Table 2 Loneliness and psychological distress according to sociodemographic characteristics and SMU (one-way ANOVA and χ2 statistics respectively were used)

Age (years)

 16—20

3.50 (2.07)

0.113

2.65 (1,35.1)

12 (41.4)

0.613

 21—24

2.48 (1.90)

17 (58.6)

Sex

 Male

2.33 (1.99)

0.189

1.82 (1,26.0)

7 (21.9)

0.031

 Female

3.16 (1.87)

25 (78.1)

Rurality

 Metropolitan

3.52 (1.68)

0.359

1.16 (2,8.19)

9 (30.0)

0.314

 Regional

2.62 (1.98)

17 (56.7)

 Remote

3.25 (2.22)

4 (13.3)

Household composition

 Lives alone

2.71 (1.50)

0.677

0.39 (2,19.5)

3 (9.4)

0.212

 Lives with other, not parents

3.21 (2.04)

15 (46.9)

 Lives with parents

2.67 (1.98)

14 (43.8)

Employment status

 Unemployed

2.11 (1.45)

0.069

3.00 (2,23.4)

6 (18.8)

0.115

 < 20 h of employment per week

2.44 (2.10)

8 (25.0)

 > 20 h of employment per week

3.55 (1.82)

18 (56.3)

Education level

 Certificate or diploma

3.19 (2.02)

0.352

0.88 (1,41.3)

13 (40.6)

0.414

 Graduate studies

2.65 (1.85)

19 (59.4)

Time spent using social media

 0—10 h

2.71 (1.93)

0.919

0.16 (3,16.7)

11 (35.5)

0.882

 11—20 h

3.08 (1.93)

9 (29.0)

 21—30 h

3.00 (2.40)

7 (22.6)

 > 30 h

2.50 (1.76)

4 (12.9)

Facebook as most used social media

 Yes

3.59 (1.99)

0.015

6.45 (1,41.1)

17 (53.1)

0.277

 No

2.21 (1.67)

15 (46.9)

Use within 10 min of waking

 Daily

3.00 (1.00)

0.564

0.72 (3,8.67)

8 (25)

0.012

 A few times per week

4.20 (2.05)

16 (50)

 Once per week

0

0 (0.0)

 A few times per month

2.65 (1.73)

5 (15.6)

 Never

2.79 (2.18)

3 (9.4)

Passive social media use

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

 Multiple times a day

4.00 (2.83)

0.293

2.16 (3,2.57)

26 (81.3)

0.118

 Multiple times a week

5.00 (1.41)

4 (12.5)

 Multiple times a month

4.00 (1.53)

2 (6.3)

 Less than once a month

2.50 (1.86)

0 (0.0)

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

 Multiple times a day

2.61 (1.91)

0.287

1.67 (3,5.01)

12 (37.5)

0.488

 Multiple times a week

3.53 (1.93)

14 (43.8)

 Multiple times a month

2.50 (1.77)

4 (12.5)

 Less than once a month

1.00 (1.41)

2 (6.3)

Active social media use

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

 Multiple times a day

2.55 (1.75)

0.715

0.45 (3,22.9)

7 (21.9)

0.064

 Multiple times a week

3.38 (1.89)

8 (25.0)

 Multiple times a month

2.86 (2.25)

12 (37.5)

 Less than once a month

2.67 (1.80)

5 (15.6)

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

 Multiple times a day

3.60 (1.80)

0.189

1.74 (3,21.2)

7 (21.9)

0.616

 Multiple times a week

3.00 (1.76)

9 (28.1)

 Multiple times a month

2.71 (2.05)

6 (18.8)

 Less than once a month

1.75 (1.83)

10 (31.3)

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

 Multiple times a day

2.90 (1.97)

0.489

0.98 (3,3.67)

2 (6.3)

0.442

 Multiple times a week

3.23 (1.79)

3 (9.4)

 Multiple times a month

2.67 (2.52)

8 (25.0)

 Less than once a month

1.00 (1.41)

19 (59.4)