Another venue for problematic interpersonal behavior: The effects of depressive and anxious symptoms on social networking experiences

The current study examined the influence of depressive, global anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms on the frequency and quality of social networking experiences among young adults. Three hundred and one participants (62% female; mean age = 19.44 years, SD = 2.05) completed an initial survey and a follow-up survey three weeks later. Results indicated that depressive, global anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms were not significantly associated with changes in time spent engaging in social networking activities. In contrast, depressive symptoms were generally associated with increases in negative interactions and negative affect following interactions. Further, global and social anxiety symptoms were generally not significantly associated with changes in the quality of social networking interactions. These findings suggest that social networking activities are another venue in which psychological problems manifest in dysfunctional interpersonal interactions. Further, different types of psychological problems appear to differentially influence social networking experiences. Implications for understanding the relationship between psychological symptoms and problematic interpersonal behavior via social networking activities are discussed.