Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Unraveling the digital emotion web: exploring the relationship between online emotional expression, perception, management, psychopathologies, and social media use

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This research delves into the nexus between social media use and emotional well-being, focusing on the significance of E-motions—online emotional expression, perception, facilitation, and management—in refining virtual interactions. The study further probes the ties between these factors and the risk of problematic social media engagement. Using a self-administered questionnaire, data were harvested from 180 Jamaican undergraduates, capturing aspects like anxiety, stress, depression, and E-motions, among others. Through Latent Profile Analysis, users were segmented into three risk categories: low, medium, and high. A marked variance was observed between these groups in terms of problematic behaviors—escalating from low to high-risk profiles. Crucially, a potent link was established between the degree of risk in problematic social media use and variables including engagement intensity, psychological markers, and E-motions. The findings underscore the criticality of emotion management in online settings and hint at the repercussions of unregulated negative emotions on maladaptive social media consumption. This work elucidates the intricate dynamics between online emotional facets, psychological distress, and digital behavior, offering guidance for shaping interventions that foster healthier online engagements and emotional equilibrium in our digital era.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request and at https://osf.io/c4fa2/?view_only=27869325b27d4674893dab550cf45bfb for viewing.

References

  • Ahmed, E., & Vaghefi, I. (2021). Social media addiction: A systematic review through cognitive-behavior model of pathological use. http://hdl.handle.net/10125/71422

  • Andreassen, C. S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E., & Pallesen, S. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 252–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andreassen, C. S., Pallesen, S., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: Findings from a large national survey. Addictive Behaviors, 64, 287–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.03.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Atroszko, P. A., Atroszko, B., & Charzyńska, E. (2021). Subpopulations of addictive behaviors in different sample types and their relationships with gender, personality, and well-being: Latent profile vs. latent class analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8590. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168590.

  • Balcerowska, J., Bereznowski, P., Biernatowska, A., Atroszko, P., Pallesen, S., & Andreassen, C. (2020). Is it meaningful to distinguish between Facebook addiction and social networking sites addiction? Psychometric analysis of Facebook addiction and social networking sites addiction scales. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00625-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltaci, Ö. (2019). The predictive relationships between social media addiction and social anxiety, loneliness, and happiness. International Journal of Progressive Education, 15(4), 73–82. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2019.203.6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biolcati, R., Mancini, G., Pupi, V., & Mugheddu, V. (2018). Facebook addiction: Onset predictors. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 7(6), 118. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm7060118

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bányai, F., Zsila, Á., Király, O., Maraz, A., Elekes, Z., Griffiths, M. D., Andreassen, C. S., & Demetrovics, Z. (2017). Problematic social media use: Results from a large-scale nationally representative adolescent sample. PLOS ONE, 12(1), e0169839. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169839.

  • Chen, A. (2019). From attachment to addiction: The mediating role of need satisfaction on social networking sites. Computers in Human Behavior, 98, 80–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.03.034.

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Vol. 2). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Doğan, U., & Tosun, N. (2016). Lise öğrencilerinde problemli akıllı telefon kullanımının sosyal kaygı ve sosyal ağların kullanımına aracılık etkisi.

  • Ellison, N. B., Gray, R., Lampe, C., & Fiore, A. T. (2014). Social capital and resource requests on Facebook. New Media & Society, 16(7), 1104–1121. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814543998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ercengiz, M. (2019). The effectiveness of ACT based psycho-education program on social media disorder. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.15345/iojes.2019.01.002.

  • Escobar-Viera, C. G., Shensa, A., Bowman, N. D., Sidani, J. E., Knight, J., James, A. E., & Primack, B. A. (2018). Passive and active Social Media Use and depressive symptoms among United States adults. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 21(7), 437–443. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ferris, A. L., Hollenbaugh, E. E., & Sommer, P. A. (2021). Applying the uses and gratifications model to examine consequences of social media addiction. Social Media + Society, 7(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211019003

  • Griffiths, M. (2005). A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. Journal of Substance Use, 10(4), 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1080/14659890500114359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, S. S., Lwin, M. O., & Lee, E. W. J. (2017). Till logout do us part? Comparison of factors predicting excessive social network sites use and addiction between Singaporean adolescents and adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 75, 632–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.06.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kardefelt-Winther, D. (2017). How does the time children spend using digital technology impact their mental well-being, social relationships and physical activity? An evidence-focused literature review ( https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/Children-digital-technology-wellbeing.pdf)

  • Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J., & Lee, J. E. R. (2011). The Facebook paths to happiness: Effects of the number of Facebook friends and self-presentation on subjective well-being. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking, 14(6), 359–364. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0374

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kircaburun, K., Alhabash, S., Tosuntaş, Ş. B., & Griffiths, M. D. (2020). Uses and gratifications of Problematic Social Media Use among University students: A simultaneous examination of the big five of personality traits, Social Media Platforms, and Social Media Use motives. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 18(3), 525–547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9940-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social Networking Sites and Addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3), 311. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14030311.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, L. Y., Sidani, J. E., Shensa, A., Radovic, A., Miller, E., Colditz, J. B., & Primack, B. A. (2016). Association between social media use and depression among US young adults. Depression and Anxiety, 33(4), 323–331.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335.

  • Lyall, L. M., Wyse, C. A., Graham, N., Ferguson, A., Lyall, D. M., Cullen, B., Celis Morales, C. A., Biello, S. M., Mackay, D., Ward, J., Strawbridge, R. J., Gill, J. M. R., Bailey, M. E. S., Pell, J. P., & Smith, D. J. (2018). Association of disrupted circadian rhythmicity with mood disorders, subjective wellbeing, and cognitive function: A cross-sectional study of 91 105 participants from the UK Biobank. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(6), 507–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30139-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marengo, D., Montag, C., Sindermann, C., Elhai, J. D., & Settanni, M. (2021). Examining the links between active Facebook use, received likes, self-esteem and happiness: A study using objective social media data. Telematics and Informatics, 58, 101523. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2020.101523.

  • Marino, C., Gini, G., Vieno, A., & Spada, M. M. (2018). The associations between problematic Facebook use, psychological distress and well-being among adolescents and young adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 226, 274–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.10.007.

  • Miles, J., & Shevlin, M. (2001). Applying regression & correlation: A guide for students and researchers. Sage Publications.

  • Motoki, K., Suzuki, S., Kawashima, R., & Sugiura, M. (2020). A combination of self-reported data and social-related neural measures forecasts viral marketing success on Social Media. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 52, 99–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2020.06.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orben, A., Przybylski, A. K., Blakemore, S. J., & Kievit, R. A. (2022). Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. Nature Communications, 13(1), 1649. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29296-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Pellegrino, A., Stasi, A., & Bhatiasevi, V. (2022). Research trends in social media addiction and problematic social media use: A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1017506.

  • Peris, M., de la Barrera, U., Schoeps, K., & Montoya-Castilla, I. (2020). Psychological risk factors that predict social networking and internet addiction in adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4598. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124598.

  • Primack, B., Shensa, A., Sidani, J., Whaite, E., Lin, L., Rosen, D., Colditz, J., Radovic, A., & Miller, E. (2017). Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. (2022). An exploratory analysis of the relationship of problematic Facebook use with loneliness and self-esteem: The mediating roles of extraversion and self-presentation. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03505-0.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T., Baikady, R., Przeperski, S. M. S., Nadesan, J., Islam, V. R., M., & Jianguo, G. (Eds.). (2023). Social Media Addiction: The Cause and Result of Growing Social Problems. In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems (pp. 1–22). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_365-1.

  • Smith, T., & Short, A. (2022). Needs affordance as a key factor in the likelihood of problematic social media use: Validation, latent Profile analysis and comparison of TikTok and Facebook problematic use measures. Addictive Behaviors, 129, 107259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2022.107259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stănculescu, E., & Griffiths, M. D. (2022). Social media addiction profiles and their antecedents using latent profile analysis: The contribution of social anxiety, gender, and age. Telematics and Informatics, 74, 101879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2022.101879.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2021). A review of theories and models applied in studies of social media addiction and implications for future research. Addictive Behaviors, 114, 106699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106699.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turel, O., Brevers, D., & Bechara, A. (2018). Time distortion when users at-risk for social media addiction engage in non-social media tasks. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 97, 84–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.11.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Turel, O., & Qahri-Saremi, H. (2016). Problematic use of social media: An exploratory study.

  • Van Der Aa, N., Overbeek, G., Engels, R. C. M. E., Scholte, R. H. J., Meerkerk, G. J., & Van Den Eijnden, R. J. J. M. (2009). Daily and compulsive internet use and well-being in adolescence: A diathesis-stress model based on big five personality traits. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(6), 765–776. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-008-9298-3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C., Lee, M. K. O., & Hua, Z. (2015). A theory of social media dependence: Evidence from microblog users. Decision Support Systems, 69, 40–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dss.2014.11.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Q., Yang, M., & Zhang, W. (2021). Accessing the influence of Perceived Value on Social attachment: Developing Country Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 760774. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.760774.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, W., Li, D., Li, X., Wang, Y., Sun, W., Zhao, L., & Qiu, L. (2018). Parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent internet addiction: A moderated mediation model. Addictive Behaviors, 84, 171–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.04.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Youssef, L., Hallit, R., Kheir, N., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2020). Social media use disorder and loneliness: Any association between the two? Results of a cross-sectional study among Lebanese adults. BMC Psychology, 8(1), 56. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-020-00421-5.

  • Zych, I., Ortega-Ruiz, R., & Marín-López, I. (2017). Emotional content in cyberspace: Development and validation of E-motions Questionnaire in adolescents and young people. Psicothema, 29(4), 563–569. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2016.340.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The author did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Targeted Evidence-Based Research Solutions, Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago

    Troy Smith

Authors
  1. Troy Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Troy Smith.

Ethics declarations

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Participants were informed of intent to publish as part of the consent prior to accessing the questionnaire.

Ethics approval

Approval was obtained from the ethics committee of the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica Research Ethics Committee (CREC-MN.271, 2021/2022). The procedures used in this study adhere to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Competing interests

This manuscript has not been submitted to, nor is under review at, another journal or other publishing venue. Further, the author has no affiliation with any organization with a direct or indirect financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Smith, T. Unraveling the digital emotion web: exploring the relationship between online emotional expression, perception, management, psychopathologies, and social media use. Curr Psychol 43, 12354–12364 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05350-1

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05350-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation