Association between shyness and depression among Chinese adolescents: the roles of social network site use and engagement in online games

Introduction: There is a substantial body of conceptual and empirical research discussing the relationship between shyness and depression, specific aspects of this relationship, such as the contribution of media use behaviors to the link between shyness and depression, remain underexplored and warrant further investigation. Thus, the present study investigated the associated effects of social network site use (SNSU) and engagement in online games (OG) on the association between shyness and depression among adolescents. Methods: Questionnaire responses from 5,215 Chinese adolescents were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: The following results were obtained: (1) shyness positively associated depression; (2) SNSU partially negatively associated the association between shyness and depression; and (3) engagement in OG partially positively associated the association between shyness and depression. Discussion: The findings suggest that different forms of media and patterns of consumption (e.g., SNSU versus engagement in OG) may differentially contribute to the association between shyness and depression. Therefore, the specific media context (e.g., potential strengthening versus compensatory effects) should be considered in future research and discussions.