SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND EMERGING ADULT EXPERIENCES OF PLATFORMS, ACTIVITIES, AND NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Social media is a complex activity that produces positive and negative emotions. This study focuses on negative emotions through a cross-sectional survey of 404 undergraduate university students at an institution in the United States. The survey asked about experiences with different social media platforms and activities and included a new instrument, the Social Media Negative Emotion Questionnaire (SMNEQ). Findings indicate a wide variance in the negative emotions experienced by participants during social media use, with most reporting moderate levels of such emotions. They felt most likely to experience negative emotions due to time spent on social media. Dating apps, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok were the platforms most associated with negative emotions. However, activities related to these platforms, such as online dating and posting among peer groups, did not trigger strong negative emotions among the participant group. Although there were no statistically significant differences based on network ties, there were significant differences based on gender. Specifically, female students reported higher levels of negative emotion on the SMNEQ.