The Daily Impact of Screen Time With Friends on Adolescent Well-Being: A Cross-Lagged Modeling Approach.

PURPOSE: To examine the daily and bidirectional associations between adolescents' screen time with friends and psychosocial and physiological well-being.

METHODS

Participants were 502 adolescents (Mage = 14.9 years; 42% boys; 35% Black, 27% White, 21% Latine, 16% Asian American, and 1% Native American) from a nationally representative panel. Youth completed daily diaries for 15 consecutive days, reporting on time spent interacting with friends via digital platforms and outcomes including stress, affect, depressive symptoms, loneliness, and sleep quality. Cross-lagged panel modeling was used to assess unidirectional and reciprocal associations.

RESULTS

No significant cross-lagged associations were found between daily screen time with friends and adolescents' well-being. However, two unidirectional effects emerged. Greater screen time predicted higher positive affect the next day (B = 0.019, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.011, 0.027]), but not vice versa. Higher loneliness predicted increased screen time the following day (B = 0.139, 95% CI [0.037, 0.242]), while screen time did not predict changes in loneliness. Furthermore, screen time with friends served as a mediator between loneliness and positive affect (B = 0.003, 95% CI [0.001, 0.008]).

DISCUSSION: This study highlights the motivations for adolescents to engage in digital interactions with friends, particularly when feeling lonely, and the emotional benefits of such interactions. It suggests that digital engagement may improve positive affect without compromising perceived physiological or psychosocial well-being, while also serving as a coping mechanism for loneliness. These findings emphasize the importance of focusing on the quality and purpose of screen use rather than just its duration.