Problematic social media use (PSMU) has frequently been associated with poorer mental health outcomes in adolescents, yet little is known about the longitudinal nature of these associations and the role of parental factors. Guided by the Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM), the present study examined whether adolescents’ PSMU predicts later negative affect and whether perceived parental technoference (PPT) moderates this relationship. Data were drawn from a longitudinal sample of 190 Dutch adolescents aged 10 to 16 years who completed questionnaires at two measurement waves separated by six months. Linear regression analyses were conducted, controlling for baseline negative affect and age. 

Contrary to expectations, adolescent-reported Problematic Social Media Use (PSMUa) did not significantly predict negative affect at T2, and PPT did not moderate the relationship between PSMUa and negative affect. Baseline negative affect emerged as the strongest predictor of later negative affect. Exploratory analyses revealed that parents’ perceptions of their children’s problematic social media use (PSMUp) significantly predicted negative affect at Time 2, and the agreement between adolescent and parent reports was moderate. In addition, only moderate agreement was found between adolescent and parent reports of problematic social media use.

These findings suggest that previously reported associations between PSMU and mental health may partly reflect cross-sectional relationships rather than longitudinal effects. Furthermore, the results highlight the potential value of incorporating multiple informants when studying adolescents’ digital behaviour. Future research should continue to examine longitudinal associations between problematic social media use and emotional well-being using multiple measurement waves and multi-informant designs.