Associations of social network use and social network addictive behaviors with self-esteem in adolescents: the EHDLA study

Estefanía Martínez-Iniesta ¹ José Montenegro-Espinosa ² Bruno Bizzozero-Peroni ¹ Jorge Olivares-Arancibia ³ Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda ⁴ Daniel Duclos-Bastías ⁵ Josefa María Panisello Royo ⁶ Arthur Eumann Mesas ¹ José Francisco López-Gil ^2* Estela Jiménez López ¹

• ¹ University of Castilla La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain
• ² University of the Americas, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
• ³ Facultad de Educación, Universidad de las Americas, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
• ⁴ Andres Bello University, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile
• ⁵ Universidad de Valparaiso, Valparaíso, Valparaiso, Chile
• ⁶ DigimEvo, Barcelona, Spain

Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships of social network (SN) use and SN addiction with self-esteem in Spanish adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study uses secondary data from the Eating Healthy and Daily Life Activities (EHDLA) project, which included a representative sample of adolescents aged 12--17 years from the Valle de Ricote in the Region of Murcia, Spain. The sample consisted of 632 adolescents. Addiction and SN use were assessed via the Short Social Media Addiction Scale, and self-esteem was assessed via the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Results: Self-esteem levels decreased as adolescents’ addiction levels increased. In the adjusted model, an increase in each addictive behavior was associated with a significant decrease in self-esteem (B = -0.699; 95% CI -0.890 to -0.508; p < 0.001). Individually, there was a negative and significant association between Twitter use and self-esteem (B = -0.356; 95% CI -0.695 to -0.017; p = 0.040). With respect to addictive behaviors toward SNs, withdrawal (i.e., the presence of negative emotions when use is limited) was statistically significant (B = -0.170; 95% CI -1.905 to -0.435; p = 0.002). It was followed by mood modification (i.e., SNs are used for modifying the emotional state) (B = -2.580; 95% CI -3.192 to -1.968; p < 0.001), relapse after reducing or stopping use (B = -1.350; 95% CI -1.999 to -0.701; p < 0.001), and conflict (i.e., negative impact of SN use on other areas of life) (B = -1.410; 95% CI -2.147 to -0.673; p < 0.001), which also presented a statistically significant result indicating low self-esteem in adolescents. Finally, tolerance was associated with lower self-esteem (B = -0.928; 95% CI -1.596 to -0.260; p = 0.007), as was salience (B = -0.892; 95% CI -1.623 to -0.161; p = 0.017). Conclusions: SN use and SN addictive behaviors could significantly affect adolescents’ self-esteem by influencing their social interactions and the way they perceive themselves within the digital environment.