Impact of smartphone overuse on 1-year severe depressive symptoms and momentary negative affect: Longitudinal and experience sampling findings from a representative epidemiological youth sample in Hong Kong
Open accessAbstract
Smartphone overuse can have detrimental impacts on youth mental health. How it may be longitudinally associated with depressive symptoms and functioning, and with daily momentary affect, remains to be investigated. A total of 3,033 young people were consecutively recruited from a large-scale epidemiological youth mental health study in Hong Kong. A subsample (n = 936) was followed-up after 1 year, with experience sampling data collected from 177 participants. Separate multivariable logistic regression models were applied to examine the prospective associations between smartphone overuse and depressive symptoms, with multilevel models fitted to examine its associations with momentary affect. The prevalence of smartphone overuse in the Hong Kong youth population was 29.3%. Smartphone overuse was significantly associated with more depressive symptoms and functional impairments both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. The associations between smartphone overuse and 1-year depressive symptoms were significant, even when accounting for baseline symptoms, social media use, and other risk and protective factors. Baseline depressive symptoms, in contrast, were not associated with 1-year smartphone overuse after adjusting for baseline smartphone overuse. Smartphone overuse was also significantly associated with higher levels of momentary negative affect, even when accounting for depressive symptoms. Strategies to mitigate the impact of smartphone overuse can have important long-term implications.
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Social media amplifies issues of body image by providing constant exposure to idealized body images and facilitating comparisons that exacerbate body dissatisfaction and psychological distress.
“The digital age, characterized by the omnipresence of social media, amplifies these issues, providing a platform for constant exposure to idealized body images and facilitating comparisons that exacerbate body dissatisfaction and psychological distress.”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [66]
The Introduction discusses smartphone overuse and mental health, and §2.2.5 measures social-media use frequency. Neither addresses idealized body images, appearance comparisons, or body dissatisfaction; searches for those concepts found no supporting passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredSocial media platforms often serve as echo chambers where societal beauty standards are reinforced, making it difficult for individuals to maintain positive body image and psychological well-being.
“Social media platforms often serve as echo chambers where societal beauty standards are reinforced, making it increasingly difficult for individuals to maintain a positive body image and psychological well-being in the face of pervasive messages valorizing certain body types over others [66].”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [66]
The Introduction discusses smartphone overuse and mental health, and Methods §2.2.5 measures social media use frequency. Neither those passages nor searches for echo chambers, beauty standards, and body image address the claimed reinforcement of body ideals or its effects on body image and well-being. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
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References 88 · Cited by 21
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- American Psychiatric Association (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.
- Chen, S. H., Weng, L. J., Su, Y. J., Wu, H. M., & Yang, P. F. (2003). Development of Chinese Internet Addiction Scale and its psychometric study. Chinese Journal of Psychology, 45(3), 279-294.
- Authors
- Wong, S. M., Chen, E. Y., Wong, C. S., Suen, Y., Chan, D. L., Tsang, S. H., Wong, T., Cheung, C., Chan, K., Lui, S. S., Wong, M. T., Chan, S. K., Lee, E. H., Myin-Germeys, I., & Hui, C. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychiatry Research
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-12
- Volume
- 318
- Pages
- 114939
- ISSN
- 0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4307983324
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 88
- Citations by year
- 2025: 7 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 7.55
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- lirias.kuleuven.be
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Lirias (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Food and Health Bureau
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- smartphone overuse, depressive symptoms, youth mental health, functional disability, social media use, Hong Kong youth, longitudinal associations, ecological momentary assessment
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Ecological Momentary Assessment, Adolescent, Depression, Hong Kong, Humans, Mental Health
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