Social Media Browsing and Adolescent Well-Being: Challenging the “Passive Social Media Use Hypothesis”

Abstract A recurring hypothesis in the literature is that “passive” social media use (browsing) leads to negative effects on well-being. This preregistered study investigated a rival hypothesis, which states that the effects of browsing on well-being depend on person-specific susceptibilities to envy, inspiration, and enjoyment. We conducted a three-week experience sampling study among 353 adolescents (13–15 years, 126 assessments per adolescent). Using an advanced N = 1 method of analysis, we found sizeable heterogeneity in the associations of browsing with envy, inspiration, and enjoyment (e.g., for envy ranging from β = −.44 to β = +.71). The Passive Social Media Use Hypothesis was confirmed for 20% of adolescents and rejected for 80%. More adolescents with browsing-induced envy experienced negative effects on affective well-being (25%) than adolescents with no browsing-induced envy (13%). Conversely, more adolescents with browsing-induced enjoyment experienced positive effects on affective well-being (47%) than adolescents with no browsing-induced enjoyment (9%). Lay Summary ‘A recurrent question among academics is whether social media browsing negatively affects teens’ well-being. Some scholars believe that this browsing can lead to envy and declines in well-being. Others think that it can also lead to inspiration and enjoyment, and to increases in well-being. To investigate which scholars are right, we asked 353 teens to report six times a day for a period of three weeks how often they had browsed Instagram and Snapchat in the past hour. Furthermore, we asked them how much envy, inspiration, and enjoyment they had experienced in that hour, and how well they felt at that moment. We found sizeable differences among teens in the effects of browsing on well-being at that moment. While one group of teens (20%) felt worse after browsing, another group (17%) felt better. More teens who had felt envy while browsing, experienced negative effects on well-being than teens who did not feel such envy while browsing. Conversely, more teens who had felt enjoyment while browsing, experienced positive effects on well-being than teens who had not felt such enjoyment.