Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally
On average, 6 hours 58 minutes are spent on social media everyday by each user, and 98% of young people from ages 15 to 24 use the internet of which 96% are social media users. If used inappropriately, a social media user is at risk of poor mental health and behavioural problems. Also, Problematic s...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Cogent Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2518437 |
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| author | Funom Theophilus Makama Stephanie Attah James Esther Funom Makama |
| author_facet | Funom Theophilus Makama Stephanie Attah James Esther Funom Makama |
| author_sort | Funom Theophilus Makama |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On average, 6 hours 58 minutes are spent on social media everyday by each user, and 98% of young people from ages 15 to 24 use the internet of which 96% are social media users. If used inappropriately, a social media user is at risk of poor mental health and behavioural problems. Also, Problematic social media users are vulnerable to several side effects and are more exposed to social media threats than any other user. Therefore, this study attempts to develop a preventive strategy by firstly, analysing the various approaches that address problematic social media use such as the legal, education and technology strategies. By assessing their strengths and weaknesses, the most effective approach- Social Media Literacy was identified. The second objective of this study is to address the weaknesses of all the approaches analysed, and by using public relations mechanisms, social media literacy was enhanced into a new approach called the Intrinsic Social Media Literacy, ISML. This new approach is not developed to stop other preventive approaches from addressing this issue. It is developed as the main approach in the prevention, and to some degree, the solving of problematic social media use among the young generation globally. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-feecacc1e2bc4f0b9598723ba60c86b3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2331-1886 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cogent Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-feecacc1e2bc4f0b9598723ba60c86b32025-08-20T03:45:04ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862025-12-0111110.1080/23311886.2025.2518437Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globallyFunom Theophilus Makama0Stephanie Attah James1Esther Funom Makama2Human Rights & Global Ethics, School of History, Politics and International Relations, University of Leicester, Leicester, UKPublic Relations and Strategic Communications, Centre of Public Relations, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UKMember of Management Team, Brushstrokes Community Project, Birmingham, UKOn average, 6 hours 58 minutes are spent on social media everyday by each user, and 98% of young people from ages 15 to 24 use the internet of which 96% are social media users. If used inappropriately, a social media user is at risk of poor mental health and behavioural problems. Also, Problematic social media users are vulnerable to several side effects and are more exposed to social media threats than any other user. Therefore, this study attempts to develop a preventive strategy by firstly, analysing the various approaches that address problematic social media use such as the legal, education and technology strategies. By assessing their strengths and weaknesses, the most effective approach- Social Media Literacy was identified. The second objective of this study is to address the weaknesses of all the approaches analysed, and by using public relations mechanisms, social media literacy was enhanced into a new approach called the Intrinsic Social Media Literacy, ISML. This new approach is not developed to stop other preventive approaches from addressing this issue. It is developed as the main approach in the prevention, and to some degree, the solving of problematic social media use among the young generation globally.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2518437Problematic social media usesocial media addictionpublic relations strategysocial media literacyadolescent use of social mediaparental control of social media |
| spellingShingle | Funom Theophilus Makama Stephanie Attah James Esther Funom Makama Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally Cogent Social Sciences Problematic social media use social media addiction public relations strategy social media literacy adolescent use of social media parental control of social media |
| title | Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| title_full | Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| title_fullStr | Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| title_full_unstemmed | Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| title_short | Intrinsic social media literacy: a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| title_sort | intrinsic social media literacy a public relations strategy addressing problematic social media use among teenagers globally |
| topic | Problematic social media use social media addiction public relations strategy social media literacy adolescent use of social media parental control of social media |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2025.2518437 |
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