Connectedness to family and peers is a key determinant of adolescent mental health. Existing research examining associations between social media use and social connectedness has been largely quantitative and has focused primarily on loneliness, or on specific aspects of peer relationships. In this qualitative study we use the displacement hypothesis and the stimulation hypothesis as competing theoretical lenses through which we examine the complex relationship between social media use and feelings of connectedness to family and peers. In-depth paired and individual interviews were conducted with twenty-four 13–14-year-olds in two inner-city English secondary schools. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded and thematically analysed. Analysis identified four themes: (i) ‘Displacement of face-to-face socialising’ (ii) ‘Social obligations’ (iii) ‘(Mis)Trust’ and (iv) ‘Personal and group identity’. Results indicated stronger support for the stimulation hypothesis than the displacement hypothesis. We found evidence of a complex set of reciprocal and circular relationships between social media use and connectedness consistent with a ‘rich-get-richer’ and a ‘poor-get-poorer’ effect for family and peer connectedness – and a ‘poor-get-richer’ effect in peer connectedness for those who find face-to-face interactions difficult. Our findings suggest that parents should take a measured approach to social media use, providing clear guidance, promoting trust and responsible time management, and acknowledging the role of social media in making connections. Understanding and sharing in online experiences is likely to promote social connectedness. Supporting young people to negotiate breathing space in online interactions and prioritising trust over availability in peer relationships may optimise the role of social media in promoting peer connectedness.

中文翻译：

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英国青少年的社交媒体使用和社会联系：对置换和刺激的定性探索

与家人和同龄人的联系是青少年心理健康的关键决定因素。现有的研究社交媒体使用和社交联系之间的关联在很大程度上是定量的，并且主要关注孤独感或同伴关系的特定方面。在这项定性研究中，我们使用置换假说和刺激假说作为相互竞争的理论视角，通过它们我们检查社交媒体使用与与家人和同龄人的联系感之间的复杂关系。对两所市中心英语中学的 24 名 13-14 岁青少年进行了深入的配对和个人访谈。访谈被逐字转录、编码和主题分析。分析确定了四个主题：(i) “取代面对面社交” (ii) “社会义务” (iii) “（错误）信任”和 (iv) “个人和团体身份”。结果表明对刺激假设的支持比对位移假设的支持更强。我们发现了社交媒体使用和连通性之间的一系列复杂的互惠和循环关系的证据，与家庭和同伴连通性的“富人变富”和“穷人变穷”效应一致——以及“穷人变富” -对于那些发现面对面互动困难的人来说，在同伴联系方面的效果更丰富。我们的研究结果表明，父母应该对社交媒体的使用采取谨慎的态度，提供明确的指导，促进信任和负责任的时间管理，并承认社交媒体在建立联系方面的作用。了解和分享在线体验可能会促进社交联系。支持年轻人在在线互动中协商喘息空间，并在同伴关系中优先考虑信任的可用性，可以优化社交媒体在促进同伴联系方面的作用。