CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 96Impact of Technology on AdolescentsChild Development and Digital TechnologySubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

International perspectives on social media use among adolescents: Implications for mental and social well-being and substance use

Open access
Boniel-Nissim, Meyran, van den Eijnden, Regina J.J.M., Furstova, Jana, Marino, Claudia, Lahti, Henri, Inchley, Joanna, Šmigelskas, Kastytis, Vieno, Alessio +1 more·2022·Computers in Human Behavior
DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

In the present study, we aimed to explore the relationship between intensity of social media use (SMU), problematic SMU and well-being outcomes. Four categories of SMU were developed taking into account both intensity of use and problematic SMU simultaneously: non-active; active; intense; and problematic use. Using these four categories, we assessed associations between SMU and mental and social well-being, and substance use. Data from 190,089 respondents aged 11, 13, and 15 years from 42 countries involved in the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study were analyzed. With a slight cross-national variance, 78% of adolescents in the sample were classified as active or intense users, and 7% showed signs of problematic SMU. The remaining 15% belonged to the non-active users. Three-level regression analyses revealed that the problematic users showed the least favorable mental and social well-being profile and the highest level of substance use. Compared with active users, non-active users reported lower mental and social well-being, but also the lowest substance use levels. Intense non-problematic users showed the highest levels of social well-being. Our findings highlight the importance of assessing both the intensity and problematic component of SMU to reliably assess associations with mental and social well-being and substance use.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144

Cites

69 of 69 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • This study extends existing research by focusing on younger adolescents (11-15 years), a group underrepresented in the literature, which has largely centred on older adolescents and young adults.

    “This study extends existing research by focussing on younger adolescents (11-15 years), a group that has been underrepresented in the literature, which has largely centred on older adolescents and young adults [52-54].”

    From The Complex and Multifaceted Nature of Social Media: Perspectives From Young Adolescents, Parents and Experts (2026) · cites this paper as [53]

    The Sample & procedure section (p. not available) says this paper studies pupils aged 11, 13, and 15. But our copy does not say that this age group is underrepresented or that the literature has largely focused on older adolescents and young adults; searches for those comparisons found no supporting passage. The citing authors’ description of their own study is not a claim this source needs to verify. (LLM, conf=0.70)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 71 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. Rutgers University Press.
  2. Inchley, J., Currie, D., Budisavljevic, S., Torsheim, T., Jastad, A., Cosma, A., Kelly, C., & Arnarsson, A. M. (Eds.). (2020). Spotlight on adolescent health and wellbeing: Findings from the 2017/2018 health Behaviour in school-aged children (HBSC) survey in Europe and Canada. International report (Vol. 1). WHO Regional Office for Europe. Key findings.
  3. Inchley, J., Currie, D., Cosma, A., & Samdal, O. (Eds.). (2018). Health Behaviour in school- aged children (HBSC) study protocol: Background, methodology and mandatory items for the 2017/18 survey. CAHRU.
  4. Jessor, R., & Jessor, S. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychological development: A longitudinal study of youth. Academic Press.
  5. 47fdeqj01ofo · DOI · Paper page

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Boniel-Nissim, M., van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., Furstova, J., Marino, C., Lahti, H., Inchley, J., Šmigelskas, K., Vieno, A., & Badura, P.
Affiliations
  • University of Padua (IT)
  • University of Jyväskylä (FI)
  • Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LT)
ORCID
Venue
Computers in Human Behavior
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2022-04
Volume
129
Pages
107144
ISSN
0747-5632 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.chb.2021.107144
OpenAlex
W4200424174
Cited by
96
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 5
FWCI
18.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Computers in Human Behavior (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Jyväskylä University Digital Archive (University of Jyväskylä) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Padua Research Archive (University of Padova) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Scottish Government (MC_UU_00022/1, SPHSU16)
  • Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (ÉTA TL03000291, TL03000291)
  • University of Glasgow (2017/2018)
  • Universitetet i Bergen
  • Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/1, MC_UU_00022)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords
social media use, adolescents, social media addiction, social media intensity, psychological well-being, social well-being, substance use, cross-national comparison, HBSC study

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review