| Theme Sub-theme | N | EA | EM | LM | Example Quote | |
| Concerns with use | ||||||
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| Potential for being addicted to social media | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | “I believe that I have gotten a lot more addicted to social medias, such as instagram and snapchat. This will make it harder for me to study once the pandemic is over, because it will be harder to focus and easier to get distracted.” |
|
| Time on social media interferes with other aspects of life | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | “Spend too much time mindlessly browsing Facebook, get in a rut doing that when I should be working or interacting with my family.” |
|
| Too much time on social media | 23 | 20 | 2 | 1 | “Spending too much time on it.” |
| Exposure to information | ||||||
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| Too much negativity | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | “Posts have become more negative and sad.” |
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| General abundance of information | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | “Information overload.” |
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| Misinformation or fake news | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | “People are quite misinformed and judgmental when posting about COVID.” |
| Negative thoughts | ||||||
|
| Source of bad mood | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | “News media or watching other people be upset can impact my mood negatively.” |
|
| Judgment | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | “Judging others for posting on social distancing behaviours.” |
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| Negative social comparison | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | “Viewing posts of young people in small work-out outfits, in peak physical condition, post workout/body affirmation information, while sitting at home, snacking, browsing social media, this feels terrible.” |