Open Access

ARTICLE

Associations between Social Media Use and Sleep Quality in China: Exploring the Mediating Role of Social Media Addiction

by Yijie Ye¹, Han Wang², Liujiang Ye¹, Hao Gao^1,*

1 School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210097, China
2 School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

* Corresponding Author: Hao Gao. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Social Stress, Adversity, and Mental Health in Transitional China)

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion 2024, 26(5), 361-376. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.049606

Received 12 January 2024; Accepted 22 March 2024; Issue published 30 May 2024

Abstract

Sleep quality is closely linked to people’s health, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sleep patterns of residents in China were notably poor. The lockdown in China led to an increase in social media use, prompting questions about its impact on sleep. Therefore, this study investigates the association between social media use and sleep quality among Chinese residents during the COVID-19 outbreak, highlighting the potential mediating role of social media addiction. Data were collected via questionnaires through a cross-sectional survey with 779 valid responses. Variance analysis was used to test for differences in social media use among different demographic variables. Bivariate correlation analysis was employed to explore the relationships between variables, while regression analysis investigated the correlations between various media factors and sleep quality. Additionally, Bootstrap sampling was utilized to analyze the potential mediating influence of social media addiction in the relationship between social media use and sleep. The study's findings reveal a significant correlation between social media use, particularly before bedtime, and sleep quality (p < 0.01), with pre-sleep activity notably linked to poorer overall sleep scores (β = 0.141, p = 0.004). Although the daily use of social media did not directly impact most individuals’ sleep quality, specific platforms like news apps, short video apps, dating apps, and content community platforms were associated with higher levels of social media addiction, subsequently negatively affecting sleep quality. Specifically, the use of news apps (B = 0.068, 95% CI [0.000, 0.019]), short video apps (B = 0.112, 95% CI [0.001, 0.031]), dating apps (B = 0.147, 95% CI [0.000, 0.028]), and content community platforms (B = 0.106, 95% CI [0.001, 0.028]) was found to increase the risk of social media addiction, subsequently leading to adverse effects on sleep quality. The study underscores a notable link between social media use and sleep quality, suggesting that mindful social media habits, particularly before bedtime, and reducing addiction-associated apps could enhance sleep quality.

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Keywords

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