Beyond social media time: online self-disclosure, depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, and suicidal ideation in adolescents

Abstract

Introduction Screen time alone may not adequately capture adolescents’ digital vulnerability. This study examined whether private online self-disclosure, depressive symptoms, and somatic complaints were associated with suicidal ideation beyond time spent on social media. Methods A school-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 1364 adolescents aged 11–19 years. Participants completed a questionnaire on social media use and private online self-disclosure, the Children’s Depression Inventory–2, and selected Youth Self-Report items assessing somatic complaints and suicidal ideation. Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses were performed. Results Suicidal ideation was associated with depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, and private online self-disclosure. In the final regression model, depressive symptoms, somatic complaints, and private online self-disclosure remained independently associated with suicidal ideation, whereas time spent on social media was not significantly associated with suicidal ideation after adjustment for the other predictors. Somatic complaints explained additional variance beyond depressive symptoms and social media-related variables. Conclusions Private online self-disclosure and somatic complaints were associated with greater psychological vulnerability beyond time spent on social media, although their predictive and clinical utility requires further investigation in prospective studies.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2026 · DOI ↗