Active and passive social media use are differentially related to depressive symptoms in older adults

Abstract

Objectives

Previous research on social media use (SMU) and mental health has focused on younger individuals. For example, in young adults active SMU (e.g. posting content) has been related to decreased depressive symptoms, whereas passive SMU (e.g. browsing content) has been related to increased depressive symptoms. These relationships have not yet been investigated in older adults, however, even though SMU and poor mental health are common.

Methods

We collected data from adults aged 65 years and older, and categorized SMU into active and passive dimensions with a principal component analysis. Next, we conducted t-tests and logistic regressions to assess whether older adults’ SMU was associated with depressive symptoms.

Results

Our analysis revealed that active SMU was associated with increased odds for depressive symptoms, whereas passive SMU was associated with decreased odds for depressive symptoms.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that the relationships between active and passive SMU and depressive symptoms in older adults are different from previous literature focusing on younger individuals. We theorize that these findings may be due to older adults’ engaging in fewer social comparisons overall, and hence experiencing fewer negative feelings while passively viewing others’ social media posts.

Keywords:

• Social media
• Facebook
• active
• passive
• depression < mood disorders
• anxiety and trauma related disorders
• mental health < caregiving
• social support < psychosocial and cultural aspects

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Travis Kadylak for assistance in developing the survey and dataset.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical statement

This study was approved by an institutional review board at Michigan State University, approval number x17-1022e; i054659. All participants signed an informed consent document and agreed to participate in the study.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.