Behavioral Sciences
The Differential Effects of Public and Private Active Social Media Use on Adolescents’ Well-Being: Insights from a Cross-Sectional and Experimental Study
While existing research on active social media use and well-being has yielded inconsistent findings, this study introduces a refined typology distinguishing between public (e.g., posting broadly on social networks) and private (e.g., one-on-one messaging) active use to clarify these effects. It further examines the moderating role of perceived online social support. Study 1 (N = 689) used a cross-sectional survey design to analyze the relationships among public versus private active social media use, perceived onli …