Religion and Social Media Use: Protective Factors for Youth Well-Being in the Digital Age?

Abstract

Although numerous studies have linked social media use with lower well-being, little is known about the ways in which social psychological resources might mitigate the psychopathology. In this study, we examine the intersection of social media use, religion/spirituality, and well-being. Drawing on data from a sample of over 4,500 respondents from the United States (ages 13–25), we find that each additional hour of reported social media use is associated with lower levels of flourishing. Although identifying as religious or spiritual failed to attenuate this association, religious participation and religious cognitions (believing in God’s plan, perceiving a sacred presence, and maintaining a close divine relationship) were found to buffer against the adverse psychological consequences of social media use. We outline the contributions of our analyses and explore important directions for future research on the ways in which concepts related to religion and spirituality may help to advance our understanding of the toxic effects of social media use.

Keywords

social media flourishing God religious attendance technology

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allison

P. D.

(2012). Logistic regression using SAS: Theory and application. SAS institute.

Appel

Marker

Gnambs

(2020). Are social media ruining our lives? A review of meta-analytic evidence. Review of General Psychology, 24(1), 60–74. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000201

Barwinski

K. E.

McNeely

Norris

(2018). Shining a light on worker well-being. The Sustainability and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise at the Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/fles/shine/fles/workerwellbeing.pdf

Bierman

(2006). Does religion buffer the effects of discrimination on mental health? Differing effects by race. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 45(4), 551–565. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2006.00327.x

Booker

C. L.

Kelly

Y. J.

Sacker

(2018). Gender differences in the associations between age trends of social media interaction and well-being among 10-15 year olds in the UK. BMC Public Health, 18, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5220-4

Bradshaw

Ellison

C. G.

(2010). Financial hardship and psychological distress: Exploring the buffering effects of religion. Social Science & Medicine, 71(1), 196–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.03.015

Carter

E. C.

McCullough

M. E.

Kim-Spoon

Corrales

Blake

(2012). Religious people discount the future less. Evolution and Human Behavior, 33(3), 224–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2011.09.006

Cénat

J. M.

Hébert

Blais

Lavoie

Guerrier

Derivois

(2014). Cyberbullying, psychological distress and self-esteem among youth in Quebec schools. Journal of Affective Disorders, 169, 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.07.019

Chai

(2022). Does religion buffer against the detrimental effect of cyberbullying victimization on adults’ health and well-Being? Evidence from the 2014 Canadian General Social Survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(21–22), NP19983–NP20011. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211050092

10.

Culver

Lundquist Denton

(2017). Religious attachment and the sense of life purpose among emerging adults. Religions, 8(12), 274. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8120274

11.

Davis

R. F.

III Kiang

(2016). Religious identity, religious participation, and psychological well-being in Asian American adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(3), 532–546.

12.

DeAngelis

R. T.

(2018). Goal-striving stress and self-concept: The moderating role of perceived divine control. Society and Mental Health, 8(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869317717767

13.

Denton

M. L.

Flory

(2020). Back-pocket God: Religion and spirituality in the lives of emerging adults. Oxford University Press.

14.

Diener

Wirtz

Tov

Kim-Prieto

Choi

D. W.

Oishi

Biswas-Diener

(2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143–156.

15.

Ehrenberg

Juckes

White

K. M.

Walsh

S. P.

(2008). Personality and self-esteem as predictors of young people’s technology use. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 11(6), 739–741. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0030

16.

Ellis

D. A.

(2019). Are smartphones really that bad? Improving the psychological measurement of technology-related behaviors. Computers in Human Behavior, 97, 60–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.03.006

17.

Ellison

C. G.

(1993). Religious involvement and self-perception among Black Americans. Social Forces, 71(4), 1027–1055. https://doi.org/10.2307/2580129

18.

Ellison

C. G.

Bradshaw

Flannelly

K. J.

Galek

K. C.

(2014). Prayer, attachment to God, and symptoms of anxiety-related disorders among US adults. Sociology of Religion, 75(2), 208–233. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srt079

19.

Ellison

C. G.

George

L. K.

(1994). Religious involvement, social ties, and social support in a southeastern community. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33(1), 46–61.

20.

Ellison

C. G.

Henderson

A. K.

(2011). 1. Religion and mental health: Through the lens of the stress process. In Toward a sociological theory of religion and health (pp. 11–44). Brill.

21.

Ellison

N. B.

Steinfield

Lampe

(2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.

22.

Feinstein

B. A.

Hershenberg

Bhatia

Latack

J. A.

Meuwly

Davila

(2013). Negative social comparison on Facebook and depressive symptoms: Rumination as a mechanism. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 2(3), 161–170. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033111

23.

Fernandez-Borsot

(2023). Spirituality and technology: A threefold philosophical reflection. Zygon®, 58(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/zygo.12835

24.

Galek

Flannelly

K. J.

Ellison

C. G.

Silton

N. R.

Jankowski

K. R.

(2015). Religion, meaning and purpose, and mental health. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 7(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037887

25.

Greenwood

Perrin

Duggan

(2016). Social media update 2016. Pew Research Center, 11(2), 1–18.

26.

Haidt

(2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Random House.

27.

Hastings

O. P.

Roeser

K. K.

(2020). Happiness in hard times: Does religion buffer the negative effect of unemployment on happiness? Social Forces, 99(2), 447–473. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soaa018

28.

Hawi

N. S.

Samaha

(2017). The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students. Social Science Computer Review, 35(5), 576–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/089443931666034

29.

Holmes

Kim-Spoon

(2017). Adolescents’ religiousness and substance use are linked via afterlife beliefs and future orientation. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 37(8), 1054–1077. https://doi.org/10.1177/027243161664232

30.

Hunt

M. G.

Marx

Lipson

Young

(2018). No more FOMO: Limiting social media decreases loneliness and depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 37(10), 751–768. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2018.37.10.751

31.

Keyes

C. L.

(2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197

32.

Kim

Jeong

Yim

H. W.

(2023). Associations between digital media use and lack of physical exercise among middle-school adolescents in Korea. Epidemiology and Health, 45, Article e2023012. https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2023012

33.

Kirkpatrick

L. A.

(1992). An attachment-theory approach psychology of religion. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 2(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327582ijpr0201_2

34.

Kraut

Patterson

Lundmark

Kiesler

Mukophadhyay

Scherlis

(1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017–1031. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.53.9.1017

35.

Kross

Verduyn

Demiralp

Park

Lee

D. S.

Lin

Ybarra

(2013). Facebook use predicts declines in subjective well-being in young adults. PLOS ONE, 8(8), Article e69841. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0069841

36.

Lee

Hosanagar

Nair

H. S.

(2018). Advertising content and consumer engagement on social media: Evidence from Facebook. Management Science, 64(11), 5105–5131. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2902

37.

Lim

Putnam

R. D.

(2010). Religion, social networks, and life satisfaction. American Sociological Review, 75(6), 914–933. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312241038668

38.

McClure

P. K.

(2016). Faith and Facebook in a pluralistic age: The effects of social networking sites on the religious beliefs of emerging adults. Sociological Perspectives, 59(4), 818–834. https://doi.org/10.1177/073112141664736

39.

McClure

P. K.

(2017). Tinkering with technology and religion in the digital age: The effects of Internet use on religious belief, behavior, and belonging. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 56(3), 481–497. https://doi.org/10.1111/jssr.12365

40.

McClure

P. K.

(2020). The buffered, technological self: Finding associations between Internet use and religiosity. Social Compass, 67(3), 461–478. https://doi.org/10.1177/003776862092212

41.

McLoughlin

L. T.

Spears

B. A.

Taddeo

C. M.

Hermens

D. F.

(2019). Remaining connected in the face of cyberbullying: Why social connectedness is important for mental health. Psychology in the Schools, 56(6), 945–958. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22232

42.

Orben

Przybylski

A. K.

(2019). The association between adolescent well-being and digital technology use. Nature Human Behaviour, 3(2), 173–182.

43.

Pargament

K. I.

(1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. Guilford Press.

44.

Pargament

K. I.

Koenig

H. G.

Perez

(2000). The many methods of religious coping: Initial development and validation of the RCOPE. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56, 519–543.

45.

Pearce

Denton

M. L.

(2011). A faith of their own: Stability and change in the religiosity of America’s adolescents. Oxford University Press.

46.

Pearlin

L. I.

(1989). The sociological study of stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 30(3), 241–256. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136956

47.

Pearlin

L. I.

(1999). The stress process revisited. In Aneshensel

C. S.

Phelan

J. C.

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 395–415). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-36223-1_19

48.

Pearlin

L. I.

Bierman

(2013). Current issues and future directions in research into the stress process. In Aneshensel

C. S.

Phelan

J. C.

Bierman

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Handbooks of sociology and social research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4276-5_16

49.

Przybylski

A. K.

Weinstein

(2017). A large-scale test of the goldilocks hypothesis: Quantifying the relations between digital-screen use and the mental well-being of adolescents. Psychological Science, 28(2), 204–215.

50.

Royston

(2005). Multiple imputation of missing values: Update of ice. The Stata Journal, 5(4), 527–536. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536867X0500500404

51.

Sbarra

D. A.

Briskin

J. L.

Slatcher

R. B.

(2019). Smartphones and close relationships: The case for an evolutionary mismatch. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(4), 596–618. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619826535

52.

Schieman

Bierman

Ellison

C. G.

(2013). Religion and mental health. In Aneshensel

C. S.

Phelan

J. C.

Bierman

(Eds.), Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 457–478). Springer.

53.

Shakya

H. B.

Christakis

N. A.

(2017). Association of Facebook use with compromised well-being: A longitudinal study. American Journal of Epidemiology, 185(3), 203–211. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kww189

54.

Stavrova

Denissen

(2021). Does using social media jeopardize well-being? The importance of separating within-from between-person effects. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 12(6), 964–973. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550620944304

55.

Steers

M. L. N.

Wickham

R. E.

Acitelli

L. K.

(2014). Seeing everyone else’s highlight reels: How Facebook usage is linked to depressive symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 33(8), 701–731. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2014.33.8.701

56.

Stephen

A. T.

(2016). The role of digital and social media marketing in consumer behavior. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, 17–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.016

57.

Twenge

J. M.

(2017). iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy and completely unprepared for adulthood and what that means for the rest of us. Simon and Schuster.

58.

Twenge

J. M.

Campbell

W. K.

(2019). Media use is linked to lower psychological well-being: Evidence from three datasets. Psychiatric Quarterly, 90, 311–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11126-019-09630-7

59.

Twenge

J. M.

Joiner

T. E.

Rogers

M. L.

Martin

G. N.

(2018). Increases in depressive symptoms, suicide-related outcomes, and suicide rates among US adolescents after 2010 and links to increased new media screen time. Clinical Psychological Science, 6(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702617723376

60.

Uecker

J. E.

McClure

P. K.

(2023). Screen time, social media, and religious commitment among adolescents. The Sociological Quarterly, 64(2), 250–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380253.2022.2089270

61.

Upenieks

(2022a). Religious/spiritual struggles and suicidal ideation in the COVID-19 era: Does the belief in divine control and religious attendance matter? Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 14(3), 338–350. https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000467

62.

Upenieks

(2022b). Searching for meaning: Religious transitions as correlates of life meaning and purpose in emerging adulthood. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 25(4), 414–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2022.2045264

63.

Upenieks

Andersson

M. A.

Schafer

M. H.

(2021). God, father, mother, gender: How are religiosity and parental bonds during childhood linked to midlife flourishing? Journal of Happiness Studies, 22, 3199–3220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00363-8

64.

Upenieks

Hill

T. D.

Acevedo

Koenig

H. G.

(2023). “Electronic church” 2.0: Are virtual and in-person attendance associated with mental and physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic? Sociology of Religion, 84(3), 292–323.

65.

Upenieks

Schieman

(2021). The belief in divine control and the mental health effects of stressful life events: A study of education-based contingencies. Review of Religious Research, 63(2), 183–215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-020-00426-x

66.

Upenieks

Schieman

(2023). Divine compensation? Gender, religiosity, and the link between feeling underpaid and psychological distress. Review of Religious Research, 65(4), 445–475. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034673X231213950

67.

Upenieks

Schieman

Bierman

(2022). Jitters on the eve of the great recession: Is the belief in divine control a protective resource? Sociology of Religion, 83(2), 194–221. https://doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srab018

68.

VanderWeele

T. J.

(2017). On the promotion of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(31), 8148–8156. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702996114

69.

VanderWeele

T. J.

(2019). Measures of community well-being: A template. International Journal of Community Well-Being, 2(3), 253–275.

70.

Villanti

A. C.

Johnson

A. L.

Ilakkuvan

Jacobs

M. A.

Graham

A. L.

Rath

J. M.

(2017). Social media use and access to digital technology in US young adults in 2016. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(6), e196. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.7303

71.

Wang

Tchernev

J. M.

Solloway

(2012). A dynamic longitudinal examination of social media use, needs, and gratifications among college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(5), 1829–1839. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.001

72.

Wong

Y. J.

Rew

Slaikeu

K. D.

(2006). A systematic review of recent research on adolescent religiosity/spirituality and mental health. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 27(2), 161–183. https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840500436941