This study examines the emotional experiences and impacts of social media use among middle-aged adults across six European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, and the United Kingdom). Using a qualitative, cross-cultural approach, six focus groups were conducted with 46 individuals aged 40-65, most of whom were male (n = 30, 65.2%). Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three primary themes were observed as follows: (a) emotional impacts of social media use and distancing, reflecting users' attempts to manage exhaustion, fatigue, and psychological strain by discontinuing their usage; (b) mistrust of social media and online news, with increased skepticism shared toward misinformation, algorithmic manipulation, and emerging artificial intelligence technologies; and (c) aggression on social media, including exposure to hostile environments and the adoption of defensive strategies to avoid them. Overall, findings illustrated a pattern of behavioral shift over time in this middle-aged group, where past habits of active engagement and sharing gave way to present-day mistrust and disengagement, as participants sought to protect themselves from emotional and informational harm and exhaustion. Although the literature has focused primarily on examining social media experiences of younger populations, this study addresses a gap by investigating the experiences of middle-aged individuals. Discussion highlights the need for interventions aiming to reduce fatigue, exhaustion, and distress, and to enhance skills for understanding misinformation and improving trust in social media.
Addressing a gap in current spoiler research, this study explores the selection of spoilers as a potential self-protective mechanism using the context of a dog's death in a TV episode. Two between-subjects quasi-experiments examined spoilers and their effect on enjoyment in an environment of free choice as well as testing spoiler impact on enjoyment after forced exposure. Results from the first study revealed that there was a possible connection between empathic concern for the dog about to die, concern for self, and the likelihood of spoiler selection. Due to low compliance and subsequent high attrition rates in Study 1 that cast some uncertainty on the solidity of the results, a second study was conducted. This confirmed the relationship between concern for the dog, concern for the self, and an increased likelihood of selecting a spoiler. Interestingly, spoiler selection was unrelated to subsequent enjoyment or suspense. This provides further support for the supposition that spoiler selection is at least in part motivated by self-protection and that in this context selecting a spoiler does not spoil the story.
Using a sample of emerging adults, we tested the effects of viewing news coverage of the excessive CO2 emissions from Taylor Swift's private jet on participants' moral reasoning strategies and environmental cognitions. We also examined how these relationships differed by levels of fan identity. Results showed that high-level Swift fans who viewed news of Swift's transgression reported the highest levels of rationalization (compared with fans who read about other celebrities' CO2-emissions). Rationalization predicted lower CO2 concerns and environment-related behavioral intentions. Results demonstrate moral reasoning as a way for emerging adults to reconcile with celebrity transgressions that counter other moral values.
This study presents a proof-of-concept investigation of whether brief exposure to hopeful video content can influence short-term, self-reported depressive symptoms. Guided by hope theory, hopeful video stimuli were identified using a data-informed selection procedure. In a randomized experiment with 385 participants, a single session of hopeful video viewing increased positive emotions and state agency thinking, resulting in a modest but significant 2.28-point reduction in state depression scores compared with nonhopeful positive videos (p < .001). Mediation analyses indicated that positive emotions and agency thinking accounted for 25.0% and 14.9% of the total effect, respectively, with a direct pathway explaining 55.7%. These effects were consistent across baseline levels of trait depression. Overall, the findings provide preliminary evidence that hope-related media exposure can produce measurable short-term improvements in mood, highlighting its potential role as a scalable, theory-informed mood-regulation resource.
This study investigated whether self-compassion-distinguished as compassionate versus uncompassionate self-responding-and social anxiety mediate the association between social pain and internet-related addictive behaviors, specifically social media addiction and internet gaming disorder, and whether these mediating pathways vary by socioeconomic status (SES). A total of 2,349 Chinese university students completed self-report questionnaires at two time points separated by a 6-month interval. Longitudinal mediation analyses indicated that both self-compassion and social anxiety independently mediated the relationship between social pain and social media addiction or internet gaming disorder, and also formed a significant sequential mediation pathway. In particular, compassionate self-responding buffered the adverse impact of social pain on social anxiety, thereby reducing the risk of internet-related addictive behaviors, whereas uncompassionate self-responding amplified social anxiety and subsequent addiction risk. Moreover, SES moderated these pathways: Self-compassion functioned as a significant mediator only among socioeconomically disadvantaged students, whereas social anxiety mediated the association between social pain and addictive behaviors primarily among socioeconomically advantaged students. These findings highlight the differential psychological mechanisms underlying internet-related addictive behaviors across socioeconomic contexts and underscore the protective role of compassionate self-responding, offering important implications for the development of SES-sensitive prevention and intervention strategies.
Asian American women are at risk for body dissatisfaction. Exposure to fitspiration (fitness inspiration images) has been shown to increase body dissatisfaction in women, but minimal research has been conducted on Asian American women. This study examined how exposure to fitspiration content that depicts different races affects Asian American women's body dissatisfaction and appearance comparison. Participants included 258 Asian American women who were randomly assigned to view White fitspiration, Asian fitspiration, or travel images (control). Participants completed items on state body dissatisfaction pre- and postexposure to the images and completed a measure of appearance comparison postexposure. State body dissatisfaction decreased in the White fitspiration group and the travel group from pre- to postexposure. Both fitspiration groups thought about their appearance more when viewing fitspiration images than those in the travel group at postexposure. The Asian fitspiration group had higher appearance comparison than the White fitspiration group. Therefore, Asian American women should view fitspiration images with caution, particularly those of their own race.
Problematic media use (PMU) in young children, which involves a maladaptive preoccupation with using screen media, has been linked to subsequent negative outcomes in children. However, research investigating how particular patterns of child media use are associated with child PMU and how child characteristics may moderate these associations is needed. This study examined how the content and context of child screen media use (including duration, content, couse, use of media for behavioral regulation, the presence of television in a child's bedroom, and exposure frequency to background television) related to PMU and how child externalizing behavior moderated these associations. Multiple linear regression was used to examine relations between child screen media use characteristics and PMU and to examine child externalizing behavior as a moderator. Participants were 822 parents of 4-8-year-olds, who reported on their child's media use and behavior. Child total screentime, exposure to violent media content, more frequent exposure to background television, and more frequent use of screen media for behavioral regulation were unique correlates of PMU in regression models. In addition, proportion of exposure to educational media content was associated with less PMU in children with externalizing behavior problems but not in those without. The findings suggest that attending to specific aspects of a child's media use may be important for reducing the risk of PMU and that future studies identifying risk or protective factors for PMU should consider how a child's individual characteristics may moderate relevant associations.
Under the perspective on uses and gratifications, this study attempts to explore the mediating role of online social capital (OSC) in the association between gaming motivation and compulsive gaming buying (CGB), as well as the potential gender differences. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was adopted to analyze the responses from 571 video games players (323 males, 248 females). The results indicated that (a) completion and competition motivations are positively associated with CGB; (b) social, completion, competition, escape, and smarty-pants are positively associated with CGB through the mediation of OSC; (c) there are also significant gender difference-the association between competition and CGB was more significant for females, while the mediating role of OSC in the relation between escape and CGB was significantly greater for males. Our findings highlight the critical role of gaming motivations in CGB. The mediating role of OSC further reveals the social-cognitive pathways of this process and underscores the need for targeted interventions, especially for female players with strong competitive motivations and male players with strong escapist motivations.
Games and gaming communities have long been associated with exclusionary values, from poor representation of women and racial minorities to the 2014 GamerGate movement's harassment of feminist media critics and broader backlash against "political correctness" in games, to contemporary groups opposed to developers' inclusion of "wokeness" and "diversity, equity, and inclusion" in games. Using data from a large national consumer survey, we assess whether online gaming communities broadly hold these exclusionary values-or whether a vocal minority or systemic community values explain the widespread reports of racism, sexism, and backlash against diverse representation. We account for differences in genre to address the interplay between game content and community formation, as well as the use of online services like Xbox Live. We ultimately find that gamers generally hold more inclusive values than the general public.
Past studies have demonstrated that media multitasking could be related to negative sleep outcomes and worse global health. It is unclear, however, whether these outcomes differ based on the timing of media multitasking (general vs. before bed) or the media combinations used for multitasking (e.g., specific digital media involved). In addition, the possible underlying mechanisms explaining the association between media multitasking and sleep outcomes have yet to be explored. The purpose of this cross-sectional study (N = 363) was to examine the relation between media multitasking and sleep outcomes, and to test the mediating effect of trait mindfulness. Participants (M-age = 19.05; 69.1% women, 82.6% White) from a large Midwestern public university in the United States completed measures on media multitasking behaviors, sleep outcomes, global health, and trait mindfulness. Results demonstrated that media multitasking before sleep was a better statistical predictor of adverse sleep outcomes such as daytime sleepiness (beta = .15) and sleep disturbances (beta = .13) than general media multitasking. No specific combination of media multitasking uniquely predicted sleep outcomes, indicating that any form of media multitasking before sleep could be associated with negative sleep outcomes. Multitasking behaviors were not associated with global health (beta s <= .10). Contrary to the theoretical prediction, trait mindfulness did not mediate the association between media multitasking and sleep outcomes (beta s <= .03), suggesting at the theoretical level that mindfulness-based interventions focused on fostering trait mindfulness may not be relevant in reducing the negative effects of media multitasking on sleep.
As video games and players age, some are drawn to retro titles, operationalized here as games from the 1970s-early 2000s. This trend has sparked growing interest among researchers and the games industry in areas such as consumer behavior, nostalgia, and well-being. However, little is known about naturalistic retro gaming-who plays them, and what time periods players revisit. We analyze 1,099 players' logged session histories on Nintendo Switch classic consoles (e.g., Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo 64), totaling 13,000 hr. We find that retro gaming increases with age until around 40; that people tend to revisit consoles popular when they were 5-13 years old (personal nostalgia) but that some play games predating their birth (historical nostalgia); and that there are no stable differences in well-being between those that do (not) play retro games. Retro gaming may yet have more localized or short-term implications for psychosocial health in older adults and is set to significantly impact the future of the games industry.
This study extends the growing body of media prescription research by determining whether instructing young adults to select their own inspirational media content has the same benefits on stress relief and goal motivation as previously found in studies assigning inspirational content. In a 4-week longitudinal intervention, the young adult sample (N = 132) was instructed to select 3-5 min of content that they found personally inspiring on their preferred short-form video platform every day for 5 days. The effects of this self-selected exposure were tracked for up to 10 days after the intervention. Findings demonstrated that inspirational content exposure was associated with higher hope, which in turn predicted both immediate and short-term stress relief and sustained goal motivation. Importantly, a measurable shift toward a less negative feed tone was detected. Furthermore, though amusement and awe were elevated and anxiety and boredom were reduced during the intervention, only reduced boredom evidenced a similar pattern of benefits as hope. This research provides the first evidence that young adults can self-administer brief, self-selected doses of inspirational content within their social media feeds with meaningful emotional and psychological effects. Practically, this evidence supports the notion that seeding one's social media feed with inspiring content can shift algorithmically provided content in ways that support these positive outcomes.
Internet memes refer to images, text, and other units of culture that spread rapidly. Memes often depict characters with visual and textual elements to facilitate interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Current literature on memes and mental health focuses on depression and anxiety, with less attention given to bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression. Given the overlap between an avid meme users' age range of 13-35 and the average age of onset of bipolar disorder being 25, this article explores manic depression/bipolar disorder memes to understand how memes are used to express the experiences of this condition. Within these memes exist characters that appear in the lives of individuals with bipolar disorder. Using multimedia narrative analysis, this study demonstrates how characters express an integrated strand of meaning by those diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Character mapping was used to analyze 12 manic depression/bipolar disorder memes chosen from Reddit and Instagram. This narrative inquiry led to findings about a range of ways that meme creators use memes in an empowering manner to resist against oppressive societal narratives about bipolar disorder.
Ozempic is a prescription injectable indicated for the treatment of adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus and has gained notable media attention related to its off-label use for weight loss. Scholars have credited the rising popularity of weight-loss drugs to the pervasive pursuit of thinness and anti-fatness, thereby leading to a growing volume of health misinformation and concerns surrounding nonmedically indicated Ozempic use. Given TikTok's expansive audience, the present study aimed to describe the portrayal of Ozempic and explore the evolution of public communication and endorsement of the drug. TikTok videos containing the hashtag "#Ozempic" were collected in February 2023 and May 2024 (N-total = 300). Following codebook development, two researchers independently coded videos, producing a set of coding frequencies with high interrater reliability. Across both timepoints, videos primarily contained feminine-presenting individuals, consumers of the drug, with the primary intent of sharing personal use narratives. Compared with the first time point, later videos contained significantly fewer medical professionals, less mentions of adverse physical or systemic effects, and a significant increase in overall positive sentiment surrounding Ozempic use for weight loss. Findings suggest that public discourse and perceptions of Ozempic use for weight loss have become more positive over time, reflecting the perpetuation of the thin ideal and weight normativity that dominate Western societies. These findings raise concern regarding the normalization of using weight-loss drugs with serious potential side effects for individual users and broader societal consequences of widespread uptake of easily-accessible pharmacological agents for weight loss.
The relationship between sexual media exposure and adolescents' sexual attitudes and behaviors, including timing of first sexual experience, is well established. Research has emphasized the potential role of individual-difference variables in attenuating the potentially unhealthy impact of media on adolescent sexual health outcomes, and scholars have called for additional research in this area. Skepticism of media messages has been proposed as a variable that may serve as a protective factor against the potentially unhealthy effects of sexual media exposure on adolescent sexual decision making. However, this has yet to be explored empirically. Using a school-based sample of students in 9th- and 10th- grade (n=464, M age=14; 55% female), this study examined the relationship between young adolescents' sexual media exposure and intentions to engage in sexual activity in the next year, and the potential moderating role of media skepticism. As hypothesized, greater sexual media exposure was positively related to intentions to engage in sexual activity in the next year. This relationship was moderated by media skepticism such that the relationship between sexual media exposure and sexual intentions was significantly weaker for adolescents' who were more skeptical of media messages. Implications for future research and interventions aimed at bolstering adolescents' critical media attitudes, including media skepticism, are discussed.
In the present study, a mediated moderation model was constructed in which the context of avatar identification moderated the relationship between avatar behavior and aggression; furthermore, this moderating effect was mediated by moral self-perception. The experiment featured a 2 (avatar behavior: violent/nonviolent) & times; 2 (avatar identification: high/low) between-subjects design. The participants (N = 131) were randomly assigned to play either a violent game or a nonviolent game. Gameplay lasted for approximately 20 min. After gameplay, participants' moral self-perception was collected via self-reports, and aggression was measured via the hot sauce allocation paradigm. The results of analyses of variance revealed main effects of avatar behavior and avatar identification on both moral self-perception and aggression, as well as significant interaction effects between avatar behavior and avatar identification with respect to both dependent variables. The results also revealed a mediated moderating effect. Avatar identification moderated the effect of avatar behavior on aggression, and this moderating effect was, in turn, mediated by moral self-perception.
Nomophobia, or the fear of not having access to a mobile phone and/or mobile services, has significant biopsychosocial implications. Despite its growing prevalence, few studies have employed qualitative methodologies to explore the nuances of subjective experiences and factors associated with nomophobia. This is an exploratory, qualitative study that aims to address this gap by investigating the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, including individuals with severe nomophobia (n = 6), and their peers (n = 4), professionals experienced in dealing with individuals with nomophobia (n = 4), and experts in behavioral addiction (n = 6). Qualitative data were collected through in-depth interviews with individuals with severe nomophobia and their peers and key informant interviews with experts. The data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke's model of thematic analysis. The study identified a range of demographic and smartphone-related factors associated with nomophobia. Key psychosocial variables, including fear of missing out, self-esteem, impulsiveness, neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, sensation-seeking, parental supervision and involvement, lack of meaningful relationships, and proximity to close relationships (e.g., living status and relationship status), have been found to influence smartphone use related behaviors and manifestation of nomophobia. An intriguing finding was the dual influence of the need to belong. Both a heightened and unmet need to belong significantly impacted the underlying motives for smartphone use and usage patterns, thereby contributing to nomophobia. Clinical comorbidities such as body image issues, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, social anxiety, and problematic technology use, further illustrate the complexities associated with nomophobia. This study enhances the theoretical understanding of nomophobia by elucidating its etiopathogenesis and contributing factors.
