Abstract
Time spent on social media and making online comparisons with others may influence users’ mental health. This study examined links between parental control over the time their child spends on social media, preadolescents’ time spent browsing social media, preadolescents’ appearance comparisons on social media, and preadolescents’ appearance satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction. Preadolescent social media users (N = 284, 49.1% female; aged 10–12) and one of their parents completed online surveys. Preadolescents, whose parents reported greater control over their child’s time on social media, reported better mental health. This relationship was mediated by preadolescents spending less time browsing and making fewer appearance comparisons on social media. Parental control over time spent on social media may be associated with benefits for mental health among preadolescents.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all of the research assistants and interns who have worked on this project. In particular, we thank Justin Freeman for coordinating the data collection.
Authors’ Contributions
JF participated the design and analysis of this study and coordination and drafted the manuscript; NRM participated in the design and coordination of the study and helped draft the manuscript; CJJ participated in the design and coordination of the study and helped draft the manuscript; ELO participated in the design and coordination of the study; RMR conceived this study, and participated in its design and helped draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The Australian Research Council funded this research (grant number FL150100096).
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all parents in the study, and informed assent was obtained from all preadolescents.
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Fardouly, J., Magson, N.R., Johnco, C.J. et al. Parental Control of the Time Preadolescents Spend on Social Media: Links with Preadolescents’ Social Media Appearance Comparisons and Mental Health. J Youth Adolescence 47, 1456–1468 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0870-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0870-1