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Introduction: Although not yet recognized as an official disorder, Social Media Disorder (SMD) has recently received considerable interest in the research. However, relatively little is known about underlying motives for social media use and to what extent motives show differential associations with SMD symptom severity and SMD diagnosis. The overall aim of the present study was therefore to examine motives for social media use in relation to (1) which motives are most common, (2) associations between motives and both SMD symptom severity and SMD diagnosis, and (3) the effects of sex and age. Methods: Data were collected through a digital survey (n = 1820) and included both high school students (n = 924) and university students (n = 896). Six different motives were assessed, and SMD was measured in relation to both Heavy Involvement and Negative Consequences of social media use. Results: The results showed that the most common social media use motives were Entertainment, Social Maintenance, and Information and Skills. However, it was the three least common motives - Social Compensation, Self-status, and Escape - that were most strongly associated with SMD symptom severity and SMD diagnosis. These three motives explained as much as 42% of the variance in negative consequences of social media use. Only a few small effects of sex or age were found. Discussion: Some social media use motives are much more strongly associated with SMD than others are. This could indicate that prevention and intervention programs should target these motives specifically, rather than focusing on social media use in general.

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic changed people's lives and created a "new normal." It threatened individuals' mental health owing to reduced physical activity and social interaction, excessive indoor time, financial hardship, and insecurity. Moreover, the risk of online behavioral addiction increased in the general population, particularly among adolescents. The present study examined the differences between the pre-and post-pandemic periods regarding online behavioral addictions in adolescents. Methods The pre-pandemic data were obtained from 175 adolescents (August 2019 to February 2020) (T1). An online survey was sent to these participants to obtain the post-pandemic data (March to September 2022) (T2). Seventy participants completed the online survey (response rate: 40%). The participants completed the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale 9-Short Form (IGDS9-SF), and the Social Media Disorder Scale-Short Form (SMDS-SF) both before and after the pandemic. Results  Before the pandemic, females had significantly higher SMDS-SF scores compared to males (p = 0.005). On the other hand, males had higher IGDS9-SF scores than females before the pandemic (p<.001). Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) had higher IGDS9-SF scores before the pandemic than those with depressive disorders or other diagnoses (p = 0.004). However, the primary diagnosis was not related to pre-pandemic SAS and SMDS-SF scores. Lastly, there was no significant difference in IGDS9-SF (p = 0.151), SMDS-SF (p = 0.200), or SAS scores (p = 0.413) between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic scores. Conclusion Although the current study did not support this view, in emotionally challenging times, people may spend more time on online activities, which can lead to behavioral addiction. It is important for parents to monitor their children's online activities and provide guidance. More research is needed to compare online behavioral addictions before and after the pandemic.

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Background and aims: It has been argued that it is important to consider underlying mechanisms of mental health problems. Previous studies have shown that executive deficits, delay aversion, and emotion dysregulation are related to Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Social Media Disorder (SMD). However, the present study is the first to investigate whether these neuropsychological deficits show additive effects or if they interact. The present study also investigated whether these deficits mediate the association between IGD/SMD and psychosocial outcomes. Methods: The study involved 995 university students who completed a survey measuring IGD/SMD symptom severity, neuropsychological functions, and psychosocial outcomes. Both dimensional and categorical analyses were used to assess the associations between neuropsychological functions and IGD/SMD. Simple and multiple mediation analyses were conducted to examine if neuropsychological functioning mediates the association between IGD/SMD and psychosocial outcomes. Results: All neuropsychological functions were significantly associated with both IGD and SMD symptom severity. However, only inhibition and emotion regulation, as well as delay aversion for SMD, remained significant when controlling for the overlap between different functions. Associations were significantly stronger for men compared to women for IGD. In the categorical analyses, individuals with IGD/SMD were more likely to have neuropsychological deficits (odds ratios between 3.33 and 8.81). Finally, all neuropsychological functions, except inhibition, were significant mediators in the link between IGD/SMD and psychosocial outcomes. Discussion and conclusions: These results shed light on the neuropsychological underpinnings of IGD/SMD, which can be used to identify more homogenous subgroups and provide more individualized treatment options.

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Introduction: This study examined associations between screen time and addictive use (i.e., heavy involvement and negative consequences) of gaming and social media, and their independent effects on health outcomes. Methods: Survey data were collected from 2,265 participants (mean age = 21.57). Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Social Media Disorder (SMD) were measured with the Gaming and Social Media Questionnaire (GSMQ-9), with separate measures for heavy involvement and negative consequences. Screen time was measured by weekly hours of gaming and social media. Assessed health outcomes were psychological problems, low self-concept, social problems, sleep problems, and sleep time. Results: Screen time and addictive use were significantly associated for both gaming and social media, with associations being stronger for symptoms of heavy involvement compared to symptoms of negative consequences. However, despite significant associations, a substantial proportion of the participants with a high screen time did not meet any or just one symptom of addiction. More importantly, it was primarily negative consequences that had independent effects on health outcomes, except for sleep. High levels of heavy involvement in gaming, were even related to lower, not higher, levels of psychological problems. Conclusion: The present findings study show that screen time is a poor indicator of addictive use of gaming and social media. Given that it was primarily negative consequences of gaming or social media that had effects on health outcomes, our study also emphasizes the need to distinguish between different types of addictive use and to further examine the diagnostic validity of the nine IGD symptom criteria.

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Social media disorder (SMD) is a frequently occurring subtype of Internet-related disorders (IRD), which has recently become a focus of research. It is noticeable that women are among those affected, whose nosological characteristics need to be examined. A clinical sample of n = 294 women (14-68 years, M = 36.88 years) was generated. The questionnaire included questions about demography, IRD, SMD, personality traits, psychopathological distress, functional impairment and comorbid mental illnesses. IRD was found in 17.5 percent and SMD in 12.5 percent of women. Compared to women with global IRD Women with SMD reported lower scores on the personality traits neuroticism and agreeableness. They are more frequently functionally impaired in the social dimension, more often reported comorbid substance-dependency and less eating disorders. The results suggest that although have similar characteristics to the comparison group, women with SMD differ in their nosological characteristics from women with global IRD.

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PURPOSE: This study sought to identify determinants of social media disorder (SMD) and describe the social media engagement among rural young (18 to 24 years old) college students during long periods of community quarantine due to COVID-19. METHODS: This mixed methods study draws from a sample of 500 students from rural Luzon, Philippines. Quantitative and qualitative data collection were done via online survey. RESULTS: Findings reveal that 24.2 % of the respondents have SMD. Students who are from below middle-income households, and are active on Tiktok have greater odds for SMD. Qualitative analysis of narratives of students with SMD (n = 121) reveal the beneficial and negative impacts of social media. CONCLUSIONS: Results highlight how social position, and uses and gratifications of social media can facilitate development of SMD.

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Objective: With the widespread use of social media, excessive use of social media may lead to problematic behaviors such as social media disorder, which has a negative impact on teenagers' mental health. Thus, it is an urgent need to provide a measurement tool to assess social media addiction in different cultures. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of 27-item Social Media Disorder (SMD) Scale (developed using the diagnostic criteria of DSM-V Internet Gaming Disorder) in college students, and to verify its impact on mental health. Methods: Two online surveys were conducted among a total of 1,539 Chinese college students, including 1,316 subjects in sample 1 and 223 subjects in sample 2. The discrimination, criterion validity, construct validity and reliability of the Chinese version of SMD-27 scale were examined. Results: The Chinese version of SMD-27 scale showed excellent psychometric properties. The item-total correlation coefficients of the scale ranged from 0.31 to 0.56, and the item-dimension correlations of the scale ranged from 0.459 to 0.834. Findings from confirmatory factor analysis indicated a great fit of the model of the Chinese version of SMD-27, with CFI = 0.956, TLI = 0.951, RMSEA = 0.036 in sample one and CFI = 0.970, TLI = 0.967, RMSEA = 0.040 in sample two, thus confirming the second-order factor structure of the scale. The SMD-27 scale showed good internal consistency between two different samples with their respective Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and 0.92, and good test-retest reliability over a period of 1 month. In addition, multiple regression results generally supported the impact of social media addiction on mental health. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that the Chinese version of SMD-27 scale is applicable to Chinese college populations, and it is a promising tool for the study of social media addiction in China.

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Time spent on social media continues to rise globally. For some individuals, social media use can become maladaptive and associated with clinically significant social and occupational impairments. This problematic social media use (PSMU) is also linked with poorer health and wellbeing. Much of our existing PSMU knowledge comes from single nation studies, heavily focused on adolescent and college-age samples. This study uses data from Ithra's 2021 global digital wellbeing survey to explore rates of PSMU and identify socio-demographic and attitudinal correlates. Participants (N = 15,000) were representative adult samples (N = 500) drawn from 30 nations. All participants provided socio-demographic data and completed a measure of PSMU, along with questions assessing attitudes toward social media and general usage patterns. PSMU prevalence was 6.82%, varying from 1.7 to 18.4% between nations. Multivariate logistical regression identified several correlates, including national culture, age, parenthood and frequency of use. These findings can help inform public policy and public health initiatives to reduce PSMU prevalence.

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Background: Previous research has shown that addictions to digital media can have negative impact on psychosocial health. Although Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has received most scholarly recognition, the potential negative consequences of Social Media Disorder (SMD) have also been found. However, few studies have assessed the symptoms of these two digital media addictions in the same way, making comparisons difficult. The present study aims to fill this gap by investigating differences and similarities regarding how common the symptoms are, sex differences, the suitability of the symptoms, and their association with psychosocial difficulties. Method: A total of 688 university students (63.2% women, Mean age = 25.98) completed a questionnaire measuring symptoms of IGD and SMD, as well as psychosocial difficulties (i.e., psychosomatic symptoms, low self-concept, and social problems). Results: Results showed that 1.2% of the men and 0.9% of the women met the symptom criteria for IGD (non-significant difference), whereas 3.2% men and 2.8% women met the symptom criteria for SMD (non-significant difference). Dimensional analyses indicated that men had higher IGD scores compared to women, whereas the opposite was found for SMD. Symptoms of heavy involvement in digital media (i.e., Preoccupation, Tolerance, Withdrawal, Unsuccessful attempts to control, and Escape) had high sensitivity, but low positive predictive value (PPV). However, symptoms associated with negative consequences of digital media use (i.e., Loss of interest, Continued excessive use, Deception, and Jeopardizing career/relationships) had low sensitivity, but high PPV. These symptom patterns were similar for IGD and SMD. Meeting the criteria for IGD or SMD as well as being at risk of these disorders were significantly associated with psychosocial difficulties. Symptoms of SMD generally had stronger associations with psychosomatic symptoms compared to symptoms of IGD. Conclusions: We conclude that heavy involvement in digital media seems common among individuals with IGD or SMD, but also among those not meeting the symptom criteria, whereas negative consequences are less common but highly predictive of digital media addictions once present. Further attention to SMD is warranted, as it seems more common than IGD and also seems to be equally or more strongly associated with psychosocial difficulties.

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Italian adolescents were confined at home for 3 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed them to feelings of fear, uncertainty, and loneliness that may have increased their vulnerability to emotional-behavioral symptoms (e.g., anxiety) and binge-eating attitudes. Potential risk factors for these psychopathological symptoms are problematic social media usage and attachment insecurity. Therefore, this study aimed: (1) to assess emotional-behavioral symptoms, binge eating, problematic social media usage, and attachment representations of adolescents during the pandemic, comparing them with prepandemic similar samples; (2) to investigate relationships among variables, exploring the role of problematic social media usage and insecure attachment as risk factors for more psychopathological symptoms. Participants were 62 community adolescents aged 12-17 years, enrolled through schools, and assessed online through the following measures: Youth Self-Report for emotional-behavioral problems, Binge-Eating Scale for binge eating, Social Media Disorder Scale for problematic social media usage, and the Friends and Family Interview for attachment. The main results were: (1) 9.4% of adolescents showed clinical rates of emotional-behavioral symptoms and 4.8% of binge eating attitudes. The comparison with pre-pandemic samples revealed that pandemic teenagers showed lower internalizing, but higher other problems (e.g., binge drinking, self-destructive behaviors) and more problematic social media usage than pre-pandemic peers. No differences in binge-eating attitudes and attachment were revealed (76% secure classifications). (2) Problematic social media usage was related to more binge eating and emotional-behavioral problems, predicting 5.4% of both delinquent and attention problems. Attachment disorganization predicted 16.5% of internalizing problems, somatic complaints, and social and identity-related problems. In conclusion, confinement did not increase adolescents' internalizing symptoms -i.e., vulnerability to mood disorders of an anxious-depressive type- which even decreased. However, teenagers may have expressed their discomfort through other problems and symptoms of social media disorder. Further studies should explore the role of adolescents' problematic social media usage and attachment insecurity as risk factors for additional psychopathological symptoms.

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OBJECTIVE: Social media disorder (SMD) is an increasing problem, especially in adolescents. The lack of a consensual classification for SMD hinders the further development of the research field. The six components of Griffiths' biopsychosocial model of addiction have been the most widely used criteria to assess and diagnosis SMD. The Bergen social media addiction scale (BSMAS) based on Griffiths' six criteria is a widely used instrument to assess the symptoms and prevalence of SMD in populations. This study aims to: (1) determine the optimal cut-off point for the BSMAS to identify SMD among Chinese adolescents, and (2) evaluate the contribution of specific criteria to the diagnosis of SMD. METHOD: Structured diagnostic interviews in a clinical sample (n = 252) were performed to determine the optimal clinical cut-off point for the BSMAS. The BSMAS was further used to investigate SMD in a community sample of 21,375 adolescents. RESULTS: The BSMAS score of 24 was determined as the best cut-off score based on the gold standards of clinical diagnosis. The estimated 12-month prevalence of SMD among Chinese adolescents was 3.5%. According to conditional inference trees analysis, the criteria "mood modification", "conflict", "withdrawal", and "relapse" showed the higher predictive power for SMD diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that a BSMAS score of 24 is the optimal clinical cut-off score for future research that measure SMD and its impact on health among adolescents. Furthermore, criteria of "mood modification", "conflict", "withdrawal", and "relapse" are the most relevant to the diagnosis of SMA in Chinese adolescents.

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BACKGROUND: The problematic use of social media (SM) is a rising phenomenon, especially in adolescents. It can be assessed by self-rating screeners such as the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS). However, young age or symptom denial might reduce adolescent assessment accuracy. Therefore, the development and validation of a parental scale (SMDS-P) is desirable. METHOD: A representative sample of 961 parents and corresponding frequently SM-using children aged 10 to 17 years participated in an online study. Factorial analyses were performed to determine item structure. Adolescents' SMDS self-reports, SM usage time, emotional dysregulation, and academic performance were used to assess validity. The SMDS-P cut-off value was calculated by ROC-analysis. RESULTS: A one-factorial structure of the SMDS-P could be confirmed. The internal consistency was good (Cronbach's α = 0.85, McDonald's ω = 0.88) and the accordance between parental and self-ratings moderate (kappa = 0.51). SMDS-P was positively associated with adolescents' self-ratings (r = 0.68), SM usage time (r = 0.26) and frequency (ϱ = 0.16) as well as with emotional dysregulation (r = 0.35) in a highly significant manner. CONCLUSIONS: SMDS-P offers a promising new approach to assess problematic SM usage in adolescence. Further studies including clinical validations are required.

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Social media platforms have gained ground in the day-to-day life of the vast majority of people globally. Growing evidence suggests that social media overuse can take a pathological form, and users can exhibit behaviors similar to those appearing in several types of addiction. The aim of this study was to validate the Greek version of the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS) among young adults. An online survey was conducted among Greek adults, aged 18-29 years old. A total of 251 respondents voluntarily participated. Internal consistency, criterion, and construct validity were examined. Results suggest that the Greek version of SMDS shows good psychometric properties. Internal consistency was above the acceptable margin, with a satisfying Cronbach's α coefficient. Correlations with other addiction-related constructs were found to be moderate. Construct validity of the scale was evaluated with exploratory factor analysis. Exploratory factor analysis resulted in a single factor model, which explained almost half of the total variance. The Greek version of SMDS is a psychometrically sound and valid instrument, which researchers and practitioners can use to assess social media addiction in young adults.

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PURPOSE: To learn more about the association between social media use disorder and alexithymia among Lebanese people. DESIGN/METHODS: Four hundred fifty-six residents participated in this cross-sectional study which was carried out between January and December 2018. FINDINGS: The results showed that 107 (23.7%) participants were classified as having social media use disorder. Higher social media use disorder score (ß = .52), higher perceived stress (ß = .35), and higher depression (ß = .12) were significantly associated with more alexithymia. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Our results have shown that social media use disorder and being depressed and stressed were associated with higher levels of alexithymia. Psychologists/health practitioners can benefit from these findings in their future prevention and intervention plans. People who negatively utilize social media platforms can then be offered with appropriate counseling and coping mechanisms.

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OBJECTIVE: Social media disorder (SMD) is defined as a behavioral addiction and has been associated with depression, loneliness, narcissism, low self-esteem, poor sleep quality, and low academic performance. Ostracism is a term defined as being ignored or excluded by others. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the predictors of ostracism in adolescents and test the effect of SMD on ostracism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was performed as a survey study. Adolescents between 14 and 18 years of age were administered a structured questionnaire to assess socio demographic properties, SMD, and ostracism. The SMD Scale and Ostracism Experience Scale for Adolescents (OES-A) were used. Between January and June 2018, 864 university students ≤18 years of age were invited to the study and 684 (79.1%) of them participated. RESULTS: We found a positive correlation between OES-A and SMD scores (r=0.52, p<0.001). In the multivariate analysis, male gender, absence of a hobby, not being successful in the university, and high SMD scores were associated with high OES-A scores. CONCLUSION: This is the first data obtained proving an association between SMD and ostracism. The impact of SMD and ostracism on psychosocial issues should be further evaluated.

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BACKGROUND: In Lebanon, it is already established that mental disorders are prevalent among the population. Lebanese people are active users of social media platforms. To date, no study has previously explored the relationship between mental health and social media use disorder in Lebanon. The present study aims to learn more about the link between social media use disorder and loneliness among Lebanese people. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out between January and December 2018. It enrolled 456 residents of the community randomly selected from Lebanon's governorates in a proportionate rate. RESULTS: The results showed that 107 (23.7%) participants were classified as having social media use disorder. The results of a stepwise linear regression, taking the loneliness score as the dependent variable, showed that female gender compared to males (Beta = 0.42), having a secondary level of education compared to illiteracy (Beta = 0.65), higher social media use disorder (Beta = 0.03) and higher insomnia (Beta = 0.02) and alexithymia (Beta = 0.02) were significantly associated with higher loneliness. CONCLUSION: The present study was able to contribute to the literature and showed the association between social media use disorder and loneliness. These findings can benefit psychologists and public health practitioners in their future prevention and intervention plans.

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