{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T17:00:30Z","timestamp":1788282030666,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1780617600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["23K21842"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23K21842"]}]},{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["21H03770"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["21H03770"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Behavioral Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study investigates how self-presentation and social skills relate to physical health among university students in Japan and Hong Kong, with particular attention to the mediating roles of social media use and social support. We conducted two online surveys; as a result, 452 participants in Japan and 289 participants in Hong Kong were analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling. Across both samples, social skills were directly associated with increased physical symptoms, and this direct association was substantially stronger than the indirect association through social support, which was linked to fewer physical symptoms. Notable cross-cultural differences also emerged. In Japan, self-presentation was directly associated with increased respiratory\u2013sleep symptoms (R-SSs), and this direct association was stronger than the indirect pathway through posting frequency and time spent on social media. In contrast, in Hong Kong, no direct association between self-presentation and physical symptoms was detected, although an indirect association through social media usage time\u2014leading to increased R-SS\u2014emerged at a marginally significant level. These findings highlight the dual and context-dependent effects of personal attributes in digital environments, demonstrating that characteristics typically associated with positive social functioning may produce unintended health consequences online. By integrating personal factors, social media behaviors, and cultural context, this study advances understanding of digital well-being and physical health in contemporary societies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bs16060933","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,8]],"date-time":"2026-06-08T07:43:02Z","timestamp":1780904582000},"page":"933","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["When Social Skills Backfire: Social Media Overuse as a Pathway Linking Social Competence and Health Across Cultures"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4464-9736","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shaoyu","family":"Ye","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8550, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1304-0573","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kevin K. W.","family":"Ho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Business Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tokyo 112-0012, Japan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e46966","DOI":"10.2196\/46966","article-title":"Problematic social media use and lifestyle behaviors in adolescents: Cross-sectional questionnaire study","volume":"6","author":"Ardesch","year":"2023","journal-title":"JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101316","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tele.2019.101316","article-title":"How online self-presentation affects well-being and body image: A systematic review","volume":"47","author":"Veldhuis","year":"2020","journal-title":"Telematics and Informatics"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e00989","DOI":"10.1016\/j.heliyon.2018.e00989","article-title":"Social media use and perceptions of physical health","volume":"5","author":"Dibb","year":"2019","journal-title":"Heliyon"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"371","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physio.2015.10.001","article-title":"A qualitative examination of women\u2019s self-presentation and social physique anxiety during injury rehabilitation","volume":"102","author":"Driediger","year":"2016","journal-title":"Physiotherapy"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1080\/15213260802669474","article-title":"Virtual self-modeling: The effects of vicarious reinforcement and identification on exercise behaviors","volume":"12","author":"Fox","year":"2009","journal-title":"Media Psychology"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"290","DOI":"10.1080\/08964289.2025.2471875","article-title":"The moderating effect of social skills and social support on the association between poverty ratio and health promotion behaviors in adolescence","volume":"51","author":"Furman","year":"2025","journal-title":"Behavioral Medicine"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1080\/10413200490260053","article-title":"Self-presentation processes in health-damaging behavior","volume":"16","author":"Ginis","year":"2004","journal-title":"Journal of Applied Sport Psychology"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hair, J. 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