Abstract
This study examined the relationship between sleep, social media (SM) usage, and social media disorder (SMD) among adolescents. Results show that excessive SM usage decreases sleep quantity, increases sleep onset latency, and increases the risk for a higher SMD score. Evidence from this study can inform OT practitioners of the need for client-centered sleep education programs to improve sleep outcomes and reduce the risk for adverse mental-health outcomes in this population.
Primary Author and Speaker: Megan Chang
Additional Authors and Speakers: Lisa Benjamin, Cathlin Burkey
Contributing Authors: Torrey Blake, Arlon Chau
The majority of adolescents today (85%) are not receiving the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep needed to properly function (NSF, 2015). Technology has recently been identified and studied as a key factor for this sleep deprivation (Hysing et al., 2014; Johansson et al., 2016). Despite increased research into the impact of general technology usage on adolescent sleep, little is known about the role that social media (SM) plays. Few studies examine SM usage and its relation to both sleep, mental health, and functional outcomes among adolescents. This study’s purpose was therefore to better understand the relationship between sleep, SM usage, and mental health as defined by SM disorder among adolescents. Understanding this relationship can provide occupational therapists (OTs) with the information needed to design and implement sleep-education programs that employ client-centered therapeutic models with an emphasis on occupation, educate adolescent stakeholders on the functional benefits of sleep, and promote responsible SM usage.
Cross-sectional survey study was used. Sleep was measured by adopting two sets of questions from the Adolescent Sleep Habits Survey, which are related to sleep behaviors and sleep environment (Owens, 2002). SM usage was measured by researcher-developed questions regarding number and type of SM usage and number of hours spent on SM daily. SM disorder was measured by the 9-item Social Media Disorder Scale (SMD; van den Eijnden, Lemmens, & Valkenburg, 2016), which was based on Internet Gaming Disorder located in the DSM-V, with higher scores indicating addictive tendencies. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to recruit adolescents aged 10-18 to complete survey questions. The survey was developed on Qualtrics (Qualtrics, Provo, UT), and the link was distributed to adolescents after parental consent was received. IBM SPSS was used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to describe sleep outcomes and SM usage and correlational statistics were used to evaluate relationships.
The survey was completed by 111 adolescents (mean age = 16.0 + 1.76 ), mostly females (70%). Results showed that sleep quantity (SQ) was significantly and negatively correlated with the amount of SM usage (p < .01). A significant correlation was also found between sleep onset latency (SOL) on school nights and SOL on weekends indicating that harmful sleep preparation habits are being maintained throughout the week (p < .01). While no gender difference was found for SQ or SM usage, a significant difference was found between early and late adolescents for these same variables. Late adolescents received less sleep and spent more time on SM than early adolescents. Further, only late adolescents scored positive for SMD. These findings suggest that higher SM usage leads to decreased SQ and increased SOL on school nights and weekends and increases the risk for adolescents to develop SMD.
Sleep is an essential occupation for adolescents, yet study results suggest that SM usage is harmful to sleep and mental health, particularly in late adolescence. While more research is needed to understand the underlying reasons why SM usage negatively impacts sleep and mental health, and to what extent it impacts function, findings from this study could inform healthcare practitioners about the need for a new approach to sleep-education programs - one based in occupation. OTs could elevate the importance of sleep as an essential occupation during this crucial developmental period and be instrumental in the design of sleep-education programs for adolescents by employing client-centered therapeutic models that invoke and sustain autonomous behavioral changes needed to improve sleep, mental health, and functional outcomes across occupational domains.
National Sleep Foundation. (2015). National Sleep Foundation recommends new sleep times. Retrieved from: https://sleepfoundation.org/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times
Hysing, M., Pallesen, S., Stormark, K., Jakobsen, R., Lundervold, A., & Sivertsen, B. (2014). Sleep and use of electronic devices in adolescence: Results from a large population-based study. British Medical Journal Open. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006748
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van den Eijnden, R. J., Lemmens, J. S., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2016). The Social Media Disorder Scale. Computers in Human Behavior, 61, 478-487.