Date of Award
Summer 8-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
PhD Counseling Psychology
Department
Professional Psychology and Family Therapy
Advisor
Margaret Brady-Amoon, PhD
Committee Member
Alan Groveman, PhD
Committee Member
Barry Cohen, PhD
Keywords
social media usage, Gen Z, psychological well-being, loneliness, social support
Abstract
Increased usage of social networking sites (SNS) among young people, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, is well documented. Both positive and negative associations with SNS usage have been found. However, findings lack causal links and describe frequency of usage, applications used, and generalized descriptions of usage type (e.g., to connect with others versus consume content). There is considerable movement toward understanding SNS usage type and trends by subgroup—a precursor to better understanding which groups are using SNS for what purposes, particularly those more likely to experience negative outcomes associated with SNS. This study utilized a cross-sectional design to test the primary hypothesis that gender, overall well-being, loneliness, and perceived social support would predict preference of medium for receiving social support (in-person or virtually). Results of a logistic regression revealed that increased overall well-being is associated with greater likelihood for preferring in-person social support. Further, supplementary analysis showed that individuals who prefer virtual social support have significantly higher ratings of loneliness and that post COVID-19 young people prefer in-person interactions. These findings suggest that certain individual characteristics contribute to young people’s online behaviors. Given rising rates of SNS usage and depression and anxiety among young people, and the associations among SNS usage and negative mental health outcomes, these results may help professionals to better understand and support young people to utilize SNS as a tool to promote mental health and provide interventions to modify usage when necessary.
Recommended Citation
Mastroianni, Carla, "Social Support in the Time of Social Media: Predicting Gen Zers’ Preferences for In-Person and Virtual Support" (2024). Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs). 3188.
https://scholarship.shu.edu/dissertations/3188
Revision Submission
