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Social Media Engagement and Usage Patterns, Mental Health Comorbidities, and Empathic Measures in an Italian Adolescent Sample: A Comparative Study

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The link between problematic social media (SM) use and socio-emotional deficits has limited clinical evidence. This study compares SM addiction risk and empathic abilities between psychiatric outpatients and healthy peers, exploring how SM categories and/or diagnostic category may modulate these relations. METHODS: A total of 362 Italian adolescents (11-18 years; 147 cases, 215 controls) completed the Social-Media Disorder Scale (SOMEDIS), Bergen Social-Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RME). Self-reported daily online time and most used social media platforms were recorded. RESULTS: = 0.020). Positive associations were observed between SM addiction risk and age. Within the clinical group, adolescents with emotional dysregulation displayed higher problematic use scores; a modest correlation emerged with internalizing symptoms (withdrawn-depression). Regarding empathy, higher SM addiction risk correlated with lower cognitive empathy (IRI Perspective Taking, Fantasy) and higher Personal Distress. Platform type showed small differences: users of "Profiling" platforms reported lower empathy scores compared to "Entertainment" users. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with psychiatric conditions appear more vulnerable to problematic SM use and reduced empathic abilities. Associations were modest, and platform effects were limited. These findings should be considered exploratory; larger longitudinal studies are needed to clarify causal pathways between SM use, empathy, and adolescent mental health.

Source: Children

DOI: 10.3390/children12091226