BIO

My name is Mira, and I am a sophomore from Melbourne, FL! I am a Biology and Food and Nutrition Sciences double major as of now, but I am hoping to get into the Dietetics major and go to grad school after I graduate to become a dietician. My research interests are mental health, body image, nutrition, and gut bacteria. A research goal of mine is to get into a lab researching how our gut microbiota affects mood and overall health. Currently, I am researching how social media affects mental health and body image in young people.

Do Trait Anxiety And Depression Moderate The Effect Of Social Media Use On Mental Health Factors?

Abstract

Social media has infiltrated the daily lives of many and may have particularly detrimental effects on mental health for some. The current study sought to determine whether trait levels of anxiety or depression moderated the effect of posting edited photos on increasing state levels of anxiety or depression using secondary analyses of an existing data set. Participants who reported editing photos before posting them on Instagram (N=80; 93% female) were photographed in the lab and randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) edit and post the photo to Instagram; (b) edit but not post the photo; (c) post the unedited photo; or (d) neither edit nor post the photo. Trait and state levels of anxiety and depression/sadness were assessed after the experimental manipulation. Linear regression analyses supported that trait anxiety moderated the effect of condition on momentary anxiety, such that participants with higher trait anxiety experienced greater anxiety after posting edited photos. In addition, participants with higher trait depression experienced greater sadness after posting photos, whether or not the photos were edited. Overall, findings extend prior evidence that social media use may negatively impact mental health by suggesting this effect is greatest among those experiencing greater problems. More research is needed to understand whether findings reflect individual differences in vulnerability to the effects of social media or the accumulated effects of social media’s impact on trait-like measures.

Keywords: Social media, depression, anxiety, mental illness