Social media and mental health: The role of interpersonal relationships and social media use motivations, in a nationally representative, longitudinal sample of Spanish emerging adults

Using a representative longitudinal sample of emerging adults aged 18 to 24 in Spain, we apply a relational lens to the association between social media and mental health. We explore how, beyond time in social media, mental health is influenced by three distinct motivations for social media use: communication (interacting with others), surveillance (finding out what others are doing), and escapism (evading uncomfortable thoughts). Next, we explore the role of relational satisfaction with family and friends in the association between social media use and mental health. We find negative reinforcement patterns (reverse causation) between non-relational motivations in the use of social media (escapism), internalizing psychopathological symptoms, and time in social media; that is, increasing one of them leads to higher levels of the others. We also find that satisfaction with family reduces internalizing psychopathological symptoms, and satisfaction with friends predicts a communicative use of social media. In sum, promoting healthy relationships and relational motivations in the use of social media might help prevent mental health issues among Spanish emerging adults.