A Pilot Study of Self-Compassion and Social Media Problems
Associations, Moderations, and Speculations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13664200 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mollie D K Carter (0000-0001-7858-2686, Union University, corresponding author), T Chen (0000-0002-5398-0407, Union University), Tina Y Chen (Union University), Angela D Bryan (0000-0002-6019-3380, Mississippi State University), Allison L Bryan (Mississippi State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 332941251409154-332941251409154 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00332941251409154 |
| PMID | 41420347 |
| OpenAlex | W4417520999 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 20 |
Researchers reject the idea that social media use causes anxiety and depression, instead reporting that cognitive and behavioral variables of social media self-control failure, fear of missing out, and social media social comparison contribute to anxiety and depression. While prohibiting, delaying, or fasting from social media are suggested by popular writers as answers to these problems, prohibiting social media is known to be ineffective at preventing these cognitive social media problems once a person begins using social media. Moving forward, counselors should prepare themselves to use the therapeutic tools they currently have or develop new tools for treating clients whose problems are related to social media. We sought to determine if social media self-control failure, fear of missing out, and social media social comparison were associated with deficiencies in self-compassion. Our pilot study ( n = 61) confirmed that the problematic social media outcomes share considerable variance with deficiencies in self-compassion with moderation models found. Thus, self-compassion interventions may be useful for treating social media self-control failure, fear of missing out, and social media social comparison, but future research will need to explore the efficacy of these interventions
Anxiety · Moderation · Psychological intervention · Shyness · Social anxiety · Social cognitive theory · Social competence · Social engagement · Social media · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety
Depression, anxiety and fear of missing out as correlates of social, non-social and problematic smartphone use
The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales—21 (Dass‐21)
Self-Compassion Interventions and Psychosocial Outcomes
The structure of negative emotional states
A Psychological Reactance Perspective of Social Media Prohibition and Outcomes
Developmentally salient psychosocial characteristics, rumination, and compulsive social media use during the transition to college
Social Media Social Comparison of Ability (but not Opinion) Predicts Lower Identity Clarity
Complete anonymity compromises the accuracy of self-reports
Self-Compassion
The Development and Validation of a Scale to Measure Self-Compassion
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |