#sleepyadults - social media use and its impact on sleep and wellbeing beyond #sleepyteens

Objectives: 58% of the entire US adult population uses Facebook,however, research on social media and sleep has, to date, focused on adolescence and general social media use. Woods and Scott (2015) examined how social media use in adolescence relates to sleep quality, self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Results indicated that greater overall social media use (OSMU), nighttime social media use (NSMU) and emotional investment in social media (EISM) were each associated with poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem and increased anxiety and depression. Together, social media measures explained 13.5% of the variance in sleep quality. The current study aims to extend upon this previous work by further examining the impact of social media use on sleep quality and wellbeing post-adolescence.

Methods: 243 undergraduate students completed self-report questionnaires online regarding their social media use, sleep, mood and self-esteem. Mean age 20.9 years, max = 49, min = 18.

Results: Significant correlations were found suggesting increased NSMU is related to poorer sleep quality, increased depression and anxiety, higher Facebook activity and lower self-esteem. Measures of social media accounted for 10.6% of the variance in sleep quality. NSMU and volume of Facebook activity significantly predicted poor sleep quality after anxiety, depression and self-esteem were controlled for.Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of using social media, Facebook activity and emotional connection to social media around bedtime with regards to some aspects of well-being, which warrant future investigation over the life span.

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose