Effects of Stressors of COVID-19 on Chinese College Students' Problematic Social Media Use: A Mediated Moderation Model

Jun Zhao; Baojuan Ye; Li Yu; Fei Xia

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.917465

Effects of Stressors of COVID-19 on Chinese College Students' Problematic Social Media Use: A Mediated Moderation Model

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jun 30:13:917465. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.917465. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jun Zhao^{1

2}, Baojuan Ye¹, Li Yu³, Fei Xia¹

Affiliations

¹ Center of Mental Health Education and Research, School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China.
² Mental Health Education and Counseling Center, Nanchang Hangkong University, Nanchang, China.
³ School of Education, Nanchang Institute of Science and Technology, Nanchang, China.

Abstract

Purpose: Isolation policies are long-term and strictly enforced in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Social media might be widely used for communication, work, understanding the development of the epidemic, etc. However, these behaviors might lead to problematic social media use. The present study investigated the effect of stressors of COVID-19 on problematic social media use, as well as the internal mechanisms involved.

Methods: One thousand three hundred seventy-three Chinese college students (M _age = 19.53, SD _age = 1.09) were recruited randomly from four grades who completed Coronavirus Stress Scale, Fear of Missing Out Scale, Problematic Mobile Social Media Usage Assessment Questionnaire, and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale.

Results: Stressors of COVID-19 were positively related to problematic social media use. The link between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use was mediated by fear of missing out. Additionally, the association between fear of missing out and problematic social media use, as well as the association between stressors of COVID-19 and problematic social media use were moderated by regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Conclusion: The current findings reveal the mechanism that may be used to reduce the likelihood of problematic social media use in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak. To prevent and intervene in problematic social media use during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study stressed the importance of decreasing the fear of missing out and enhancing regulatory emotional self-efficacy.

Keywords: Chinese college students; fear of missing out; problematic social media use; regulatory emotional self-efficacy; stressors of COVID-19.