"With all your friends in your pocket" - a qualitative study about adolescents' experiences with social media from a health-promoting perspective.

Adolescents experienced social media as an important part of everyday life and a novel way to relate to the world.

• Study involved 27 adolescents aged 15-18 years from two public senior high schools in Norway
• Data collected through five focus group interviews
• Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis
• Social media use was described as pervasive and integral to daily life rather than peripheral

Adolescents experienced social support through social media via communication, feeling unity, inclusion, and the establishment of a larger social network.

• Social support was identified as one of two main themes from the thematic analysis
• Social media use was described as preventing loneliness and promoting social belonging
• The concept of having 'all your friends in your pocket' captured the sense of constant social availability
• Inclusion and unity were key dimensions of the social support experienced online

Social media use was reported as important for adolescents' self-esteem through receiving and providing attention, acceptance, and confirmation.

• Self-esteem was identified as the second of two main themes from the thematic analysis
• Both giving and receiving attention and confirmation online were relevant to self-esteem
• Acceptance from peers via social media was described as a meaningful component
• The salutogenic framework was used to interpret these self-esteem-related experiences

Social support and self-esteem were found to interact in a mutually reinforcing cycle on social media.

• Social support was described as promoting self-esteem
• Enhanced self-esteem in turn promoted online self-expression
• Increased self-expression further reinforced social support, creating a positive feedback loop
• This interplay was identified as a distinct third element beyond the two main themes individually

The interplay between social support and self-esteem on social media may positively influence adolescents' identity, sense of coherence, and mental health.

• Findings were interpreted through a salutogenic health-promoting perspective
• Sense of coherence, a key concept in salutogenic theory, was referenced as potentially enhanced
• The authors suggest social media may serve as a health-promoting arena, not only a risk factor
• The authors noted that more in-depth knowledge about adolescents' SoMe experiences from a salutogenic perspective is still needed