Potential of social media in promoting mental health in adolescents

Whiteman, Natasha, O'Reilly, Michelle, Dogra, Nisha, Hughes, Jason, Reilly, Paul and George, Riya 2018. Potential of social media in promoting mental health in adolescents. Health Promotion International. 34 (5), p. 981–991. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day056

TitlePotential of social media in promoting mental health in adolescents
TypeJournal article
AuthorsWhiteman, Natasha, O'Reilly, Michelle, Dogra, Nisha, Hughes, Jason, Reilly, Paul and George, Riya
Abstract

The growing prevalence of adolescent mental disorders poses significant challenges for education and healthcare systems globally. Providers are therefore keen to identify effective ways of promoting positive mental health. This aim of this qualitative study was to explore perceptions that social media might be leveraged for the purposes of mental health promotion amongst adolescents aged between 11 and 18 years. Utilizing focus groups conducted with adolescents (N = 54), educational professionals (N = 16) and mental health practitioners (N = 8). We explored their views about the value of social media for this purpose. Three themes were identified. First, social media appears to have potential to promote positive mental health. Second, adolescents frequently utilize social media and the internet to seek information about mental health. Finally, there are benefits and challenges to using social media in this way. We conclude that despite challenges of using social media and the risks, social media does offer a useful way of educating and reaching adolescents to promote mental wellbeing.

Keywordsadolescents
mental health
promotion
social media
JournalHealth Promotion International
Journal citation34 (5), p. 981–991
ISSN0957-4824
1460-2245
Year2018
PublisherOxford University Press
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day056
Publication dates
Published30 Jul 2018

Related outputs

Epistemological breaks in the methodology of social research: rupture and the artifice of technique
Whiteman, Natasha and Dudley-Smith, Russell 2020. Epistemological breaks in the methodology of social research: rupture and the artifice of technique. Forum: Qualitative Social Research. 21 (2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-21.2.3349

Authority and ethics: A case for estrangement in educational research and research education
Whiteman, Natasha and Dowling, Paul 2020. Authority and ethics: A case for estrangement in educational research and research education. British Educational Research Journal. 46 (4), p. 770–785. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3639

Diagramming the Social: Relational Method in Research
Dudley-Smith, R. and Whiteman, N. 2020. Diagramming the Social: Relational Method in Research. Routledge.

What if they're bastards?: Ethics and the imagining of the other in the study of online fan cultures
Whiteman, Natasha 2019. What if they're bastards?: Ethics and the imagining of the other in the study of online fan cultures. in: The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics Sage. pp. 510–525

Whose responsibility is adolescent mental health in the UK? The perspectives of key stakeholders
Whiteman, Natasha, O'Reilly, Michelle, Adams, Sarah, Hughes, Jason, Reilly, Paul and Dogra, Nisha 2018. Whose responsibility is adolescent mental health in the UK? The perspectives of key stakeholders. School Mental Health. 10, p. 450–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-018-9263-6

Accounting for ethics: towards a de-humanised comparative approach
Whiteman, Natasha 2018. Accounting for ethics: towards a de-humanised comparative approach. Qualitative Research. 18 (4), pp. 383-509. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794117724499

Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents
Whiteman, Natasha, O'Reilly, Michelle, Dogra, Nisha, Hughes, Jason, Eruyar, Seyda and Reilly, Paul 2018. Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 23 (4), pp. 503-662. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518775

Written evidence for Parliament: “Mental health in schools.”
Whiteman, Natasha, O'Reilly, Michelle, Dogra, Nisha, Hughes, Jason and Reilly, Paul 2017. Written evidence for Parliament: “Mental health in schools.”. House of Commons.

Unsettling Relations: Disrupting the Ethical Subject in Fan Studies Research
Whiteman, Natasha 2016. Unsettling Relations: Disrupting the Ethical Subject in Fan Studies Research. The Journal of Fandom Studies. 4 (3), pp. 307 - 323. https://doi.org/10.1386/jfs.4.3.307_1

’Piracy’ or Parody: Moral Panic in an Age of New Media
Whiteman, Natasha 2014. ’Piracy’ or Parody: Moral Panic in an Age of New Media. in: SAGE Handbook of Intellectual Property Sage. pp. 451-469

Intellectual Property and the Construction of Un/Ethical Audiences
Whiteman, Natasha 2014. Intellectual Property and the Construction of Un/Ethical Audiences. in: SAGE Handbook of Intellectual Property Sage.

From Post-Object to ‘Zombie’ Fandoms: The ‘deaths’ of online fan communities and what they say about us
Whiteman, Natasha and Metivier, Joanne 2013. From Post-Object to ‘Zombie’ Fandoms: The ‘deaths’ of online fan communities and what they say about us. Participations. 10 (1), pp. 270-298.

Affiliation in the construction of fan identity: a comparison of face-to-face and virtual settings
Whiteman, Natasha 2012. Affiliation in the construction of fan identity: a comparison of face-to-face and virtual settings. in: Constructing the self in a digital world Cambridge University Press. pp. 195-221

Undoing Ethics: Rethinking Practice in Online Research
Whiteman, N. 2012. Undoing Ethics: Rethinking Practice in Online Research. New York Springer.

Control and Contingency: Maintaining Ethical Stances in Research
Whiteman, Natasha 2010. Control and Contingency: Maintaining Ethical Stances in Research. International Journal of Internet Research Ethics. 3 (1), pp. 6-22.

The de/stabilization of identity in online fan communities
Whiteman, N. 2009. The de/stabilization of identity in online fan communities. Convergence: the international journal of research into new media technologies. 15 (4), pp. 379-488. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548565093423

Homesick for Silent Hill: Modalities of nostalgia in fan responses to Silent Hill 4: The Room
Whiteman, Natasha 2008. Homesick for Silent Hill: Modalities of nostalgia in fan responses to Silent Hill 4: The Room. in: Playing the Past: History and Nostalgia in Video Games Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 32-49

Engaging with the research methods curriculum
Oliver, Martin and Whiteman, Natasha 2008. Engaging with the research methods curriculum. Reflecting Education. 4 (1), pp. 63-71.

Learning at the Cutting Edge? Help-seeking and Status in Online Videogame Fan Sites
Whiteman, Natasha 2008. Learning at the Cutting Edge? Help-seeking and Status in Online Videogame Fan Sites. 9 (1), pp. 7-26. https://doi.org/10.7459/ites/09.1.02

The Impact of the Media on Children and Young People
Buckingham, David, Whiteman, N., Willett, Rebekah and Burn, Andrew 2007. The Impact of the Media on Children and Young People. Department for Children, Schools and Families.

(Dis)possessing Literacy and Literature: Gourmandising in Gibsonbarlowville
Whiteman, Natasha 2004. (Dis)possessing Literacy and Literature: Gourmandising in Gibsonbarlowville. in: The World Yearbook of Education 2004: Digital Technology, Communities and Education Routledge.

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/w0zx1/potential-of-social-media-in-promoting-mental-health-in-adolescents


Share this

Usage statistics

105 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.