A comparison of American and Chinese college students media use: The amount and origins of international news and entertainment

Background Empirical research has linked psychological distress with fatigue. However, few studies have analyzed the factors (eg, stimuli from bedtime media use) that affect the relationship between psychological distress and fatigue. Objective The aim of this study was to examine whether visual stimuli from bedtime media use mediate the relationship between psychological distress and fatigue among college students. Methods The sample included 394 participants (92 males, 302 females) with a mean age of 19.98 years (SD 1.43 years), all of whom were Chinese college students at an occupational university in Sichuan Province, China. Data were collected using a paper-based questionnaire that addressed psychological distress, stimuli from bedtime media use, and fatigue. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro version 2.16.2 for SPSS 22, which provided the 95% CIs. Results Both psychological distress (r=.43, P<.001) and visual stimuli from bedtime media use (r=.16, P<.001) were positively related to fatigue. The association between auditory stimuli from bedtime media use and fatigue was not significant (r=.09, P=.08). The relationship between psychological distress and fatigue was partially mediated by visual stimuli from bedtime media use (beta=.01, SE 0.01, 95% CI 0.0023-0.0253). Conclusions The findings imply that psychological distress has an indirect effect on fatigue via visual stimuli from bedtime media use. In contrast, auditory stimuli from bedtime media use did not have the same effect. We suggest that college students should reduce bedtime media use, and this could be achieved as part of an overall strategy to improve health. Mobile health apps could be an option to improving young students’ health in daily life.

BACKGROUND Empirical research has linked psychological distress with fatigue. However, few studies have analyzed the factors (eg, stimuli from bedtime media use) that affect the relationship between psychological distress and fatigue. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine whether visual stimuli from bedtime media use mediate the relationship between psychological distress and fatigue among college students. METHODS The sample included 394 participants (92 males, 302 females) with a mean age of 19.98 years (SD 1.43 years), all of whom were Chinese college students at an occupational university in Sichuan Province, China. Data were collected using a paper-based questionnaire that addressed psychological distress, stimuli from bedtime media use, and fatigue. Mediation analysis was conducted using the PROCESS macro version 2.16.2 for SPSS 22, which provided the 95% CIs. RESULTS Both psychological distress (r=.43, <i>P</i>&lt;.001) and visual stimuli from bedtime media use (r=.16, <i>P</i>&lt;.001) were positively related to fatigue. The association between auditory stimuli from bedtime media use and fatigue was not significant (r=.09, <i>P</i>=.08). The relationship between psychological distress and fatigue was partially mediated by visual stimuli from bedtime media use (beta=.01, SE 0.01, 95% CI 0.0023-0.0253). CONCLUSIONS The findings imply that psychological distress has an indirect effect on fatigue via visual stimuli from bedtime media use. In contrast, auditory stimuli from bedtime media use did not have the same effect. We suggest that college students should reduce bedtime media use, and this could be achieved as part of an overall strategy to improve health. Mobile health apps could be an option to improving young students’ health in daily life.

We investigated the relationships between students' social media use, engagement, and academic performance, proposing that student engagement would mediate the social media use–academic performance relationship. Using survey data from 307 Chinese college students, we found that student engagement played a mediating role in the link between social media use and academic performance. In addition, the results show that the direct effect of social media use by college students on their academic performance was nonsignificant. Our results contribute to knowledge of the relationships between social media use, student engagement, and academic performance in a Chinese higher educational context. They also provide educators with meaningful implications for improving students' academic performance. Future directions for research are discussed.