During the last decade, social media has permeated most parts of society. Adolescents are particularly active users of social media, and their use has been suggested as a contributing factor to mental health issues in this group. Quantitative studies have found associations between the frequency and/or duration of social media use and more mental health issues. However, most studies are cross-sectional and the identified associations are weak and of questionable practical significance. The aim of this study was to investigate adolescents’ lived experiences of using social media, focusing on both negative and positive aspects, using a qualitative approach. Qualitative research enables in-depth explorations of the experiences of individuals, nuance quantitative findings, and offer the perspective of adolescents into policies regarding social media use. Experiences and perspectives of 27 adolescents from two senior high schools in Norway were gathered using focus group interviews (mean age 16.8, range 15–18). The data were analysed using thematic analysis. According to the participants, social media use catalyse changes to how people communicate and relate to each other (theme 1). Some changes were positive, in terms of facilitating social connectedness, while others were negative, such as people behaving worse than in face-to-face interactions. Further, social media use affected the participants at the individual level (theme 2); positively in terms of a sense of belonging and social support, and negatively in terms of perceived stress, body pressure, and displacing other activities such as sleep and homework. The motivations for using, or not using, social media were multifaceted (theme 3), reflecting the positive and negative aspects of social media in terms of interpersonal and personal consequences. Social media was described as an important part of the participants’ everyday life, with both a positive and negative impact on their mental health and well-being. Considering the compelling nature of social media and adolescents’ relatively limited self-regulatory capacities, efforts to modify social media use should avoid relying on self-regulation, while also recognizing the importance of social media as an arena for peer interaction.

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挪威青少年如何体验社交媒体在心理健康和福祉方面的作用：定性研究

在过去的十年中，社交媒体已渗透到社会的大部分地区。青少年是社交媒体的特别活跃的用户，并且建议将其使用作为该群体中心理健康问题的促成因素。定量研究发现社交媒体使用的频率和/或持续时间与更多的心理健康问题之间存在关联。然而，大多数研究是横断面的，并且所确定的关联性较弱并且具有可疑的实际意义。这项研究的目的是通过定性的方法，调查青少年使用社交媒体的生活经历，重点关注消极和积极方面。通过定性研究，您可以深入探索个人的经历，细微的定量发现，并将青少年的观点纳入有关社交媒体使用的政策中。通过焦点小组访谈（平均年龄16.8，范围15-18），收集了来自挪威两所高中的27名青少年的经验和观点。使用主题分析对数据进行分析。根据参与者的说法，社交媒体的使用促进了人们之间的交流和联系方式的改变（主题1）。在促进社会联系方面，有些变化是积极的，而其他变化则是消极的，例如人们的行为比面对面的交流更糟。此外，社交媒体的使用在个人层面上影响了参与者（主题2）；就归属感和社会支持而言，这是积极的；对于感知到的压力，身体压力以及替代其他活动（如睡眠和家庭作业），则是消极的。使用或不使用社交媒体的动机是多方面的（主题3），反映了社交媒体在人际关系和个人后果方面的积极和消极方面。社交媒体被认为是参与者日常生活的重要组成部分，对他们的心理健康和幸福都有积极和消极的影响。考虑到社交媒体的吸引力和青少年的自我调节能力相对有限，修改社交媒体使用的努力应避免依靠自我调节，同时也应认识到社交媒体作为同伴互动场所的重要性。社交媒体被认为是参与者日常生活的重要组成部分，对他们的心理健康和幸福都有积极和消极的影响。考虑到社交媒体的吸引力和青少年的自我调节能力相对有限，修改社交媒体使用的努力应避免依靠自我调节，同时也应认识到社交媒体作为同伴互动场所的重要性。社交媒体被认为是参与者日常生活的重要组成部分，对他们的心理健康和幸福都有积极和消极的影响。考虑到社交媒体的吸引力和青少年的自我调节能力相对有限，修改社交媒体使用的努力应避免依靠自我调节，同时也应认识到社交媒体作为同伴互动场所的重要性。