AATP Journals

Do social media experiments prove a link with mental health: A methodological and meta-analytic review. [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Psychology of Popular Media on Feb 03 2025 (see record 2025-75761-001). In the article, several reported sample and effect sizes were erroneous in the original data set. These errors were minor and did not affect the direction or conclusion of the main study results. The necessary corrections are present in the erratum.] Whether social media influences the mental well-being of users remains controversial. Evidence from correlational and longitudinal studies has been inconsistent, with effect sizes weak at best. However, some commentators are more convinced by experimental studies, wherein experimental groups are asked to refrain from social media use for some length of time, compared to a control group of normal use. This meta-analytic review examines the evidence provided by these studies. All studies, regardless of outcome, have fairly straightforward weaknesses related to demand characteristics. Thus, it is unclear whether these study designs are capable of answering causal questions. Nonetheless, meta-analytic evidence for causal effects was statistically no different than zero. However, remarkable between-study heterogeneity was observed. Studies with citation bias produced higher effect sizes, suggesting a research expectancy effect in some studies. Better designs and closer adherence to open science principles and care not to exaggerate the importance of weak effect sizes may help improve rigor in this field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 02 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Social media reduction or abstinence interventions are providing mental health benefits—Reanalysis of a published meta-analysis. A recent meta-analysis published in this journal included 27 studies that experimentally manipulated social media use and investigated their impact on mental health outcomes (Ferguson, 2024). The author concluded that social media effects were not statistically different from zero. However, this meta-analysis did not investigate potential moderating effects of length of social media reduction or abstinence interventions. We conducted a reanalysis to investigate the impact of social media reduction/abstinence intervention length on mental health outcomes. We used the information available on the Open Science Framework platform related to the original meta-analysis and excluded seven studies because they were not reduction/abstinence interventions. We categorized studies into those with intervention lengths of <1 versus 1 week or longer and also tested for curvilinear relationships between intervention length (weeks and days as continuous variables) and outcomes by including quadratic terms. Stratified analyses indicated that interventions of <1 week resulted in significantly worse mental health outcomes (d = −0.175), while interventions of 1 week or longer resulted in significant improvements (d = 0.156). Analyses of intervention length as continuous moderator included 19 studies and showed significant quadratic effects for number of weeks (p = .013) and number of days (p = .018). These findings suggest that social media use reduction/abstinence interventions should have a minimum length of 1 week or longer to confer mental health benefits. An ideal intervention length may be around 3 weeks, but future research is needed to confirm this. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Longer-term interventions to reduce social media time do not improve mental health: A reply to Thrul et al. (2025). In a reanalysis of data from my meta-analysis of social media experiments, Thrul and colleagues report that longer-term intervention studies produced more positive results. I appreciate Thrul and colleagues’ constructive and interesting reanalysis. However, other issues reduce my enthusiasm for their conclusions. First, expected linear relationships regarding intervention length and outcome suggest that time is not a moderator of effectiveness, nor does a curvilinear trend support social media reductions as useful. Second, the time moderator is also correlated with citation bias, suggesting a confound of moderators. Third, even considered alone, longer-term interventions did not reach the preregistered minimal effect size threshold for potential noise results. Fourth, demand characteristics are likely to increase with study length. It is concluded that even longer-term intervention studies provide little compelling evidence that reducing social media time improves mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 27 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT

The effects of awe-inspiring nature videos on connectedness to nature and proenvironmental intentions. Connectedness to nature can promote proenvironmental behaviors. Research is mixed on the extent to which mediated nature experiences can increase connectedness to nature. As a self-transcendent emotion, awe might increase one’s feelings of connectedness to nature, ideally with downstream effects on proenvironmental action. Two online experiments (N = 665) were conducted to examine how different mediated representations of nature may elicit greater awe responses, and how those experiences of awe may lead to proenvironmental outcomes. Results indicated that videos containing scenes of vast nature can increase feelings of awe. In both studies, feelings of awe were positively associated with connectedness to nature, which in turn was positively associated with proenvironmental behavioral intentions. These effects were found with videos containing scenes depicting vast nature alone, as well as with those same scenes accompanied by emotionally laden narration. Although depictions of vast nature were associated with greater awe responses than depictions of close-up detailed nature, emotionally laden narration enhanced awe responses to detailed scenes of nature. Findings indicate that awe responses play a vital role in the influence of mediated nature representations nature on proenvironmental outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

The effect of types of language mistakes on the persuasiveness of user-generated content on Facebook. Language errors are prevalent on social media. We explored the effect of these errors on perceptions of the writer and the persuasiveness of the content that was posted. In an online experiment, participants (N = 325) were randomly assigned to read one of six identical texts designed as screenshots of Facebook posts that differed only in the types of mistakes they contained. The participants were then asked to report their attributions for the mistakes, perceptions of the writer, and attitudes related to the post. Language errors led to negative perceptions of the writer. In addition, these perceptions depended on the types of errors made and the reasons attributed to them. For example, typographical errors indirectly led to perceptions of the writer as rash, through attributing the errors to the writer’s hastiness. Spelling errors, on the other hand, indirectly led to perceptions of the writer as less intelligent, through attributing the errors to the writer’s inferior intellectual abilities. Moreover, language errors indirectly led to less acceptance of the writer’s claims. The findings are discussed in the context of attribution theory and the heuristic systematic model. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Understanding the attraction to music containing violent themes: A qualitative analysis. Fans of music containing violent themes can experience positive affective, social, and well-being benefits from engagement with music. However, there is a gap in understanding why people are attracted to such music in the first place, as violently themed music is often considered offensive, disturbing, and repulsive by many nonfans. Recent research has found that morbid curiosity, a fascination with death and threatening situations and phenomena, is associated with the attraction to novel excerpts of music containing violent themes. The present study qualitatively investigated reasons that a sample of predominantly nonfans of violently themed music (N = 96) show attraction to such music, focusing on the role of morbid curiosity. Participants reported the reasons behind their curiosity about 32 novel excerpts of violently themed metal or rap music, containing either music and lyrics or lyrics only. Responses were analyzed using a combination of inductive and deductive content analysis. Results revealed that morbid curiosity emerged as a key theme in the responses to violently themed metal and rap excerpts, while a general desire for more information and context and an appreciation for the music and lyrical elements of the music also emerged as key themes. Findings support the notion that morbid curiosity is a key element to the attraction to violently themed music and may support the development of enjoyment and fandom. We discuss implications for the neurological and evolutionary basis of morbid curiosity and its potential influence on experiencing adaptive outcomes through violently themed music. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Wine mom culture: Investigating social media influence on mothers’ alcohol norms. “Wine mom” culture, which encourages mothers to drink alcohol to cope with stressors associated with motherhood, has become mainstream in popular media discourse (Fetters, 2020). While this discourse can help mothers resist traditional expectations and find community, little is known about the effects of these messages on mothers’ beliefs about alcohol, especially given increases in mothers’ drinking habits over the past decade. This research used an experimental design in which mothers (N = 330) viewed nine social media posts, either representative of wine mom or sober mom messaging, or neutral social media posts. The participants reported drinking norms, social comparison orientation, drinking behavior, and previous exposure to wine mom messaging. Results suggest previous exposure to wine mom content on social media and television moderated the effects of the experiment on normative beliefs. Social comparison orientation was also related to increased descriptive norms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 28 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

From fun to fantasy: Gaming experiences, perceived presence, and adolescent romantic parasocial attachments in romantic video games. Romantic video games (RVGs) typically target women and adolescent girls by providing them with opportunities to flirt and experience intimacy with male game characters. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of parasocial attachments in the practice of romantic relationships for adolescent girls, but how and in what forms the functional designs influence the parasocial experiences has been understudied. Three different experiments with 270 Chinese adolescent girls were conducted to examine the effects of common functional designs in RVGs, including the voice (human voice vs. no voice), perspective (first-person narration vs. third-person narration), and interaction (use of touch vs. no touch). Results indicated that human voice influenced romantic parasocial attachments through the mediating effect of perceived presence. First-person perspective predicted perceived presence, whereas the effect of touch was not significant. Additionally, adolescent romantic parasocial attachments were found to correlate with positive self-evaluations and perceived social skill enhancement, highlighting the positive role of RVGs in adolescent development. Cultural understandings of the potential implications of RVGs in adolescent socialization are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 01 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

A qualitative study exploring behaviors which underpin different types of social media use. Despite the popularity of social media, we have little understanding of how “social” these platforms actually are. “Social media use” is often considered in generic terms or dichotomized into active or passive use. However, this does not explain the specific behaviors users engage in. We explored this with respect to different social media platforms, namely Instagram and Facebook. The overall sample of nine participants included four males and five females between the ages of 18 and 36. Participants took part in semistructured interviews to describe their behaviors when using either Instagram (n = 4) or Facebook (n = 5). From reflexive thematic analysis, the first theme was “Determinants of using social media,” with two subthemes. This main theme describes factors that generally motivate people to use the respective social media platform. However, the second theme was “Determinants of behaviors,” with seven subthemes, which relate more specifically to particular actions or behaviors that specific platforms afford users to be able to do. There were clear distinctions between what might constitute social media “use” (first theme) and social media “behaviors” (second theme). Our findings suggest that concepts of “active” and “passive” use are not sufficient to capture the complexities of underpinning behaviors or sensitive to the within-person and between-context variations that explain behaviors underpinning social media use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Navigating the social landscape of Instagram: Exploring the experiences, motivations, and perceptions of eating disorder recovery content creators. Social media can provide support for people with eating disorders (EDs); however, it can also promote unhealthy attitudes and experiences surrounding ED recovery. The purpose of this study was to explore the motives and experiences of individuals with ED recovery accounts on Instagram and how the social landscape (of social systems, practices, and relationships on Instagram) impacted their ED recovery. We conducted semistructured interviews with 12 participants and conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. The interactive nature of Instagram created an environment where participants were open to receiving validation, support, and acceptance yet were vulnerable to scrutiny from users who invalidated their experience. Participants navigated being transparent while avoiding triggering content. They discussed the benefits of the community but also problems with the algorithm highlighting only certain body types and types of EDs, and gatekeeping how to recover. Overall, having an ED recovery account was found to be beneficial for the users, but they noted that certain areas needed improvement, such as enhanced gender, race, and diagnosis diversity in the community. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Black college students navigating digital environments: A qualitative analysis of peer racial socialization. This qualitative study examined how Black college students use digital media for peer racial socialization (PRS) within digital environments (e.g., social media, text messaging, and online). Participants were 20 Black undergraduate students between the ages 18 and 25, attending a predominantly White institution. Using the thematic analysis approach, in-depth individual interviews were coded using inductive methods. PRS was revealed to occur in multiple ways, including (a) cultural socialization, (b) cultivating community, (c) processing discrimination, and (d) encouraging resilience. Findings highlight the significance of digital media in supporting social development among Black college students. These results highlight need for continued scholarship examining the processes underlying PRS across multiple domains, and understanding how Black college students are agents supporting their own racial socialization and healthy development with digital media. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 02 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Me, myself, and my avatar: Self-discrepancy, embodiment, and narrative involvement in gaming experiences. Avatars are customizable digital representations of people used in digital games. Self-discrepancy theory hypothesizes that people have three general representations of the self: actual, ought, and ideal. Two studies, one survey and the other experimental, explored the relationship between self-discrepancy theory, embodiment, and people’s avatars. Results indicated that participants experienced higher levels of embodiment when they perceived their avatar as matching the attributes of their actual self. Embodiment was significantly associated with boundary expansion and transportation. Other results in the study are discussed, along with its limitations, potential implications for game developers, as well as directions for future research on gaming. These findings extend our understanding of avatars’ effect on the gaming experience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 13 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Exploring how message and situational factors shape people’s information processing and belief in fake news on social media: The moderating role of status-seeking motivation. The study examined how message and situational factors influenced belief in fake news through heuristic and systematic processing and the moderating effect of status-seeking motivation. This study used a hybrid approach-partial least squares structural equation modeling and artificial neural networks to analyze data, which was collected from 396 respondents of online survey. The partial least squares structural equation modeling results showed that perceived message attractiveness, perceived message quality, information overload, and perceived uncertainty positively influenced heuristic and systematic processing, thus positively influencing belief in fake news. Status-seeking motivation primarily moderates the antecedents and consequences of systematic processing. The artificial neural network results indicated that perceived message attractiveness was the most critical factor for belief in fake news. The present study clarifies the complexity of fake news misleading from an information processing perspective and provides practical evidence for combating fake news. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 24 Jun 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Young love on the big screen: A content analysis of romantic ideals, challenges, hookups, and long-term relationships in teen romantic drama movies. A content analysis of teen romantic drama movies examined potential gender differences and changes in depictions of romance, hookups, and long-term relationships over time in the American teen romantic drama genre. The 41 highest-grossing teen romantic drama movies from 1961 to 2019 were coded for the number of romantic ideals and challenges to romantic ideals verbally expressed by the main love interests, the number of depicted hookups or long-term relationships involving the teen characters, and the type of endings (positive, negative, or unclear). In addition, the main characters’ age and gender were recorded and analyzed. The results showed no significant differences in any of the factors over time, which is inconsistent with generational changes in typical romantic and sexual beliefs and behaviors. Male main love interests expressed the most romantic ideal expressions, and high schoolers engaged in the most hookups. Female engagement in hookups significantly predicted negative endings in films, which reinforces the regret and shame that many young women feel after engaging in noncommitted sexual relations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Parent social media use and gaming on mobile phones, technoference in family time, and parenting stress. Possible effects of parent phone use on parent–child interactions and child behavior are of concern, warranting research to understand parent phone use. In this survey study of 183 families with a young child (M = 2.89 years), we examined parents’ phone use for texting/calling, social media (SM) use, mobile gaming (MG), and perceptions of cutting into family time; we also examined differences between mothers and fathers and associations with parenting stress. Mothers engaged in greater SM use but less MG compared to fathers; 61% of mothers and 38% of fathers used SM 31+ min per day, while 23% of fathers and 16% of mothers played mobile games 31+ min. Mothers were also more likely to feel their SM use, but not MG, cut into family time. Greater parenting stress was associated with greater MG and perceptions of SM or MG as cutting into family time. As differences were found between mothers and fathers on phone activities, it may be beneficial to adapt interventions based on type of activity and parent gender. Moreover, as perceived interference from phone use in family interactions is more likely when parents are stressed, we call for future research to consider the context/purpose of phone use and coping strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Correction to “Do social media experiments prove a link with mental health: A methodological and meta-analytic review” by Ferguson (2024). Reports an error in "Do social media experiments prove a link with mental health: A methodological and meta-analytic review" by Christopher J. Ferguson (Psychology of Popular Media, Advanced Online Publication, May 02, 2024, np). In the article, several reported sample and effect sizes were erroneous in the original data set. These errors were minor and did not affect the direction or conclusion of the main study results. The necessary corrections are present in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2024-80192-001). Whether social media influences the mental well-being of users remains controversial. Evidence from correlational and longitudinal studies has been inconsistent, with effect sizes weak at best. However, some commentators are more convinced by experimental studies, wherein experimental groups are asked to refrain from social media use for some length of time, compared to a control group of normal use. This meta-analytic review examines the evidence provided by these studies. All studies, regardless of outcome, have fairly straightforward weaknesses related to demand characteristics. Thus, it is unclear whether these study designs are capable of answering causal questions. Nonetheless, meta-analytic evidence for causal effects was statistically no different than zero. However, remarkable between-study heterogeneity was observed. Studies with citation bias produced higher effect sizes, suggesting a research expectancy effect in some studies. Better designs and closer adherence to open science principles and care not to exaggerate the importance of weak effect sizes may help improve rigor in this field. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)
View Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT