Self-control and need satisfaction in primetime: Television, social media, and friends can enhance regulatory resources via perceived autonomy and competence.

The relationship between self-control and media use is complicated.Loss of self-control capacity has been linked to generally higher levels of media use, which might represent self-regulatory failure, but could also be attempts at replenishing self-control.Indeed, self-determination theory proposes that satisfying intrinsic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness), for example via media use, aids the recovery of self-control.In this 2-wave survey (N ϭ 395), we examined the interplay of users' self-control capacity and their perceived satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs via media use and alternative leisure activities.Satisfaction of intrinsic needs during leisure activities increased self-control capacity at the end of the evening.Feelings of autonomy and competence during TV and social media use, and competence during socializing, positively contributed to greater self-control.However, respondents with less self-control capacity before primetime experienced less intrinsic need satisfaction while engaged with TV, social media, reading, sports, and socializing, diminishing self-control at bedtime. Public Policy Relevance StatementPeople can experience a loss of self-control, especially at the end of a long workday.This project investigated whether media play a positive role in restoring self-control, particularly by satisfying human needs to feel competent, autonomous, and related to others.We found that low self-control at the start of an evening led to less need satisfaction during media use, but that satisfying media experiences-at least in some cases-were beneficial for improving self-control.