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Problematic social media use and psychosocial conditions
Håkan Stattin1, Charli Eriksson2, Einar B Thorsteinsson3
1Uppsala University, Department of Psychology, Uppsala, Sweden.
Frontiers in Psychology
|April 13, 2026
Summary
Problematic social media use (PSMU) in teens is linked to mental health issues, but high scores don't always mean problems. High PSMU can appear in various contexts, so it needs careful interpretation alongside other factors.
Area of Science:
- Adolescent Psychology
- Digital Health
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Problematic social media use (PSMU) is often linked to adolescent mental health concerns.
- The precise meaning of high PSMU scores in population surveys is not fully understood.
- This study investigates if elevated PSMU indicates broader psychosocial difficulties or occurs in diverse contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if high problematic social media use (PSMU) scores in adolescents correlate with wider psychosocial challenges.
- To explore the different psychosocial contexts in which elevated PSMU appears.
- To inform the interpretation of PSMU as a standalone indicator in adolescent surveys.
Main Methods:
- Cluster analysis of data from the 2022 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey.
- Inclusion of nationally representative samples of 15-year-old adolescents from five Nordic countries (N=7,202).
- Analysis focused on problematic social media use, psychosomatic complaints, perceived stress, and various psychosocial indicators.
Main Results:
- Adolescents with high PSMU, psychosomatic complaints, and perceived stress exhibited the most adverse psychosocial profiles.
- Elevated psychosomatic complaints and stress, even with average PSMU, showed significant difficulties, except for cyberbullying.
- A distinct group with high PSMU but without elevated stress or psychosomatic symptoms showed no significant psychosocial difficulties.
Conclusions:
- High problematic social media use (PSMU) scores are found across diverse psychosocial profiles.
- Adolescents with severe stress-related conditions were not always identified by elevated PSMU.
- PSMU should be interpreted cautiously as a standalone indicator, considering accompanying symptoms and social context.
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