Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The outbreak of COVID-19 caused high psychological burden for many people. Some people tend to excessive social media use (SMU) to escape the negative emotions which can foster addictive tendencies. The present study investigated positive mental health (PMH) and mindfulness as protective factors tha...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277631 |
| _version_ | 1797959182918352896 |
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| author | Julia Brailovskaia Jürgen Margraf |
| author_facet | Julia Brailovskaia Jürgen Margraf |
| author_sort | Julia Brailovskaia |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The outbreak of COVID-19 caused high psychological burden for many people. Some people tend to excessive social media use (SMU) to escape the negative emotions which can foster addictive tendencies. The present study investigated positive mental health (PMH) and mindfulness as protective factors that could reduce the risk for addictive SMU. Data of 1,049 participants from Germany were assessed via online surveys in autumn 2021. The current results reveal a positive relationship between COVID-19 burden and addictive SMU. Both were negatively linked to PMH and mindfulness. In a moderated mediation analysis, the relationship between COVID-19 burden and addictive SMU was mediated by PMH. Mindfulness moderated the association between PMH and addictive SMU. The COVID-19 situation can be burdensome and contribute to dysfunctional coping strategies such as addictive SMU. However, PMH and mindfulness serve as protective factors. The protective effect of mindfulness could be especially important for persons with low PMH. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:28:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cba6d42fbcbd412f80f048e95f5c3769 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:28:49Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-cba6d42fbcbd412f80f048e95f5c37692023-01-08T05:31:18ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011711e027763110.1371/journal.pone.0277631Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak.Julia BrailovskaiaJürgen MargrafThe outbreak of COVID-19 caused high psychological burden for many people. Some people tend to excessive social media use (SMU) to escape the negative emotions which can foster addictive tendencies. The present study investigated positive mental health (PMH) and mindfulness as protective factors that could reduce the risk for addictive SMU. Data of 1,049 participants from Germany were assessed via online surveys in autumn 2021. The current results reveal a positive relationship between COVID-19 burden and addictive SMU. Both were negatively linked to PMH and mindfulness. In a moderated mediation analysis, the relationship between COVID-19 burden and addictive SMU was mediated by PMH. Mindfulness moderated the association between PMH and addictive SMU. The COVID-19 situation can be burdensome and contribute to dysfunctional coping strategies such as addictive SMU. However, PMH and mindfulness serve as protective factors. The protective effect of mindfulness could be especially important for persons with low PMH.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277631 |
| spellingShingle | Julia Brailovskaia Jürgen Margraf Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. PLoS ONE |
| title | Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
| title_full | Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
| title_fullStr | Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
| title_short | Positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the COVID-19 outbreak. |
| title_sort | positive mental health and mindfulness as protective factors against addictive social media use during the covid 19 outbreak |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277631 |
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