The purpose of this research study is to learn more about social media usage and its relation to emotions, biology, and mental health. Participants will complete daily assessments (5 times a day) over the course of 11 days in which they will report on their social media use, behaviors, and mood. During the first 4 days participants will be asked to continue using social media as typical. In the second half (7 days) participants will be randomized to social media usage groups (0 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hour, 3 hours). There will be mental health and well-being measures provided at the beginning and end of the study. Lastly, to better understand how social media usage effects underlying mechanisms of stress, participants will be asked to provide saliva samples for 3 nights (pre, mid, and post) to assess for basal cortisol levels.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
324
Behavioral Intervention of social media usage.
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas, United States
Changes in "Positive and Negative Affect Schedule" (PANAS)
Examines mood fluctuations. Scores can range from 10-50 for both the Positive and Negative Affect with the lower scores representing lower levels of Positive/Negative Affect and higher scores representing higher levels of Positive/Negative Affect.
Time frame: Pre and post. Daily 5 times a day for 11 days
Changes in "Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale" (DASS)
Examines Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress symptoms. Minimum 0 maximum 63. Higher scores indicate more depression, anxiety and or stress.
Time frame: Pre and Post. Daily for 11 days
Changes in "Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale"
Examines behavioral goal achievement. Minimum 0 and maximum 54. Larger scores means an ability to be more active.
Time frame: Pre-Post- Daily for 11 days
Changes in "Social Media Use"
Survey and Phone based Applications will assess for daily use of social media time and behaviors.
Time frame: Daily for 11 days
Changes in "A clinically useful depression outcome scale" (CUDOS)
Tracks Depression Symptoms. Minimum 0 maximum 74. Larger scores means more depressive symptoms.
Time frame: Pre-Post- Daily for 11 days
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.