Social Media Use and Adolescent Mental Health: Mediating and Moderating Roles of Parenting Practices and a Critical Reflection on Existing Research Paradigms from a Family - Education Perspective
Abstract
In the era of mobile Internet, social media is deeply involved in teenagers' daily life. The same media use behavior will bring different psychological consequences. Family education is regarded as a key influencing factor by many studies. Using the method of literature research, this paper combs the empirical research of journals and dissertations at home and abroad, and analyzes the mediating and regulating effects of different parenting modes, media parenting, and parents' bow behavior on Teenagers' social media use and mental health. This paper not only summarizes the existing research consensus, but also critically reflects on the limitations of the existing research paradigm: most studies tend to the ideal family model, there are causal inference problems, and there is insufficient explanation for the contradictory mixed family that is widespread in reality. The study found that authoritative parenting has psychological buffering effect, but it is not a "panacea"; The effect of media parenting is not simply divided by "restriction/guidance". The negotiation process of rules and the background of parent-child relationship are the key; It is difficult to resolve the internal psychological dilemma simply relying on the control of hard equipment. This study suggests that the psychological risk of teenagers' social media can not be completely attributed to family education, which can provide a reflection reference for family media education and subsequent related research.
References
- Steinberg, L. (2001). We know some things: Parent–adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect.Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1111/1532-7795.00001
- Guo, L., Zhao, K. W., Zhao, Y. T., Zhang, Y. Y., Yang, G. E., & Chen, Z. (2023). Effects of positive parenting styles on college students' internet addiction: The chain-mediating effect of anxiety and depression.Chinese Journal of Health Psychology, 31(5), 767–771.
- Valkenburg, P. M., Piotrowski, J. T., Hermanns, J., & de Leeuw, R. (2013). Developing and validating the perceived parental media mediation scale.Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42(10), 1575–1592. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9913-9
- Livingstone, S., & Helsper, E. J. (2008). Parental mediation of children's internet use.Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(4), 581–599. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838150802437396
- Ding, Q., Kong, L. L., Zhang, Y. X., Zhou, Z. K., & Hu, W. (2018). Parents' phubbing and junior high school students' mobile phone addiction: A cross-lagged analysis.Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26(5), 952–955.
- Jiang, Q. Y., Wang, X. C., Liu, B., Wang, P. C., & Lei, L. (2021). The influence of parental phubbing on children and adolescents' psychological development.Development and Education of Psychology, 37(1), 137–145.
- Baumrind, D. (1991). The influence of parenting style on adolescent competence and substance use.The Journal of Early Adolescence, 11(1), 56–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431691111004
- Liu, S. W., Chen, S., Huang, C., & Vallario, J. (2025). Parenting style and child internet addiction in China: Mediation effect of parental active mediation.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(4), 461. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22040461
- Tian, H., Xie, Y. X., Xiong, H. T., Yin, X. Y., & Long, X. (2026). The relationship between parental rearing styles and adolescent social anxiety: Parallel mediating effects of upward social comparison and authentic self-expression on social networking sites.Advances in Psychology, 16(7), 258–270. https://doi.org/10.12677/ap.2026.167358
- Yu, A. J. (2015). The relationship among family environment, parental rearing patterns and middle school students' internet addiction.Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 23(6), 1058–1060.
- Zhan, P. P., Gu, J. J., & Wang, J. L. (2023). The relationship between parental rearing styles and adolescent internet addiction: The mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies.Psychological and Behavioral Research, 21(6), 776–783.
- Liu, D. N., & Li, D. P. (2017). Parenting styles and adolescents' internet addiction: Testing the mediating and moderating effect of ego-resilience.Acta Psychologica Sinica, 40(6), 1385–1391.
- Tang, Y. H., Han, C. J., Wang, B. C., Jin, C. C., & Zou, H. (2025). Parenting styles and middle school students' internet addiction: The mediating effect of filial piety beliefs.Studies on Juvenile Children(2), 62–70.