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Table 1 Sociodemographic, social media use and main outcome of the study sample. (n = 47, otherwise stated)

From: Does social media usage ameliorate loneliness in rural youth? A cross sectional pilot study

Demographics

Frequency (%)

Age (n = 41)

 16—20

18 (43.9)

 21—24

23 (56.1)

Gender

 Male

15 (31.9)

 Female

32 (68.1)

Rurality (n = 45)

 Metropolitan

15 (33.3)

 Regional

26 (57.8)

 Remote

4 (8.9)

Household composition

 Lives alone

7 (14.9)

 Lives with other, not parents

19 (40.4)

 Lives with parents

21 (44.7)

Employment status

 Unemployed

9 (19.1)

 < 20 h of employment per week

16 (34.0)

 > 20 h of employment per week

22 (46.8)

Education level

 Certificate or diploma

21 (44.7)

 Graduate studies

26 (55.3)

Social media factors

Time spent using social media per week (n = 44)

 0—10 h

17 (38.6)

 11—20 h

12 (27.3)

 21—30 h

9 (20.5)

 > 30 h

6 (13.6)

Facebook as most used social media (n = 46)

 Yes

22 (47.8)

 No

24 (52.2)

Use within 10 min of waking

 Daily

19 (40.4)

 A few times per week

20 (42.6)

 Once per week

0 (0.0)

 A few times per month

5 (10.6)

 Never

3 (6.4)

How often do you send a private message, image, or video on social media?

 Multiple times a day

36 (76.6)

 Multiple times a week

7 (14.9)

 Multiple times a month

2 (4.3)

 Less than once a month

2 (4.3)

How often do you post a public message, image or video on social media?

 Multiple times a day

2 (4.3)

 Multiple times a week

8 (17.0)

 Multiple times a month

19 (40.4)

 Less than once a month

18 (38.3)

How often do you look at your friends' profiles or social media accounts?

 Multiple times a day

9 (19.1)

 Multiple times a week

14 (29.8)

 Multiple times a month

13 (27.7)

 Less than once a month

11 (23.4)

How often do you browse profiles or social media accounts of people you do not know?

 Multiple times a day

8 (17.0)

 Multiple times a week

14 (29.8)

 Multiple times a month

10 (21.3)

 Less than once a month

15 (31.9)

How often do you post content other than pictures such as links, games, news or webpages?

 Multiple times a day

2 (4.3)

 Multiple times a week

3 (6.4)

 Multiple times a month

13 (27.7)

 Less than once a month

29 (61.7)

Main outcomes

K6 scores—Psychological distress

 < 19 (mild-moderate)

15 (31.9)

 19 + (severe distress)

32 (68.1)

Loneliness scores

Social lonelinessa

 0

14 (29.8)

 1

11 (23.4)

 2

7 (14.9)

 3

15 (31.9)

Emotional lonelinessa

 0

13 (27.7)

 1

13 (27.7)

 2

10 (21.3)

 3

11 (23.4)

  1. a0 = not lonely and 6 = intensely lonely