Momentary links between adolescents’ social media use and social experiences and motivations: Individual differences by peer susceptibility.

This longitudinal ecological momentary assessment study examined whether adolescents’ use of social media to interact with peers relates to their experiences of social connectedness, social craving, and sensation seeking on an hourly level. The sample was 212 adolescents in the southeastern United States (M age = 15 years; range 14 to 17; 56.2% Female; 40% White, 28% Latinx, 26% African American, 15% Mixed/Other Race). Further, we investigated whether these associations differ for adolescents who were nominated by their peers as more or less susceptible to social influences, because highly susceptible youth may be more strongly impacted by social media due to heightened focus on peer behaviors and social feedback. Controlling for both daily and between-subject effects, we found a consistent pattern of hourly-level results that were robust to sensitivity analyses. When highly susceptible adolescents used social media to interact with peers in the last hour, they felt less socially connected to others and more strongly craved social connections and novel sensations. Youth who are particularly sensitive to social input from peers may feel less connected to others and crave more connections and exciting stimuli within one hour after using social media to interact with peers. Public significance statement: When highly susceptible adolescents used social media to interact with peers in the last hour, they felt less socially connected to others and more strongly craved social connections and novel sensations. Youth who are particularly sensitive to social input from peers may feel less connected to others and crave more connections and exciting stimuli within one hour after using social media to interact with peers. Findings inform efforts to promote youths’ wellbeing in the context of increasing online exposures.