Source 1: Tomczyk, S., Altweck, L., & Schmidt, S. (2021). How is the way we spend our time related to psychological wellbeing? A cross-sectional analysis of time-use patterns in the general population and their associations with Wellbeing and Life Satisfaction. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11712-w 

In this academic journal, Tomczyk evaluates the association of time and health by examining the interdependency of daily time use and their connection to psychosocial health. Our time determines several aspects of our life as our socio demographic background affects our well-being. By gathering information and studying the patterns of self-reported daily time use, their analysis gathered distinct patterns of time use. It was found that those who are carers and have part-time work and careers have the lowest wellbeing scores which means they have a much lower life satisfaction. Women are more likely to be members of the care and childcare profiles while men are more likely to find themselves in a full-time work profile. Through their study, it was found that men have been reported to have a significantly higher well being compared to women. This study points out how people use their time can affect their life satisfaction as their studies only proved that individuals with different work profiles have shown varying levels of life satisfaction. 

This research study Tomczyk conducted took a holistic approach to adult time-use patterns, however, the limitation to their study is that their research heavily relies on the self-reported responses from participants. Tomczcyk acknowledges the limitations considering that their study leaned more towards the subjective views of the participants, which is an inevitable occurrence as their results could’ve been affected by recall bias regarding time use and method bias. This research study was well thought out as they investigated different physical activities and sociodemographic patterns that are common among adults, and utilized that data to examine the time use. 

I believe that this source fits into my own topic of research because I am currently evaluating how I can utilize my time outside of social media usage. Time usage is a key determinant of whether or not myself-experiment will be successful because it is heavily reliant on whether I choose to use my time wisely by consuming less social media. Not to mention that my research is assessing whether decreased screen time would affect my well being and life satisfaction. I believe that this source can be useful to provide insight on how time-usage can be a vital factor to one’s life satisfaction and well-being. 

Source 2: Chun, S., Lee, Y., Kim, B., & Heo, J. (2012). The contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction to stress-related growth. Leisure Sciences, 34(5), 436–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2012.714704 

Prior studies have mostly focused on how the impacts of stressful life events commonly lead to negative outcomes, coping processes and adjustments. However, Chun et al. have discovered that there is a growing body of research that explores that the result of these negative events could potentially be an individual’s psychological, interpersonal and spiritual growth through improvement of self-concept and perception. This study focuses on stress-related growth where it indicates how people can experience positive life transitions with the negative consequences of stressful events. This study specifically explores the role of specific types of leisure activities and leisure satisfaction on the experience of SRG. 

I believe that this can be a useful source of information given that I utilize the information correctly. Compared to other sources of bibliography, I believe that this source specifically was very informative as it contained a lot of information and studies incorporated into the research. They heavily researched the subject clearly judging by the multiple paragraphs of explanations that go into different categories of their research topic. They specifically formulated their study in order for the reader to fully understand what they intend to research, what prior studies have found about the subject, as well as provide clear definitions to leave no room for confusion. It’s clear to me that this study aims to expand the understanding of leisure related to positive personal change following stressful events. 

I believe that this source has a potential use in my research. Although I don’t have an idea of how to incorporate it as of yet, I can see that there is a lot of useful information provided for me to utilize in enhancing understanding as well as providing context. Their research is heavy on information, so it would take a while for me to decipher it given that they go into multiple specifics of leisure activities. At the end of the day, their topic covers the results of leisure activities which is a subject that I am covering for my research project. This study can be utilized to further support the advantages of utilizing leisure time to enhance mental and physical health. 

Source 3: Wang, J.-L., Gaskin, J., Wang, H.-Z., & Liu, D. (2016). Life satisfaction moderates the associations between motives and excessive social networking site usage. Addiction Research & Theory, 24(6), 450–457. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2016.1160283 

There is a clear lack of research on the examination of excessive usage of SNS platforms, so Wang emerges to a new perspective that shifts the focus in studies of excessive Internet usage on the indirect effects and interactions called the Compensatory Internet Usage theory. He explains that the Compensatory Internet Use theory is about how a user’s needs and motives for coping with stressors through Internet usage are determined through the amount of problems the user experiences in their life. Their studies main focus is to use this theory in understanding the relationships among psychosocial well-being, the motives for using SNS and excessive SNS usage. They hypothesize that the moderating effect of life satisfaction only appears for those who have higher levels of excessive SNS usage behaviors while non excessive users may not moderate the association between motives and excessive SNS use because they don’t rely on the Internet to relieve themselves of their problems. They also hypothesize that the relationship between passing time motivations and excessive SNS use will be moderated by life satisfaction among excessive SNS users, as well as their relationship between self-expression motivations among excessive SNS users will be consistent. 

During their introduction, Wang et al. already acknowledged that there are studies that reported a list of benefits for SNS, and addressed arising concerns about SNS use as there are possibilities for users to have issues with self-control in terms of limiting the amount of time as well as psychological and mental consequences depending on the usage. Wang et al. provided multiple studies following their address to further disclose the growing concern of SNS usage, making connections to the research effects of SNS usage. They also included the limitations in research from previous studies contending the lack of empirical research that examines excessive usage of online platforms. Wang et al. provides clear definitions for unfamiliar terminologies and provides researched theories and their own hypotheses for their research. Their methods examined multiple scales to determine three different relationships with SNS use.

This source is quite credible with their work, and they are seemingly well-researched in their studies. They investigated aspects of SNS usage and understand that there are benefits and consequences. Through examining other studies, they found limitations in other’s literature as well as further investigated those limitations by researching and coming up with their own hypotheses. From what I understand, SNS usage is an issue I know people from my generation face as adolescents are raised with technology and are more vulnerable to excessive SNS usage. I believe that this research can contribute to the understanding of my own project and why it’s important to decrease screen-time usage as there are proven benefits and defects of social media usage. 

Source 4: Sala, G., Jopp, D., Gobet, F., Ogawa, M., Ishioka, Y., Masui, Y., Inagaki, H., Nakagawa, T., Yasumoto, S., Ishizaki, T., Arai, Y., Ikebe, K., Kamide, K., & Gondo, Y. (2019). The impact of leisure activities on older adults’ cognitive function, physical function, and Mental Health. PLOS ONE, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225006 

In this journal article, they investigate the relationship between engagement in leisure activities and fundamental dimensions of successful aging such as cognitive function, physical function, and mental health.Their goal is to examines the impact of engagement in LAs (Leisure activities) on cognitive function, physical function, and mental health in a group through Japanese older adults. By studying Japanese older adults, they fill in the gap in previous research by adding new information from a country of the Far East (because most studies have samples based from Western Countries). Their data would corroborate the idea that leisure activity engagement contributes to explaining the difference in cognitive function, physical function, and mental health. It would provide further proof that Leisure activity engagement is positively associated with successful aging as well as assert its advantages in various aspects of health.

There is a value to the information within this study because they examine the direct effects of leisure activity engagement on cognitive function, physical function, and mental health. Their aims are very direct as they address it very clearly within their paragraphs prior to engaging into further information about the research. Like other studies, they utilize other research studies to conclude that there is a proven advantage in engaging in leisure activities and further address the gaps and limitations of research studies. Their sources are credible and the information is reliable as the source provides objective information. This study aims to examine the impact of engagement in LAs (leisure activities) on cognitive function, physical function, and mental health in a group of Japanese older adults, a geographical group of people that isn’t heavily studied. 

This study is the most closely correlated to the subject topic because it studies the benefits of leisure activities through elderly people whose functions are more likely to become impaired throughout their lifespan. I believe that it would prove beneficial to include this journal article into my research because it incorporates researched information about the benefits that the Blue Zone speaks of when they express the importance of physical activity as well as spending leisure time. What I liked about this article specifically was that they recognized that prior studies suffer from limitations by relying on more subjective measures, so it helps that they are employing objective measures of functioning to determine the impacts of leisure activities.

My topic of research is going to evaluate the extent to which social media has impacted mental illness by examining social connectedness in adolescents. Social media use has been a growing issue as more and more people continue to incorporate social media into almost every aspect of their life. Using social media and screen time has been associated with mental health problems among adolescents according to multiple research studies (McAllister, et al.). Social media use both has positive and negative influences on people because not only has it provided an online social network sites and a variety of social platforms, Internet functions were made for online engagement and communication (Winstone, et. al.). However, there are studies that suggest that “features of online communication… could lower social inhibition and encourage sharing of personal information” (Winstone, et. al.). Social connectedness, a person’s “sense of belonging and closeness to others, as well as satisfaction with relationships and perceived support and opportunities for self-disclosure of personal information”, in adolescents are a key determinant for adolescent mental health. Our current generation has aged in the expansion of technology and the rise of social networks compromising multiple activities, the present generation are online more than ever (Lopez-Bueno, et. al.). An apparent increase in symptoms of “depression, conduct problems, and episodic heavy drinking” are some of the researched impacts of using social media (Lopez-Bueno, et. al.).

As an adolescent myself, I am among many who grew up to see the evolution and development of technology, and I am no doubt a victim of social media consumption just like many others. I live every day of my life fixated on my phone, which in many instances has stolen social opportunities when it was presented to me. My plan of action is to primarily limit my social media use in order to determine whether my hypothesis of less social media usage can boost mental health and social connectedness. In order to successfully execute this project, I will first determine my overall screen time usage to provide an idea on how much I use my phone on a daily basis. Then, I also plan to gather numerical data that specifically focuses on what social media apps consume most of my screen time usage and record both data. Gathering my screen time usage data can help me attain a better understanding of the impacts of social media in adolescent life as it provides me with a numerical amount that can help me measure how much time out of my day is being used on my phone. With this, I can focus on which social media apps I can start to limit throughout the semester. With limiting myself, every week, I plan on recording my screen time usage every week to see the progress I make or don’t make. As I progress through limiting my social media usage, I intend to keep a digital diary/journal and use google docs to document my mood and how much I’ve progressed in involving myself more with other activities that don't involve my phone.

Introduction

Social media has become an integral part of modern society, especially for young adolescents who grew up around the evolution of its technology (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg. 1). With the widespread use of social media platforms used for networking, adolescents are spending more and more time engaging themselves in media platforms, replacing other activities such as school, hobbies, family, as well as in person opportunities which raises concern (Winstone et al., 2021, pg. 2). While social media has been proven to offer multiple benefits, including increased online engagement and access to a wider range of communication (Winstone et al., 2021,pg.2), social media has also rising negative effects on adolescents ‘ life satisfaction. Studies have shown that excessive social media use can be associated with increased feelings of depression, poorer physical health, hyperactivity  conduct problems  and episodic heavy drinking (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg. 2). Therefore, it is vital to study the effects of social media on the life satisfaction of adolescents by developing strategies that mitigate social media use.

Time Usage and Psychological Effects

Numerous studies have explored the relationship between time spent on social media and its effects on well-being. One study hypothesized through the displacement theory that social media use is thought to undermine social interaction due to the displacement of time spent to socialize with others (Winstone et al, 2021, pg. 2).Their qualitative study on the psychosocial impacts of social media use has proven to illustrate a positive effect effects because the study found that it enhanced social resources, expanded social networks, enhanced self-disclosure, as well as opportunities to foster intimate relationships and improve peer connectedness (Winstone et al., 2021, pg. 11). However, Winstone (2021)  remains to acknowledge that there are limitations to social media use as he acknowledges that excessive social media use may undermine the found benefits due to the kind of environment of stress-induced expectations that it has created (Winstone et al., 2021, pg. 11). In a similar study conducted by Lopez-Bueno et al. (2021), they examined the inverse association between age of first exposure to the Internet and heavy use of the Internet in adolescents (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg.2). According to their research, they observed that there is a consistent negative correlation between age of first exposure and heavy Internet use in adolescents as it was found that adolescents whose age of first exposure was less than 9 years old exhibited significantly higher odds of heavy Internet usage (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg. 4). Their study also found that educational systems that require the use of the Internet for a high number of assignments have been shown to have higher prevalence of heavy Internet usage among adolescents (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg. 2). Although this study lacks to evaluate the psychological health consequences of heavy use in adolescents, it still supports the idea that media use in adolescents is prevalent to their daily activities considering that it heavy use of the Internet remains even during weekends, weekdays, and school time (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg. 8).

Leisure time and Life Satisfaction

The expansion of technology has led social media to transform the way in which individuals engage in leisure activities. It has become a way of communication, vast entertainment, and utilized for work and education purposes, compromising daily activities such as gaming, listening to music, and searching information. The use of media has also become a way of passive consumption to alleviate boredom and compensate for the lack of social connectedness one may feel in person. One study hypothesized that “life satisfaction would moderate the associations between passing time and self-expression”, and the extent to which excessive SNS use among excessive users (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 3). The results of their study found that life satisfaction can indeed weaken the associations between the two motives and excessive SNS use because they were associated with the user’s lower life satisfaction (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 6). This implied that people with lower life satisfaction were more likely to have excessive SNS usage compared to those who had higher life satisfaction levels because excessive SNS users are motivated to pass time and self-expression through SNS usage (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 6). The findings in this study confirmed that excessive social media users rely on social media as a primary coping mechanism due to their lower life satisfaction which heavily influences their motivation to use social media platforms (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 6). This is evident because the non-excessive SNS users in this study differ from their counterparts in the manner where they do not utilize SNS to compensate for their unsatisfactory life situations, instead, they may only use it for self-convenience reasons such as passing time and self-expression (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 6). This same study concludes that “the problem lies with the individual’s life situation rather than the technology itself”, shifting the research focus from social media use intervention aimed to reduce excessive use to improving excessive user’s well-being and life satisfaction to change problematic behaviors such as excessive social media usage (Wang et al., 2016, pg. 6). Adolescents currently utilize social media and other platforms during their leisure time where other activities could be far more convenient than focusing their time online. Previous studies have found that actively engaging in leisure activities were positively correlated with cognitive function, physical function, and mental health function (Sala et al., 2019, pg. 1). This relationship was studied by a body of research that investigates the relationship between leisure activities and cognitive function, physical function, and mental health, and in their study, they confirmed that leisure activity engagement was “positively associated with successful aging indicators”, supporting the position that leading an active lifestyle contributes to successful aging in older adults and elderly people (Sala et al., 2019, pg. 6). This study is further supported by research that studies the contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction on the experience of stress-related growth (Chun et al., 2012, pg. 2). As explained in the research, stress-related growth is “the experience of positive change in one’s life following stressful life events” (Cheun et al., 2012, pg. 2). It is believed that experiencing highly stressful life events challenges individuals to facilitate a greater potential for personal growth (Chun et al., 2012, pg. 2). The way people engage in leisure activities and how they spend their leisure time determines an individual’s experience for self-growth and personal transformation. Chun et al. (2012) explores multiple leisure activities such as outdoor activities, physical activities, hobbies and indoor activities, etc. (Chun et al., 2012, pgs. 2 & 7). The results of this study found that “satisfying leisure experiences not only help people cope with various stressors, but also potentially facilitate growth-related changes” because it provides individuals with the opportunity to discover the meaning of life and new potential and interests (Chun et al., 2012, pg. 8). Among the multiple forms of leisure activities that were studied in this research, civic activities such as volunteering exhibited a fulfilling experience for growth-related change (Chun et al., 2012, pg. 10). Individuals may achieve meaningful engagement which elevates their experience for personal growth because it enhances personal enrichment and self-actualization (Chun et al., 2012, pg. 10). Overall, these studies have shown that one’s life satisfaction is a key factor in determining whether an individual may experience excessive social media consumption because it is already proven that people with lower life satisfaction are more likely to rely on social media to cope with life stressors and lack of connectedness. 

Social media has proven to have both positive and negative correlation on an individual’s mental and physical health. This literature review demonstrated the potential benefits of decreasing social media usage by engaging in more leisure activities outside of media use. There is a strong body of research that suggests that excessive use of social media stems from lower life satisfaction, and simultaneously there is also a positive correlation between social media use and an individual’s ability to feel connected. While most research is focusing on social media intervention with the goal of alleviating the excessive social media use among adolescents, it would be worthwhile for future research to investigate how to incorporate other leisure activities outside of utilizing the Internet to enhance adolescents overall life satisfaction. By personally examining my own social media usage and placing a limitation on the amount of time I can be on social media platforms, I am able to focus on engaging in more leisure activities outside of the Internet that could potentially provide insight on the mental changes from the intervention. Overall, the goal of this research is to be able to find a balance in using social media while engaging in other leisure activities in hopes to improve my own well-being as well as enhance personal connections. 

Downshifting from Social Media Usage | Blue Zones

Social Media Usage

• Widespread use of social media caused adolescents to spend more time engaging in media platforms than other activities (Winstone et al., 2021). 

• Social media is associated with increased feelings of depression, poorer physical health, hyperactivity, and episodic heavy drinking (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021,). 

Psychological Effects

• Social media has been found to enhance social resources, networks, enhance self-disclosure, and improve peer connectedness (Winstone et al., 2021). 

• Excessive social media use may undermine the found benefits due to stress-induced expectations (Winstone et al., 2021). 

Potential Causes

• Education and first exposure to Internet are two contributors to excessive social media use

• Adolescents whose age of first exposure was ≤ 9 years old showed higher odds of heavy Internet usage (Lopez-Bueno et al., 2021, pg.4).

• Educational systems that require use of Internet for assignments show higher prevalence of heavy Internet usage among adolescents (Lopez-Bueno et a., 2021).

Leisure and Life Satisfaction

• Lower life satisfaction are more likely to have excessive social media use compared to those which higher (Wang et al., 2016).

• Excessive social media users rely on social media to cope with their lower life satisfaction (Wang et al., 2016).

• The way time is spent and how it’s spent determines an individual's experience

My topic of research is going to evaluate the extent to which social media has impacted mental illness by examining social connectedness in adolescents. 

1. Be able to engage myself in more leisure activities outside of the Internet 

2. Limit social media use to investigate mental health improvement 

Growth

• Consistent journal diaries

• Less social media usage compared to last week 

• Personal goals aligned with the project

• Improvement in personal well-being and mental wellness

Setbacks

• Challenging part: being able to put my phone down when it’s least convenient

• Inability to engage in leisure activities like hobbies, exercising, and going out due to work and studies

• Difficulty assessing authentic emotional progress due to preoccupation with work

For my project, I decided to limit my social media usage in order to encourage myself to pursue more leisure activities like cultivating a hobby and finding other things to do outside of my phone. I ideally wanted to go out in the world and socialize with other people and find the time to have some fun surrounding myself with other people. I had plans for myself like learning how to crochet flowers for my friends, planning a trip to the salt lake river, and going on late night drives blasting while singing our hearts out. Unfortunately, although I had plans for myself, I wasn’t able to pursue them because I didn’t really have any close connections or friends nearby who had the time to do those things with me. All of my friends in high school are in university studying difficult curriculums while I lived steadily at community college working a full time job during my free time, which is why I was incapable of pursuing any leisure activities that involved spending time with friends. I spent most days working at night and sleeping really early in the morning, which takes up the majority of my day because I am not consciously present in the morning to do any leisure activities when I could. It was difficult to assess my mood considering the fact that I constantly occupied myself with work that has caused a major physical exhaustion. To be constantly exhausted, it was difficult to assess whether my mood has improved with or without social media. I’d like to think that the successful part of my project was that I successfully limited my social media usage considering that the screen time for each app decreased by a couple of hours compared to last week prior to the pursuit of the project. I was also able to successfully document and journal my project, albeit using social media to document my progress, which I thought was amusingly ironic. If I were to continue on doing this project, I think I can do a lot better in being stricter with myself in terms of my social media usage. A better time to pursue this project would be during the summer time when school is out and it’s not occupying the rest of my time outside of work. It would also be easier to assess my mood when I have too much time on my hands to not do something. In terms of how I truly feel about my own project, I don’t think it’s something I would volunteer myself into doing unless I truly invest the majority of my time scrolling through social media, which isn’t the case for my lifestyle. It’s too difficult for me to limit my social media usage when I heavily rely on it to maintain the little connection I have with old companions. Not to mention that, it is already difficult enough for me to be able to spend my leisure time doing things for myself when normally I enjoy spending my leisure time having fun with my friends. Despite my feelings about the project, I believe that this project would matter because we as a society have integrated towards a more technology focused society. Everywhere you go, there are people who are inevitably on their phones no matter the occasion and there is concrete evidence that social media has caused quite the intervention in people’s lives by disrupting quality time. We’ve become heavily reliant on social media to cope with feelings such as loneliness and boredom that we’ve become glued to a screen. I believe that my project encourages people to not exactly purge themselves from their phones, but to encourage them to interact with reality more despite how difficult it may be. There are other ways to cope with our emotions, and I believe that spending more time with ourselves and in our own company would prove beneficial to our mental health because we need to realize that it is important to be comfortable within your own presence to be content with life. I wasn’t able to assess whether my project has outwardly impacted my family or friends, but I know that if I didn’t work so much, they would appreciate having me home to spend time doing familial activities like playing with the dog and running short errands to places. Overall, everything connects to the Blue Zone because the Blue Zone teaches you how to live longer and the primary lesson I learned from the Blue Zones was to live your life free from stress and do the things that make you happy. This project encourages you to pursue your wants and surround yourself with the things that you enjoy, so I believe that if this project was done right, I’d like to think that it would achieve the Blue Zones aspect of living your life with full content of who you surround yourself with and what you invest your time and energy on that provides your life with more fulfillment and joy. 

Buettner, D. (2008). The blue zones. National Geographic Society. 

Chun, S., Lee, Y., Kim, B., & Heo, J. (2012). The contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction to stress-related growth. Leisure Sciences, 34(5), 436–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2012.714704 

López-Bueno, R., Koyanagi, A., López-Sánchez, G. F., Firth, J., & Smith, L. (2021). Association between age of first exposure and heavy internet use in a representative sample of 317,443 adolescents from 52 countries. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32(3), 395–403. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01869-5

Sala, G., Jopp, D., Gobet, F., Ogawa, M., Ishioka, Y., Masui, Y., Inagaki, H., Nakagawa, T., Yasumoto, S., Ishizaki, T., Arai, Y., Ikebe, K., Kamide, K., & Gondo, Y. (2019). The impact of leisure activities on older adults’ cognitive function, physical function, and Mental Health. PLOS ONE, 14(11). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225006

Tomczyk, S., Altweck, L., & Schmidt, S. (2021). How is the way we spend our time related to psychological wellbeing? A cross-sectional analysis of time-use patterns in the general population and their associations with Wellbeing and Life Satisfaction. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11712-w 

Wang, J.-L., Gaskin, J., Wang, H.-Z., & Liu, D. (2016). Life satisfaction moderates the associations between motives and excessive social networking site usage. Addiction Research & Theory, 24(6), 450–457. https://doi.org/10.3109/16066359.2016.1160283

Winstone, L., Mars, B., Haworth, C. M., & Kidger, J. (2021). Social media use and social connectedness among adolescents in the United Kingdom: A qualitative exploration of displacement and stimulation. BMC Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11802-9