSU symptoms were investigated using network analysis in China among 742 adolescents ( M_age = 15.39, SD = 1.68, range = 12–19; 53.23% female). The relationships between IGD, PSMU, and PSU and associated factors were investigated using a Directed Acyclic Graphs method. Results: The results suggested that the central symptoms were withdrawal in IGD, mood modification in PSU, and tolerance in PSMU. Mood modification in IGD, mood modification in PSU, withdrawal in PSMU, and functional impairment in PSMU were the bridge symptoms. Males were more likely to experience symptoms of IGD than females, while females were more likely to need meaning than males. Stress is the root factor, while depression, meaning confusion, meaning anxiety, and meaning avoidance were closely associated with IGD, PSMU, and PSU. Conclusions: The current research improved the understanding of IGD, PSMU, and PSU symptoms in teenagers and demonstrated the potential of dynamic systems perspectives on problematic use behaviors and stress/meaning-focused interventions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant interruptions to life certainty, and there has been a lack of research on the influence of uncertainty. The present research aimed to explore how intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out affect social media use in a Chinese community sample (N = 311) during the pandemic. Serial mediation analysis was applied, integrating the mediating role of maladaptive coping strategy and fear of missing out. Intolerance of uncertainty, maladaptive coping strategies, and fear of missing out was positively related to PSMU. Based on the mediation analysis, when age and gender were controlled, the direct effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was significant. The total indirect effect was also significant. The effect of intolerance of uncertainty on PSMU was mediated by maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out. Taken together, maladaptive coping strategies and fear of missing out played a serial mediating role between intolerance of uncertainty and PSMU. The findings imply that strategies to improve the tolerance of uncertainty, reduce fear of missing out, and relevant coping strategies could be potentially helpful in mitigating problematic social media use, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous research has confirmed the harmful effects of cyber-ostracism on adolescents. However, research that has investigated the effect of cyber-ostracism on adolescents’ psychological well-being and the underlying mechanisms of this influence remains scarce. Using a sample of 421 Chinese adolescents, this study examined the short-term effect of cyber-ostracism on adolescents’ psychological well-being, along with the mediating effect of rumination. Mindfulness is considered as a moderator influencing this underlying mechanism. Questionnaires regarding cyber-ostracism, rumination, and mindfulness were administered at the beginning of the spring semester. Psychological well-being was assessed three months later. The study found that cyber-ostracism significantly and negatively predicted adolescents’ psychological well-being. As shown by the mediation analysis, rumination partly mediated the effect of cyber-ostracism on adolescents’ psychological well-being. Moderated mediation analysis indicated that mindfulness played a moderating role in the relationship between cyber-ostracism and adolescents’ psychological well-being as well as the relationship between cyber-ostracism and rumination. Specifically, mindfulness would decrease the negative impact of cyber-ostracism on adolescents’ psychological well-being. This study uncovers the short-term effect of cyber-ostracism on adolescents’ psychological well-being and accentuates the underlying mechanisms of this effect, which has substantial implications for interventions and practices to reduce the detrimental effects of cyber-ostracism among adolescents.