Social Networking Sites (SNS) can be valuable tools to connect people with shared interests worldwide. However, SNS screentime has increased drastically over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic....Show moreSocial Networking Sites (SNS) can be valuable tools to connect people with shared interests worldwide. However, SNS screentime has increased drastically over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Excessive use of SNS has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes in previous studies. Contrary to the majority of studies on SNS, which usually rely on correlations, this study used an experimental approach to examine the relationship between SNS use, depression, and anxiety. Fear of missing out (FOMO) was also investigated as a potential mediating factor. To manipulate SNS screentime a multifaceted intervention was built based on results from previous experimental studies and input from a focus group (N = 3). A convenience sample of first year psychology students (N = 122) had been collected and split into three groups. The intervention group was instructed to follow the smartphone use intervention, while participants in the active-control group received instructions with little expected influence on screentime. Both groups were instructed to reduce their smartphone use as much as possible for two weeks. The waitlist-control group was told their intervention would begin in two weeks. SNS screentime, anxiety, depression and FOMO were assessed pre- and post-intervention. The results show significantly lower post-intervention SNS screentime in both intervention groups but not in the waitlist-control group. Depression scores were significantly lower in the intervention group but not for the active-control or waitlist-control condition. No significant group differences for anxiety were found. The mediation analysis obtained no significant results for FOMO as a potential mediator variable. Overall, the findings suggest participants reduced their smartphone usage regardless of the received set of rules. However, only participants in the intervention group showed fewer depressive symptoms. Limitations and suggestions for future research on SNS use were discussed.Show less
Research master thesis | Psychology (research) (MSc)
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Studies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor...Show moreStudies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim was to investigate the relationships between SNS use, motives behind SNS use, and readiness to change, as well as ED psychopathology. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change. However, contrary to expectations, SNS use was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggested that if an individual feels less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating, they are more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high Studies investigating motives for social networking site (SNS) use amongst people with eating disorder (ED) symptoms are scarce. There is some evidence that readiness to change may be a factor related to SNS use patterns in this population. The aim was to investigate the relationships between SNS use, motives behind SNS use, and readiness to change, as well as ED psychopathology. Participants were recruited from ED recovery websites; 103 provided complete data. As hypothesized, ED symptom severity was inversely associated with readiness to change. However, contrary to expectations, SNS use was not associated with ED symptom severity. The results of hierarchical regression analyses suggested that if an individual feels less capable of overcoming their dysfunctional cognitions/behaviors about their body/eating, they are more likely to be motivated to use SNSs for the purpose of impressing others and reputation management. The clinical implication is that high amounts of SNS use may not necessarily be harmful for people with EDs or recovering from EDs, whereas using SNSs for the purposes of impression management could potentially be related to being less ready to recover.Show less
This research focuses on improving the accessibility of archaeology in the Netherlands. The motives for this research are both to create more awareness and support for archaeology and to meet the...Show moreThis research focuses on improving the accessibility of archaeology in the Netherlands. The motives for this research are both to create more awareness and support for archaeology and to meet the needs of people that are interested in archaeology. This topic is addressed by analysing blogs and social networking sites. Additionally, it is examined whether these digital communication methods can help reach non-traditional audiences, particularly to engage the more difficult to reach target group of young adults. To be able to answer the research questions, questionnaires were set up for three target groups: bloggers, blog readers and young adults. A total number of 1.174 respondents have provided for many new insights regarding the use of blogs and social networking sites in archaeology, which messages need to be communicated and in which ways they can be communicated. Among other things, it has appeared that there are still some significant differences in the preferences of blog readers and the content that bloggers mainly blog about: most blog readers prefer to read about specific archaeological regions, excavations and sites, while most bloggers blog about personal opinions on archaeological matters. Blogs and social networking sites can contribute to making archaeology more accessible for a wider public and reaching out to young adults by incorporating and listening to the preferences, ideas, needs and wishes of the audiences they reach and of young adults themselves. Specifically regarding young adults, there are several approaches that can be applied in order to reach them. This requires depending less on the technology of blogs and social media and requires more of a focus on the content and message.Show less
