Full length article SOS on SNS: Adolescent distress on social network sites Yaakov Ophir School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel article info Article history: Received 18 January 2016 Received in revised form 12 November 2016 Accepted 15 November 2016 Keywords: Social media Social rejection Adolescents Distress sharing SOS-scale abstract Psychological distress and experiences of peer victimization and social rejection are common among adolescents. Nevertheless, the growing popularity of online Social Network Sites (SNS) among adoles- cents offers an unprecedented opportunity for early detection of adolescents' distress. This study examined the scope of, and the individual differences that may be associated with, distress sharing on SNS. A total of 413 adolescents (mean age ¼ 15.42, 53.8% girls) completed three questionnaires assessing (a) social media usage, (b) distress sharing on SNS, and (c) feelings of social rejection. More than 15% of the sample shared personal distress and searched for help on SNS. Distress sharing did not differ be- tween genders. Social rejection predicted distress sharing on SNS. Notably, social rejection and distress sharing were only associated among individuals with high social media use scores. Implications are discussed for early identification of adolescents' distress. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Adolescence is characterized by major psychological changes, including a dramatic increase in rates of depression (Merrell, 2013) and suicide attempts (Varnik, 2012). Adolescents' psychological distress, all too often results from peer victimization and social rejection. Social rejection, a painful feeling of being deliberately excluded from groups, relationships, or interactions (Bierman, 2004; Brown & Larson, 2009), is associated with adolescents' low self-esteem, depression (McDougall, Hymel, Vaillancourt, & Mercer, 2001), and suicide attempts (Kim & Leventhal, 2008). Un- fortunately, in many cases parents underestimate, or are not aware of, their children's negative experiences (Rey & Bird, 1991; Velting et al., 1998). However, because social media has become a bustling town square (Brenner, 2012; Lenhart, Purcell, Smith, & Zickur, 2010), Social Network Sites (SNS) may be used by adolescents as a platform for frustration and distress sharing, thus providing parents (or other caregivers) new opportunities for early detection of distress. Recent studies have managed to detect adolescents' signs of distress from their SNS profiles (e.g., Moreno, Jelenchick, & Kota, 2013; Moreno et al., 2012), but little is known about the extent of, and the role of individual differences in, distress sharing on SNS. This study addresses the following questions: (1) how many ado- lescents actually share their personal distress online? (2) Are there gender differences in online sharing? Finally, (3) do socially rejec- ted adolescents, who sometimes struggle in face-to-face commu- nication, perceive the online communication as comfortable and undemanding and prefer to share their personal distress on SNS? SNS usage has been integrated in adolescents' lives, but in- dividuals differ in the amount of usage, the frequency of in- teractions, and their emotional connection and personal attitudes towards SNS (Ellison, Steinfield, & Lampe, 2007; Jenkins-Guarnieri, Wright, & Johnson, 2013). Adolescents use SNS for a variety of reasons, such as meeting new people, leisure and social activism (Yang & Brown, 2013). Interestingly, adolescents report that they often disclose more about themselves on SNS than they do in person (Christofides, Muise, & Desmarais, 2009) and that their major reason to use SNS is for emotional sharing (Hew & Cheung, 2012; Manago, Taylor, & Greenfield, 2012; Moreno et al., 2011). The common Facebook activity of status updates, for example, was found to be used primarily for emotional self-disclosure and venting negative emotions and frustration (Manago et al., 2012). Emotional disclosure on SNS may be explained by the fact that SNS provide both control and a sense of belonging (Holleran, 2010). Control is provided by the options to modify and limit access to one's profile. The sense of belonging is facilitated by the visibility of belonging to specific social networks of friends and contacts (Pickett, Gardner, & Knowles, 2004). When users receive 'likes' or 'comments' such as “hang in there” or “it will get better” in response to their 'status updates', they essentially receive acknowledgement, and they are encouraged to continue sharing their feelings (Moreno et al., 2011). Facebook users usually view their peers' distress references in status updates as a sincere call for help and emotional support. However, “it takes one to know one”: E-mail address: yaakov.ophir@mail.huji.ac.il. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.025 0747-5632/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Computers in Human Behavior 68 (2017) 51e55