(PS3-61) The Reciprocal Relationship Between Online Interpersonal Interactions and Insomnia Among Diverse Youths

Social media allows teens to communicate with friends, family, and a broader range of people. Similar to offline interactions, online interactions have different contexts and bring unique challenges to sleep. Previous studies show that offline interpersonal conflicts can contribute to insomnia symptoms among adolescents. However, limited research examines how online interpersonal interactions influence sleep problems among adolescents. Further, it is unclear whether sleep problems, in turn, affect online interpersonal interactions. This study investigates the reciprocal relationship between insomnia symptoms (i.e., trouble falling asleep or staying asleep) and online interpersonal (positive and negative) interactions among adolescents. 

A sample of adolescents (N = 418; Mean age: 15.98; 36% sexual minority; 32% gender minority) nationwide completed an online survey and reported the frequency of online interpersonal interactions that were positive (e.g., " meaningful conversation with someone I care about”) and negative (e.g., “fights, arguments, or disagreements with people”) and insomnia. Linear regressions were used to explore the bi-directional associations between positive and negative online interpersonal interactions and insomnia symptoms.

Overall, both positive and negative interpersonal interactions were linked to more insomnia symptoms (B = 0.20, p = .002; B = 0.25, p < .001) among teens, controlling for gender, sexual orientation, social media use duration, and depression. Insomnia was also associated with more positive online interactions (B = 0.14, p = .003) and more negative social media interactions (B = 0.21, p < .001), controlling for gender, sexual orientation, social media use duration, and depression symptoms.

Online interpersonal interactions, regardless of positive or negative, are associated with worse insomnia and insomnia is linked to interpersonal connections and conflicts online. Results show that teens might sacrifice their sleep time to interact with people on social media, and the interactions could occupy their minds at night and contribute to difficulties falling/staying asleep. The findings suggest that online interactions interfere with sleep, and further research should examine the sequential effects of sleep and online interpersonal interactions.