Digital communication technologies and mental health: an interplay between usage types and user characteristics
Date
2023-03-01
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Abstract
Nutitelefonide ja sotsiaalmeedia suhtlusvõrgustike (SM) levikuga on nii akadeemilistes ringkondades kui ka väljaspool kaasnenud mure, et need digitaalsed kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiad võivad negatiivselt mõjutada kasutajate vaimset tervist. Sel põhjusel on viimase kahe aastakümne jooksul tehtud palju uuringuid mõistmaks kuidas need digitaalsed kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiad mõjutavad kasutajate vaimset tervist. Varasemad uuringud on keskendunud peamiselt üldisele ajale, mille inimesed veedavad nutitelefone ja SM-e kasutades. Need uuringud on andnud erinevaid tulemusi ja meta-analüüsid on näidanud, et keskmiselt on nutitelefoni ja SM-i kasutamise mõju vaimsele tervisele negatiivne, kuid väike.
Kuid üldisele kasutusajale keskendumine ei võta arvesse (1) kasutustüüpe, (2) kasutaja omadusi ja (3) erinevust digitaalsete kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiate mitte-probleemse ja probleemse kasutamise vahel ega ka seda kuidas need kolm aspekti koos toimivad kasutajate vaimsele tervisele. Käesolev väitekiri käsitleb neid kolme peamist piirangut ja suurendab meie arusaamist sellest olulisest küsimusest.
Esiteks näitab doktoritöö, et erinevad SM-i (nt aktiivne versus passiivne) ja nutitelefonide (nt sotsiaalne versus mittesotsiaalne) kasutustüübid on vaimse tervisega erinevalt seotud. Teiseks näitab töö, et need seosed erinevad kasutajate lõikes süstemaatiliselt ja tuvastab samuti nende seoste juures olulist rolli mängivad ohutegurid (nt neurootilisus). Kolmandaks selgitab doktoritöö ka otsesed ja kaudsed seosed nende ohutegurite, digitaalsete kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiate probleemse kasutamise ja vaimse tervise näitajate vahel. Kokkuvõttes näitab käesolev doktoritöö, et digitaalsete kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiate mõju vaimsele tervisele on keeruline ja sõltub digitaalsete kommunikatsioonitehnoloogiate kasutusviiside ja kasutajate omaduste vastastikusest interaktsioonist.
The rise of smartphones and social networking sites (SNS) has been accompanied by concerns inside and outside academia that these digital communication technologies negatively influence mental health. For this reason, much work has been done in the past two decades to understand how these digital communication technologies impact mental health. Past research predominantly focused on the amount of time people spend using smartphones and SNS. This yielded mixed findings and meta-analyses revealed that, on average, the effect of smartphone and SNS usage on mental health is negative but small. However, focusing on overall usage time does not take into account (1) usage types, (2) user characteristics, and (3) the distinction between non-problematic and problematic usage of digital communication techno¬logies, and how the interplay between these three aspects impacts mental health. The present dissertation addresses these three key limitations and enhances our understanding of this pressing matter. First, this dissertation shows that different usage types of SNS (e.g., active versus passive) and smartphones (e.g., social versus non-social) are differentially related to mental health. Second, it demonstrates that these relationships differ systematically across users and identifies vulner¬ability factors in these relationships (e.g., neuroticism). Third, this dissertation also clarifies the complex direct and indirect relationships between these vulnerability factors, problematic usage of digital communication technologies, and mental health outcomes. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that the impact of digital communication technologies on mental health is complex and depends on an interaction between usage types and user characteristics.
The rise of smartphones and social networking sites (SNS) has been accompanied by concerns inside and outside academia that these digital communication technologies negatively influence mental health. For this reason, much work has been done in the past two decades to understand how these digital communication technologies impact mental health. Past research predominantly focused on the amount of time people spend using smartphones and SNS. This yielded mixed findings and meta-analyses revealed that, on average, the effect of smartphone and SNS usage on mental health is negative but small. However, focusing on overall usage time does not take into account (1) usage types, (2) user characteristics, and (3) the distinction between non-problematic and problematic usage of digital communication techno¬logies, and how the interplay between these three aspects impacts mental health. The present dissertation addresses these three key limitations and enhances our understanding of this pressing matter. First, this dissertation shows that different usage types of SNS (e.g., active versus passive) and smartphones (e.g., social versus non-social) are differentially related to mental health. Second, it demonstrates that these relationships differ systematically across users and identifies vulner¬ability factors in these relationships (e.g., neuroticism). Third, this dissertation also clarifies the complex direct and indirect relationships between these vulnerability factors, problematic usage of digital communication technologies, and mental health outcomes. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates that the impact of digital communication technologies on mental health is complex and depends on an interaction between usage types and user characteristics.
Description
Väitekirja elektrooniline versioon ei sisalda publikatsioone
Doktoritöö kaitsmine toimub Maastrichti Ülikoolis
Doktoritöö kaitsmine toimub Maastrichti Ülikoolis
Keywords
digital technologies, communication engineering, smartphones, social media platforms, psychological effects, risk factors, information users, personality typology, personality traits, mental health