Upward social comparison and aspects of self-presentation on social media such as feedback-seeking and strategic self-presentation may represent risk factors for experiencing negative mental health effects of social media use. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess how adolescents differ in upward social comparison and aspects of self-presentation on social media and whether these differences are linked to sociodemographic variables, lifestyle, or personality. The study was based on cross-sectional data from the “LifeOnSoMe” study performed in Bergen, Norway, including 2023 senior high school pupils (response rate 54%, mean age 17.4, 44% boys). Nine potentially relevant items were assessed using factor analysis, and latent class analysis was used to identify latent classes with distinct patterns of responses across seven retained items. The retained items converged into one factor, called “focus on self-presentation”. We identified three groups of adolescents with a low, intermediate, and high focus on self-presentation. Associations between identified latent classes and covariates were assessed using regression analyses. Being a girl, higher extraversion, lower emotional stability, more frequent alcohol consumption, and having tried tobacco were associated with membership in the high-focus group. These results suggest some characteristics that are associated with a higher focus on self-presentation and that could inform targeted interventions.

Purpose: Previous approaches used to assess problematic social media use risk inflating prevalence numbers and classifying unproblematic social media use as problematic. The main aim of this study was to take an exploratory view as to how different types of activities, experiences, and motivations on social media are associated with problematic mental health outcomes in adolescents. Patients and Methods: This study is based on a cross-sectional survey of 2023 adolescents (mean age 17.4 years (SD 0.9), 44.4% males) from the year 2020. Exploratory graph analysis and exploratory factor analysis were performed on 28 pre-selected items assessing adolescents’ use of social media, to identify underlying potentially problematic factors associated with social media use. Sets of gender-adjusted multiple linear regression analyses were performed to assess the degree to which social media factors predicted depression, anxiety, well-being, and time spent on social media. Results: Three factors were identified: 1) “subjective overuse”, 2) “social obligations”, and 3) “source of concern”. All three factors showed significant positive associations with mental health problems. The factor “source of concern”, which identifies feelings of being overwhelmed and concerned over social media use, had the strongest association to mental health problems and simultaneously the weakest association to time spent on social media. Conclusion: Three identified factors measuring problematic social media use showed positive associations with mental health problems. This lends support to the notion that problematic social media use is a multidimensional phenomenon and demonstrates the need to move beyond addiction criteria when assessing problematic social media use.

Background: Adolescents’ presence on Social Media (SoMe) facilitates peer connections making them susceptible to peer-influences and approval. Negative experiences on SoMe can affect adolescent stress and wellbeing, impelling their use of alcohol. This paper provides a novel understanding of the relationship between negative experiences on SoMe and key indicators of alcohol use in adolescents. Methods: Data was collected from upper secondary school students (n = 3528, ages 16–19, 45% boys) in Bergen (Norway) using a web-based questionnaire during school-hours in 2020 and 2021. Dependent variables were alcohol consumption, binge drinking and scoring ≥ 2 points on the CRAFFT instrument screening for substance use problems in adolescents. Independent variables were two scales indicating “negative acts and exclusion” and “unwanted attention from others”. Covariates included age, gender, country of birth and subjective socioeconomic status. Results are presented as relative risk ratios (RRR), odds ratios (OR) and incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Using multinomial logistic regression models, “negative acts and exclusion” and “unwanted attention” were positively associated with trying alcohol (OR: 1.50 (95% CI 1.28–1.76) and 1.86 (95% CI 1.66–2.09) respectively, both p ≤ 0.001), with frequency and amount of alcohol consumed. Findings from logistic regression models indicated that “negative acts and exclusion” and “unwanted attention” were positively associated with i. CRAFFT-caseness (OR: 2.13 and 1.86) and ii. frequent binge drinking (OR: 1.55 and 1.89). Conclusion: Both exclusion and unwanted attention on SoMe were associated with indicators of problematic drinking, including frequency, quantity, and consequences related to alcohol.

(1) Background: The inclusion of Internet Gaming Disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) led to a rapid development of assessment instruments based on the suggested diagnosis. However, previous studies suggest that some of the symptoms in the diagnosis reflect engagement in gaming rather than a disorder or addiction. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate mental health associations with different typologies of gamers. (2) Methods: Data stemmed from a large national survey of students (SHoT2022) that was conducted between February and April 2022 (N = 59,544). Participants were categorized into non-gamers, recreational gamers, engaged gamers, problematic gamers, and addicted gamers. Logistic regression models adjusted for age were analyzed with and without gender-stratification for mental distress and life satisfaction as dependent variables across gaming categories. (3) Results: The proportion reporting case-level mental distress was lower for recreational gamers compared to non-gamers, indicating fewer mental health problems for recreational gamers. However, after stratifying the analysis by gender, female recreational gamers had higher levels of mental distress compared to female non-gamers, reflecting Simpson’s paradox. (4) Conclusions: Future studies investigating mental health and gaming should include a gender perspective.

Background: The effects of adolescent digital technology use (e.g. social media, gaming) on their mental health are a major public health concern, but existing evidence is of mixed quality and findings have been inconclusive. Methods: Separating within-person effects from between-person effects, a random-intercept cross-lagged panel model was applied to three annual waves of data (T1, T2, T3) on social media use, gaming, and internalizing symptoms among N = 25 629 adolescents (51% girls, average age 12 years, 7 months (SD = 3.58 months) at baseline) in Greater Manchester, England. Results: Longitudinal relationships varied by gender, such that more frequent gaming at T2 predicted less time spent on social media use at T3 in girls (but not boys), and more frequent internalizing symptoms at T2 predicted reductions in gaming frequency at T3 in boys (but not girls). There was no evidence that time spent on social media or gaming frequency predicted later internalizing symptoms among girls or boys. Sensitivity analyses that distinguished active versus passive social media use replicated these findings. Conclusions: The findings of this study do not support the widely held view that adolescent technology use is a major causal factor in their mental health difficulties.