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Dissertation Defence: A Meta-Analysis and Intensive Longitudinal Investigation Into the Relationships Between Active and Passive Social Media Use and Social and Emotional Wellbeing

March 4 at 10:30 am - 2:30 pm

Rebecca Godard, supervised by Dr. Susan Holtzman, will defend their dissertation titled “A Meta-Analysis and Intensive Longitudinal Investigation Into the Relationships Between Active and Passive Social Media Use and Social and Emotional Wellbeing” in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology.

An abstract for Rebecca Godard’s dissertation is included below.

Examinations are open to all members of the campus community as well as the general public. This examination will be offered in hybrid format. Registration is not required to attend in person; however, please email susan.holtzman@ubc.ca to receive the Zoom link for this exam.


ABSTRACT

Background: Concerns about the effects of social media on users’ wellbeing are widespread, yet these effects likely differ based on how users engage with these platforms. A commonly used framework distinguishes between active use (interacting with other users) and passive use (consuming content without interacting). Active use is typically hypothesized to be beneficial, while passive use is hypothesized to be harmful. Despite widespread use of this framework, its value for clarifying how social media impacts wellbeing remains unclear. Recent theory suggests that active and passive use impact user wellbeing differently depending on contextual factors (e.g., experiences of online social connection), yet these predictions have not been widely tested.

Study 1: In a meta-analysis of 141 studies (N = 145,394), active and passive use had mostly negligible associations with 13 dimensions of wellbeing. However, both active and passive use were associated with greater online social support. Passive use was associated with worse emotional outcomes in general social media contexts, but not in social media groups. Compared to adults, adolescents had more positive associations between active use and wellbeing, but more negative associations between passive use and wellbeing.

Study 2: Emerging adults (N = 495) completed 21 brief surveys over 7 days about their active and passive social media use, feelings of connection on social media, and mood. Active use was positively and reciprocally related to greater feelings of connection on social media over time, while passive use was associated with lower feelings of connection concurrently and across time. Feelings of connection on social media were associated with more positive mood concurrently and across time. All associations between social media use and wellbeing differed significantly between individuals.

Conclusions: Study 1 indicated that active and passive social media use have stronger associations with online social support compared to other dimensions of wellbeing. Study 2 further revealed that on a daily basis, online connection plays a central role in explaining why social media use has different associations with global wellbeing between users and across time. Findings support emerging theories of social media use and suggest the need for tailored recommendations for healthy social media use.

Details

Date:
March 4
Time:
10:30 am - 2:30 pm

Venue

3187 University Way
Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7 Canada
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Additional Info

Room Number
ASC 209
Registration/RSVP Required
Yes (see event description)
Event Type
Thesis Defence
Topic
Arts and Humanities, Health, Lifestyle and Wellness, Research and Innovation, Science, Technology and Engineering
Audiences
Alumni, Community, Faculty, Staff, Families, Partners and Industry, Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Associates