Mindfulness as a mediator in the relationship between social media engagement and depression in young adults
Amelia Jones, M. Hook, Purnaja Podduturi, Haley McKeen, Emily Beitzell, M. Liss
Personality and Individual Differences February 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111284 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 371 |
| Population | People aged 17 to 24, recruited at a university or through social media (Reddit, Facebook, Instagram) |
| Measures | Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | The awareness facet of mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between behavioral, affective, and cognitive social media engagement and depression; for affective engagement, the nonjudge, nonreact, and describe facets also significantly mediated the link. The authors argue mindfulness is an important mechanism in the social media engagement–depression relationship and suggest mindfulness-based interventions may encourage more mindful social media use. |
Abstract
Abstract Social media engagement has been inconsistently linked to depression and it is important to determine whether specific motivations for engagement are linked to depression and what the mechanisms may be. This study investigated five factors of mindfulness as potential mediators between behavioral, affective, and cognitive social media engagement and depression. Participants (between 17 and 24 years old) at a university or found through social media (Reddit, Facebook, and Instagram; N = 371) were given the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Social Media Engagement Scale for Adolescents (SMES-A), and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8), which measured depression. The awareness facet of mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between all three social media engagement subscales (behavioral, affective, and cognitive) and depression. Additionally, there was a significant mediation between the affective engagement subscale and depression by the nonjudge, nonreact, and describe facets of mindfulness. Our results suggest that mindfulness is an important mechanism of the relationship between social media engagement and depression. The implementation of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may be useful to help teach how to engage in social media mindfully and positively.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Not all mindfulness is equal: certain facets of mindfulness have important implications for well-being and mental health across the lifespan. Frontiers in Psychology 2024
- Scale development and validation of social media mindfulness: evidence from Chinese Douyin users Frontiers in Psychology June 12, 2026
- Problematic Social Media Use and Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness Psychiatry International June 11, 2026
- Latent profile analysis of mindfulness and experiential avoidance associated with social media use disorder. BMC Psychology June 8, 2026
- Effectiveness of brief online mindfulness-based intervention on different types of mobile phone addiction: mechanisms of influence of trait mindfulness Frontiers in Psychology February 17, 2025
and 2 more in the library