Effects of Pre‐Bedtime Social Media Use on Objective and Subjective Sleep Quality in Adolescents and Young Adults

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Abstract
Using smartphones, particularly social media, before bedtime has emerged as a concern for sleep. While previous research has predominantly focused on total screen time or light exposure, less is known about content‐specific effects. Furthermore, most studies rely on self‐reported data. This study investigated the impact of objectively assessed (Murmuras app) pre‐bedtime social media use (in the 2 h before lights off) on subjective (daily sleep logs) and objective (actigraphy) sleep measures. Twenty‐three healthy male participants (14–25 years) completed 14 consecutive days of measurements, including nine home nights and four standardised laboratory nights with no social media use. Main analyses were restricted to home nights with non‐zero social media use. Results showed that longer pre‐bedtime social media use was associated with reduced sleep efficiency, a trend toward shorter sleep duration, and more awakenings and greater sleep fragmentation only on weekends. For subjective sleep, longer social media use was associated with a stronger feeling of having slept deeply, independent of day type; participants also generally perceived weekend nights as better sleep nights than weekdays, irrespective of social media use. In contrast to the weekend‐specific objective impairments, no day‐type‐specific interaction emerged for any subjective parameter, suggesting that participants did not subjectively detect the actigraphy‐measured sleep disruptions. This objective–subjective dissociation underscores the need for both objective and subjective measures in sleep research. Future research should examine specific engagement types (e.g., active vs. passive), in‐bed use, and underlying mechanisms to better understand when and for whom social media use affects sleep.

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