A ‘control model’ of social media engagement in adolescence: a grounded theory analysis

Throuvala, MA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4617-5263, Griffiths, MD ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8880-6524, Rennoldson, M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7131-8740 and Kuss, DJ ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X, 2019. A ‘control model’ of social media engagement in adolescence: a grounded theory analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (23): 4696. ISSN 1661-7827

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Abstract

Adolescents actively use social media, which engages them cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally. However, the underlying psychological mechanisms of engagement have not been adequately addressed. The present study examined adolescents’ psychological processes as these develop in their everyday interactions via social media. The sample comprised six focus groups with 42 adolescents from UK-based schools. Data were analyzed using constructivist grounded theory. The resulting concepts related to individual, social, and structurally related processes, highlighting a synergy between the processes underlying use and a gradual reduction of control as individual, social, and structurally led processes emerge, conceptualized as the ‘control model’ of social media engagement. The findings highlight a controlling aspect in engagement and a dynamic interplay between the processes as mutually determining the quality and the intensity of the interaction. Recommendations are provided for examining control as a main emotional, cognitive, and behavioral mechanism in problematic and/or addictive social media and smartphone use.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Creators:	Throuvala, M.A., Griffiths, M.D., Rennoldson, M. and Kuss, D.J.
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Date:	1 December 2019
Volume:	16
Number:	23
ISSN:	1661-7827
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.3390/ijerph16234696 DOI 1245339 Other
Rights:	© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jill Tomkinson
Date Added:	04 Dec 2019 11:04
Last Modified:	04 Dec 2019 11:04
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/38739

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