Late Night Social Networking Use and the Associations with Adolescent and Young Adult Sleep Quality, Substance Use, and Anxiety

Purpose: Research has shown social networking site use to be associated with adolescent and young adult health and risk behavior generally, but less is known about whether late night use is related to health and well-being. The purpose of this study is to examine late night use (between the hours of 11pm and 5am) of specific social networking site platforms (Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook) in relation to sleep quality, substance use (alcohol, marijuana), and anxiety. Methods: Adolescents and young adults ages 15-20 (mean age of 18.39, (SD = 1.32), 47% male) completed a survey from which the current data are drawn as part of a larger experimental study (N=306). Linear regressions were carried out, controlling for age, sex, education status, race, alcohol and marijuana use, and anxiety in all models. Results: Findings indicated that past week late night use of Instagram was associated with fewer hours of sleep at night on average (t = -2.02, p t = 3.44, pt = 2.11, p t = 2.78, p t = -2.12, p all p-values [greater than] .05). Finally, linear regression results indicated that past week late night use of Snapchat was positively associated with past month anxiety (t = 2.102, p Conclusions: Together, these findings contribute to the growing literature supporting the association between social media use and various aspects of well-being in adolescents and young adults. The present findings suggest that late night social networking site use by platform is an important factor that warrants further investigation in the context of adolescent and young adult sleep, substance use, and anxiety. IRB #: 2018-009