engleski

Use of Social Media and Social Anxiety in Emerging Adults

Introduction Social media (SM) are an essential element in young people’s everyday life. Despite positive effects of SM, associations between SM use and anxiety and depression symptoms have also been observed. Considering that social comparisons are an inevitable aspect of SM use, emerging adults who score high in social anxiety and low in self-esteem will be more vulnerable to adverse outcomes related to SM use compared to their peers. The current study explores the link between social anxiety and some negative outcomes associated with SM use. In addition, it addresses several potential moderators of the association, such as motivation for SM use, offline social support, and satisfaction with offline relationships. Method Online survey is currently being carried out in Croatia among participants aged 18-30 years. The survey represents baseline assessment that will be followed by two more study waves (designed to evaluate an online cognitive-behavioral intervention). The planned sample size is 600-800 participants. Online questionnaire contains sociodemographic, patterns of SM use, social support and subjective well-being, anxiety and depression symptoms, social anxiety, and self-esteem modules. The key indicators are: the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS), Self-Liking/Self-Competence Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21). Multivariate regression and path analyses will be used to explore a structure of associations in the data. Results The study is currently in data collection phase. Conclusions Please see above.

social media ; social anxiety ; emerging adults

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