The influence of adolescent experiences on emerging adults' social media habits and well-being
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This dissertation seeks to explore several gaps related to social media experiences and well-being. First, while there is research demonstrating that active and restrictive parental mediation may have positive results for adolescents, there is a dearth of research seeking to understand whether these adolescent experiences relate to well-being and social media habits of emerging adults. Further, although active, communication-based mediation can have positive outcomes for adolescents, little research explores the content of this communication. This study seeks to explore memorable messages emerging adults remember hearing about social media as well as potential relationships with social media habits and well-being. Finally, while there is a body of research exploring parental mediation and how it influences adolescent social media habits, much less research seeks to understand how peer experiences, such as mediation and peer pressure, influence social media habits and experiences. This research project explores how adolescent experiences from both parents and peers relate to social media habits and well-being for emerging adults, who are experiencing increased mental health challenges. This project used a mixed methods approach to explore its aims. A survey was distributed in the fall of 2024. Participants (N = 402) were recruited from ResearchMatch, a program of the National Institute of Health, and from a large midwestern university. The survey included questions measuring parental and peer mediation, as well as a mix of problematic (e.g. social media addiction, mental distress, FoMO) and positive outcomes (e.g. well-being, media literacy, social capital) that could relate to these experiences. The survey also included two open-ended prompts to solicit memorable messages emerging adults remember hearing from parents and peers about social media. The results indicate that both parental and peer experiences regarding social media during adolescent years may have a lasting influence on emerging adults. Active parental mediation experiences were related to well-being, life satisfaction, and media literacy, whereas restrictive mediation predicted social media addiction, FoMO, and mental health challenges. Peer mediation predicted well-being, sense of purpose, social media addiction, and FoMO. Peer pressure predicted social media addiction, perceived digital overuse, mental health challenges, and FoMO. These results indicate that parents should be encouraged to continue active mediation, but more cautious about restrictive practices that may not be considered supportive. Further, peer experiences should not be overlooked, as they relate to emerging adults' social media habits and well-being and deserve further study. Memorable messages were analyzed using phronetic iterative qualitative data analysis (Tracy, 2013). Parental memorable messages focused on three primary themes: encouraging safe and responsible social media behavior (including subthemes be careful and protect your reputation), shaping evaluations of social media (including subthemes be critical and social media is negative), and influencing social media habits (including subthemes parental control, social media and connection, and no message). Messages that aligned with active mediation were correlated with support. Three primary themes also emerged when examining peer memorable messages: presenting and protecting yourself (including subthemes posting and presentation and warnings), emphasizing social benefits (including subthemes connection and join and FoMO), and understanding outside influences (including subthemes parental control, negative experiences, and no message). Several significant relationships emerged between the peer message subtheme recalled and outcomes. Join and FoMO messages predicted reduced FoMO, Warning messages from friends predicted reduced social media overuse, and receiving messages about posting and presentation predicted mental health distress. This indicates that exploring and comparing memorable messages from multiple sources -- in this case, from parents and peers -- can enhance understanding of emerging adults' socialization experiences. Overall, the findings from this dissertation demonstrate the potential long-term impact of both parental and peer communication about social media during adolescence. Given the links between social media use and mental health, future research should continue to explore peer experiences, memorable messages, and parental mediation and their relationships with social media habits and well-being over time.
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Ph. D