{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,9]],"date-time":"2026-07-09T04:30:22Z","timestamp":1783571422565,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,2]],"date-time":"2025-04-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1743552000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title><jats:p>In the contemporary landscape, the intersection of technology and human behavior has given rise to transformative trends, prominently featuring the emergence of social media. Nevertheless, studies show that adults who heavily depend on these platforms may affect their psychological distress. Conversely, a growing body of research indicates that engaging in mindfulness practices can regulate emotional reactions and contribute to enhanced mental health, resulting in a reduction of psychological distress.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>In this investigation, a cross-sectional survey involving 318 adult nonprofit employees in China was conducted to explore the impact of social media utilization and mindfulness practice on psychological distress. The study specifically aimed to examine whether positive and negative affect mediate the relationships between these variables. Structural Equation Modeling was employed to analyze both the direct and indirect effects of social media utilization and mindfulness practice on psychological distress through positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA).<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Social media utilization positively influenced positive affect (PA) (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.15, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01) but showed no significant impact on negative affect (NA). Mindfulness practice displayed a positive effect on PA (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.30, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) and a negative effect on NA (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f\u22120.10, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.10). PA exhibited a negative effect on psychological distress (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f\u22120.12, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01), whereas NA had a positive effect on psychological distress (<jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.75, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). The total effect of mindfulness practice on psychological distress was \u22120.11 (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.01), while social media utilization did not have a significant effect on distress.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussions<\/jats:title><jats:p>The results indicated that participating in mindfulness practice boosts PA and simultaneously diminishes NA and psychological distress. Despite social media utilization being linked to heightened PA, it did not demonstrate significant effects in mitigating NA or psychological distress. This study underscores the significance of advocating for mindfulness practice as a public health strategy to alleviate NA and psychological distress, while also fostering PA among adults in China.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1405372","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,2]],"date-time":"2025-04-02T06:24:45Z","timestamp":1743575085000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Social media utilization, mindfulness practice, and psychological distress of nonprofit workers in China: mediation effects of positive and negative affect"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Qianyi","family":"Tu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chienchung","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bin","family":"Tu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"46","DOI":"10.1080\/15456870.2015.972282","article-title":"Social media: defining, developing, and divining","volume":"23","author":"Carr","year":"2015","journal-title":"Atl J Commun"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"863","DOI":"10.1007\/s11205-021-02729-0","article-title":"Subjective poverty, material deprivation indices and psychological distress among young adults: the mediating role of social capital and usage of online social networks","volume":"158","author":"Achdut","year":"2021","journal-title":"Soc Indic Res"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"205","DOI":"10.1093\/jcmc\/zmz010","article-title":"Social media and change in psychological distress over time: the role of social causation","volume":"24","author":"Hampton","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Comput-Mediat Commun"},{"key":"ref4","first-page":"72","article-title":"The impact of internet use on the mental health of middle-aged and elderly people: examination of heterogeneous characteristics and action mechanisms","volume":"6","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Jiangsu Soc Sci"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"296","DOI":"10.1089\/cyber.2016.0669","article-title":"Internet addiction, psychological distress, and coping responses among adolescents and adults","volume":"20","author":"McNicol","year":"2017","journal-title":"Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"754121","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2021.754121","article-title":"Social media use, psychological distress and knowledge, attitude, and practices regarding the COVID-19 among a sample of the population of Pakistan","volume":"8","author":"Rizwan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Med"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1247","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-022-02363-2","article-title":"Examination of the temporal sequence between social media use and well-being in a representative sample of adults","volume":"58","author":"Jarman","year":"2023","journal-title":"Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2037","DOI":"10.1007\/s11469-021-00658-0","article-title":"Exploring the association between social media addiction and relationship satisfaction: psychological distress as a mediator","volume":"21","author":"Satici","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Ment Heal Addict"},{"key":"ref9","volume-title":"The miracle of mindfulness: a manual for meditation","author":"Hanh","year":"1976"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your mind and body to face stress, pain, and illness","author":"Kabat-Zinn","year":"1990"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"89","DOI":"10.1007\/s12671-018-0951-y","article-title":"An exploration of formal and informal mindfulness practice and associations with wellbeing","volume":"10","author":"Birtwell","year":"2019","journal-title":"Mindfulness"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10739","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph191710739","article-title":"Mindfulness practice and job performance in social workers: mediation effect of work engagement","volume":"19","author":"Huang","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsp.2017.03.006","article-title":"Mindfulness-based interventions with youth: a comprehensive meta-analysis of group-design studies","volume":"63","author":"Klingbeil","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Sch Psychol"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"788035","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2021.788035","article-title":"Can trait mindfulness improve job satisfaction? 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