(PS3-B27) Exposure to covid-19-related Stress and Gender Moderate the Relationship Between Social Media Use and Depression in Late Adolescence

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many mental health difficulties for individuals around the world, with adolescents being particularly vulnerable (Fisher et al., 2020). A primary factor influencing mental health outcomes is the ability to maintain interpersonal connectivity (Shanahan et al., 2020), which has been challenged by the pandemic and is likely related to the recent surge of internalizing disorders (e.g., depression; Czeisler, 2020). Even those seeking to maintain social connections through technology use have shown increased vulnerability to depression, especially when they have other risk factors (e.g., female gender, Pieh et al., 2020). This indicates that connection through technology may not be sufficient and may actually increase risk for depression. The present study examined whether COVID-19-related stress, as well as gender, strengthen the association between social media use and depressive symptoms.  

            Participants were 171 undergraduate students (M age=19.29 years, SD=1.26, 48.6% female). They completed a series of self-report measures to determine experience with COVID-19-related stressors (Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory; Grasso, 2020), social media use operationalized as time spent on phone applications considered Social by iPhones Screen Time application (Ruben et al., 2021), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II; Beck et al., 1996). Results showed that exposure to COVID-19-related stressors moderated the relationship between social media use and depressive symptoms, such that increased exposure to COVID-19-related stressors strengthened the relationship between increased time on social media and higher rates of depressive symptoms (F(3,106)=12.31, p< .001, R²=.26). Additionally, gender moderated the social media use/depressive symptom relationship, with identifying as female strengthening this association (F(3,106)=6.11, p< .001, R²=.15). These findings suggest that those experiencing higher levels of COVID-19-related stressors, as well as females, are at greater risk for depressive symptoms the more frequently they use social media. Future research should consider the ways in which social media use may contribute to greater levels of stress generation, possibly via seeking social connection through shared negative experiences. Interventions to increase adaptive interpersonal behavior on social media should be explored, especially for those at elevated risk for depression.