Social media use shows different associations with older adolescent mental health depending on underlying motives: avoidant-escapist motives were linked to worse anxiety, depression, well-being, and resilience, while social-recreational motives were linked to better outcomes, though causal inferences cannot be made.
Key Findings
Results
Exploratory factor analysis of 10 social media use motive items identified two latent dimensions: avoidant-escapist use and social-recreational use.
Avoidant-escapist use comprised boredom, addiction, distraction, and procrastination.
Social-recreational use comprised socializing, communication, entertainment, and observation.
Data came from the BrainWaves study (N=6820; mean age 16.72, SD 0.74 years).
Confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate factor scores for subsequent regression analyses.
Results
In linear regression analyses, avoidant-escapist motives were associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms, whereas social-recreational motives were associated with lower symptoms.
Factor scores from confirmatory factor analysis were used as predictors in linear regression.
No interactions with gender or deprivation were observed.
Results
The structural equation model showed acceptable fit to the data.
Comparative fit index=0.945.
Root mean squared error of approximation=0.057.
Standardized root mean squared residual=0.054.
Results
Avoidant-escapist motives were associated with higher anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower well-being and resilience in the structural equation model.
Anxiety: β=0.543.
Depressive symptoms: β=0.629.
Well-being: β=-0.610.
Resilience: β=-0.469; P<.001 in all cases.
Results
Social-recreational motives were associated with lower anxiety and depressive symptoms and higher well-being and resilience in the structural equation model.
Anxiety: β=-0.228.
Depressive symptoms: β=-0.342.
Well-being: β=0.362.
Resilience: β=0.242; P<.001 in all cases.
Results
The associations between motives and mental health outcomes remained consistent after accounting for gender and deprivation.
Secondary analyses adjusted for gender and deprivation.
No interactions with gender or deprivation were observed in the linear regression analyses.
Conclusions
The authors conclude that focusing on why adolescents use social media, rather than overall use alone, may offer a more informative framework for understanding risks and benefits.
Social media use showed different associations with older adolescent mental health depending on underlying motives.
The cross-sectional design means causal inferences cannot be made.
What This Means
This study surveyed 6,820 older adolescents (average age about 16.7) in the BrainWaves study about their reasons for using social media and about their mental health. Statistical analysis grouped the reasons into two types: avoidant-escapist use (such as boredom, feeling addicted, distraction, and procrastination) and social-recreational use (such as socializing, communicating, entertainment, and observing).
Teens who used social media more for avoidant-escapist reasons reported more anxiety and depressive symptoms and lower well-being and resilience. Those who used it more for social-recreational reasons reported fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms and higher well-being and resilience. These patterns held after accounting for gender and deprivation, and the associations did not differ by gender or deprivation level.
This research suggests that why young people use social media may matter as much as, or more than, how much they use it. However, the data were collected at a single point in time, so the study cannot show whether motives affect mental health, whether mental health shapes motives, or whether both influence each other.
Lian J, Künzi M, Andrews J, Gallacher J, Bauermeister S. (2026). Social Media Use Motives and Mental Health Among Adolescents: Cross-Sectional Study.. JMIR mental health. https://doi.org/10.2196/111020