Cyberpsychology,Behavior,and Social Networking

Given that problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been researched for a long time, it becomes necessary to assess how the trends of PSU prevalence have evolved over time. In total, 106 articles from 2012 to 2022 with 109 studies covering 97,748 individuals were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The estimation of the global pooled PSU prevalence was 37.1% (95% confidence interval, 33.5 − 40.8%) and the PSU prevalence is growing over time in total. Although the PSU prevalence exhibited wide variation between regions and measurement scales, the increasing trend remained. In addition, the regression slope of the PSU prevalence trend in males was higher than that in females. Males initially had a lower prevalence of PSU than females, but this steadily changed over time until it was greater in males than in females. Moreover, the prevalence of PSU showed an increasing trend across all age groups, with a faster growth rate in the older age group. Considering the aforementioned results, it’s necessary to implement proper interventions to do with this phenomenon. In addition, considering the differences in prevalence brought by regions, and measurement scales, in practice and research, we should not only take into account the disparities of PSU between countries or cultures, but also to concern about establishing unified standard and measurement tools to confirm it.

A previous study has found a negative correlation between meeting one’s romantic partner in online dating (vs. offline) and marriage quality through a quota sample of the U.S. population. This current study replicates and extends this previous study by analyzing another sample of the U.S. population from the Pew Research Center (N = 2,787). Largely consistent with the previous finding, we found that meeting one’s partner in online dating (vs. offline) was marginally related to experiencing less relationship success among people in a marital relationship. However, the difference was not observed among people in a nonmarital romantic relationship. In addition, sharing or discussing one’s relationship or dating life (i.e., relationship talks) on social media (RToSM) conditioned the link between meeting venue and relationship success. That is, for marital relationships, meeting in online dating was only linked to less relationship success among people with no RToSM but not among those who had RToSM; for nonmarital relationships, there was a positive link between meeting in online dating and relationship success among those who had RToSM, but this positive link was not observed among those who had no RToSM. We further discuss the implications of our findings on the long-term impact of online dating in marital and nonmarital romantic relationships.

Recent studies have indicated the potential detrimental psychological effects of Instagram use (IU) and problematic Instagram use (PIU). PIU and IU have been associated with depression, anxiety, and negative general well-being. This study aimed to investigate that correlation through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Seven databases, including PubMed/MEDLINE, were explored in February of 2023. Studies that assessed the association between IU and/or PIU with depression, anxiety, other psychological distresses, and/or general well-being were deemed eligible. The Hunter–Schmidt random effects model and multilevel meta-analysis were applied to assess the outcomes of interest. A total of 1,927 hits were identified with 37 studies included in the quantitative analysis after removal of duplicates and screening of abstracts and full texts, with the total number of participants at 14,305. The obtained correlations between PIU and depression, anxiety, and well-being with 95% confidence interval were found to be r = 0.35, [0.25, 0.44], r = 0.31, [0.22, 0.40], r = −0.17, [−0.24, −0.10], respectively. Similarly, for IU and depression r = 0.11, [0.06, 0.16], p < 0.05 for all of the aforementioned results. The association between IU and anxiety was found to be r = 0.12, [0.04, 0.21], p < 0.05. The present meta-analysis found significant conceptual heterogeneity across the studies included due to different study designs and population heterogeneity. The results show a positive association of PIU and IU with depression, anxiety, and other psychological distress(es). There is a need for robust designed longitudinal research to explore this association.

Parental mediation (PM) and parental phubbing (PP) are two pivotal factors that influence children’s screen media use. This study used response surface analysis to examine the combined effect of PM and PP on screen time among preschool children. A total of 3,445 parents with preschool-aged children participated in this study, providing self-reported data on PM, PP, and their children’s screen time (CST). The results revealed that CST decreased when parents enhanced their mediation behaviors and reduced phubbing behaviors in the cases of congruence between PM and PP. In instances of incongruence, reduced screen time was observed when parents exhibited lower frequency in mediating their CST and displayed fewer phubbing behaviors compared with situations where parents mediated their children more frequently but engaged in higher levels of phubbing behaviors. The findings suggest that PM play a significant role in mitigating preschool-aged children’s excessive screen time. Moreover, it is critical to establish positive role modeling by reducing PP behaviors.

Despite broad skepticism within the scientific community regarding paranormal phenomena such as ghosts and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), many members of the public believe in these phenomena. Previous studies have argued that viewing paranormal-themed television—including documentary, reality, and news programming—can cultivate such beliefs. In addition, recent research suggests that the online video-sharing platform YouTube may serve as an important source of messages about fringe phenomena. With that in mind, this study builds on theoretical accounts of genre-specific cultivation and social media affordances to examine how YouTube videos present paranormal topics and whether YouTube use predicts belief in the paranormal. A content analysis of 50 highly viewed YouTube videos about paranormal topics (25 about hauntings and 25 about UFOs) showed that a large majority of these videos featured paranormal claims and that a majority included purported footage of paranormal phenomena. Scientific sources appeared in only a quarter of UFO videos and almost no haunting videos, while government sources appeared in most UFO videos, but few haunting videos. An analysis of data from a survey of the U.S. public (n = 1,035), in turn, found that paranormal documentary or reality television viewing, paranormal news use, and YouTube use predicted belief in hauntings, controlling for a range of other media use variables and background factors. These results highlight the potential for video-sharing platforms such as YouTube to reinforce paranormal beliefs among the public.

Internet and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can foster efficient communication and knowledge acquisition, but there are also tradeoffs in terms of risks to one’s privacy. Previous research, including work with the privacy calculus framework, indicates that factors such as perceived risks and benefits of using ICTs, ICT trust, and general privacy concerns can influence individuals’ digital privacy-related decisions. One pervasive psychological factor that may potentially alter such privacy-related behaviors is acute stress. Acute stress can promote risk-seeking behaviors and a tendency to prefer immediate rewards over delayed, greater value rewards. However, the effect of acute stress in the applied context of privacy decision making is relatively unknown. Participants (N = 143) in this study were randomly assigned to either an acute stress task (socially evaluated cold pressor task) or an active control task (lukewarm water alone). Results revealed that acute stress condition increased information disclosure, as indexed by accepting more online cookies, sharing one’s location more frequently, and revealing greater willingness to self-disclose personal information. In addition, the impact of individuals’ levels of perceived risk and benefits, trust, and privacy concern on privacy decision making was examined. However, none of these constructs consistently influenced privacy decisions over and above the effect of stress. Overall, our findings suggest that acute stress has robust, independent influence on privacy decision making.