Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health.
This research expanded on prior work exploring the relationship between social media use, social support, and mental health by including the usage of social virtual reality (VR). In Study 1 (undergraduate students; n = 448) we examined divergent relationships between problematic social media use (e....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314863 |
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| author | Shay Xuejing Yao Joomi Lee Reed M Reynolds Morgan E Ellithorpe |
| author_facet | Shay Xuejing Yao Joomi Lee Reed M Reynolds Morgan E Ellithorpe |
| author_sort | Shay Xuejing Yao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research expanded on prior work exploring the relationship between social media use, social support, and mental health by including the usage of social virtual reality (VR). In Study 1 (undergraduate students; n = 448) we examined divergent relationships between problematic social media use (e.g., Facebook, TikTok), total use, and users' mental health indicators (e.g., depression, anxiety, social isolation). To determine whether problematic social media use patterns extended to immersive 3-D environments, we sampled active social VR users (e.g., Rec Room) in Study 2 (n = 464). Problematic social VR use was related to decreased real-life social support (β = -.62, 95%CI [-.80, -.44]), but not to VR social support (β = -.06, 95%CI [-.25, .14]). Conversely, the amount of social VR use was only related to increased social VR (β = .06, 95%CI [.04, .15]) but not to real-life social support (β = -.02, 95%CI [-.05, .04]). Study 2 also revealed a finding that may be unique to the 3-D immersive environment: the amount of social VR use facilitated better mental health for VR users, but only through stronger perceived social support on social VR but not in real life. This result highlights the potential of immersive media to promote mental well-being by facilitating engaging and meaningful social interactions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c2d9c49f05054e46a34f50e854af7f38 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-c2d9c49f05054e46a34f50e854af7f382025-02-05T05:31:26ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031486310.1371/journal.pone.0314863Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health.Shay Xuejing YaoJoomi LeeReed M ReynoldsMorgan E EllithorpeThis research expanded on prior work exploring the relationship between social media use, social support, and mental health by including the usage of social virtual reality (VR). In Study 1 (undergraduate students; n = 448) we examined divergent relationships between problematic social media use (e.g., Facebook, TikTok), total use, and users' mental health indicators (e.g., depression, anxiety, social isolation). To determine whether problematic social media use patterns extended to immersive 3-D environments, we sampled active social VR users (e.g., Rec Room) in Study 2 (n = 464). Problematic social VR use was related to decreased real-life social support (β = -.62, 95%CI [-.80, -.44]), but not to VR social support (β = -.06, 95%CI [-.25, .14]). Conversely, the amount of social VR use was only related to increased social VR (β = .06, 95%CI [.04, .15]) but not to real-life social support (β = -.02, 95%CI [-.05, .04]). Study 2 also revealed a finding that may be unique to the 3-D immersive environment: the amount of social VR use facilitated better mental health for VR users, but only through stronger perceived social support on social VR but not in real life. This result highlights the potential of immersive media to promote mental well-being by facilitating engaging and meaningful social interactions.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314863 |
| spellingShingle | Shay Xuejing Yao Joomi Lee Reed M Reynolds Morgan E Ellithorpe Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. PLoS ONE |
| title | Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. |
| title_full | Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. |
| title_fullStr | Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. |
| title_short | Problematic social media use in 3D? Relationships between traditional social media use, social virtual reality (VR) use, and mental health. |
| title_sort | problematic social media use in 3d relationships between traditional social media use social virtual reality vr use and mental health |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314863 |
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