Social Media and Depression Symptoms: a Meta-Analysis

Who's most at risk? A person-centered approach to understanding the long-term relationship between early social media use and later depression across adolescence

INTRODUCTION

Person-centered analyses examined the relationship between social media use and depression over an 8-year period. The purpose was to examine the varying ways early social media use was associated with the development of depressive symptoms with a hypothesis that social media would not have a uniform association with depressive symptoms across adolescents.

METHODS

Participants included 488 adolescents (52% female), living in the United States, who were surveyed once a year for 8 years (beginning in 2010 when the average age for participants was 13.33 years old).

RESULTS

Longitudinal mixture regression was used to identify classes of adolescents representing unique ways their early social media use was related to the development of depressive symptoms over an 8-year period. Five classes were found representing unique ways social media use was related to depression. Findings suggest social media use does not impact all adolescents in the same way. Social media use was related to increased depression for adolescents with greater parental hostility, peer bullying, anxiety, reactivity to stressors, and lower parental media monitoring. In other instances, social media use was related to less depression or was unrelated to depression.

CONCLUSIONS

By identifying which adolescents may be most at risk from social media use, health providers, schools, and caregivers can tailor interventions to fit the needs of each adolescent.

[The mediating role of social media addiction and sleep quality in the association between social media usage and depressive symptoms in university students]

Increase in time spent on social media and its association with depressive symptoms, especially among young adults, has generated the need to understand how this association occurs in order to support the development of policies to reduce harm and complications. In view of this fact, this study aimed to assess the mediating effect of social media addiction and sleep quality on the association between time spent on social media and depressive symptoms in Brazilian university students. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with 2,823 university students, who provided information regarding time spent on social media, social media addiction, depressive symptoms and sleep quality. The mediation analysis, adjusted for confounding factors, was performed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS to obtain the total (c), direct (c'), and indirect effects (EI1, EI2, and EI3). The results identified an association between time spent on social media and depressive symptoms, mediated by social media addiction (EI1 = 20%) and sleep quality (EI1 = 40%). These findings help expand knowledge about the mechanisms that mutually influence the relationship between time spent on social media and depressive symptoms, supporting the adoption of strategies to reduce harm resulting from excessive social media use.

The impact of social media use on depression, anxiety, and well-being for teens/young people: using hypnosis to build a strong sense of self

The national conversation continues to focus on the negative impact of social media on teens/young people. The lingering effects of the pandemic revealed sharp increases in the common practice of "compare and despair" as well as higher rates of loneliness, isolation, depression, and self-harming behaviors. In May 2023, the US Surgeon General warned that social media "is the defining public issue of our time" and is driving the teen mental health crisis. These concerns for the mental health of humans across the globe are real and dramatic. Social media's impact on young people can be neutral, negative, positive or shades of each. The hypnosis community has an opportunity to be a more vital presence in helping young people navigate, manage, and reduce negative social media impact and to harness social media's very positive contributions, many of which are well documented. This article focuses on assessing social media use in teens and young adults, identifying developmental tasks being practiced on social media, and how factors such as time spent on social media and social media experiences have promoted trauma, stress, depression and anxiety. In addition, it will consider some of the ways in which the isolating effects of COVID-19 have further impacted well-being. Finally, the article will discuss how hypnotherapists can leverage social media to foster stronger ego strengthening using therapeutic interventions that employ hypnosis, hypnotherapy techniques and interventions, hypnotic scripts, and social media to lower mental health risks in teens/young adults.

Social Media Use as a Predictor of Positive and Negative Affect: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study of Adolescents with and without Clinical Depression

Social media use is common in adolescents, with implications for psychosocial development and the emergence of depression. Yet, little is known about the time-linked connections between social media use and adolescents' affective experiences and how they may differ between depressed and non-depressed youth. We leveraged ecological momentary assessment in adolescents oversampled for current depression to examine (1) associations between social media use and concurrent and later positive and negative affect and (2) sex and presence of a depressive disorder as moderators of these associations. Adolescents aged 14-17 with (n = 48) and without (n = 97) clinical depression, as indicated via clinical interview, reported momentary social media use and positive and negative affect seven times per day for one week. Multilevel modeling indicated that social media use was associated with reduced positive affect both concurrently and at the next assessment. Further, among clinically depressed youth only, social media use was associated with reduced negative affect at the next assessment. Results suggest that social media use may reduce both positive and negative affect, highlighting the nuanced relation between adolescent social media use and emotional health and laying the groundwork for future research to address several open questions.

Longitudinal Problematic Social Media Use in Students and Its Association with Negative Mental Health Outcomes

Purpose

Social media has become increasingly part of our everyday lives and is influential in shaping the habits, sociability, and mental health of individuals, particularly among students. This study aimed to examine the relationship between changes over time in problematic social media use and mental health outcomes in students. We also investigated whether resilience and loneliness moderated the relationship between social media use and mental health.

Patients and Methods

A total of 103 participants completed a baseline virtual study visit, and 78 participants completed a follow-up visit, 4-weeks later. Participants completed a comprehensive set of questionnaires measuring symptoms of depression and anxiety, perceived stress, loneliness, and resilience.

Results

Our results showed that problematic social media use at baseline was significantly negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with all other mental health outcomes. Furthermore, increases in problematic social media use were significantly associated with increased depressive symptoms and loneliness between visits. Resilience significantly moderated the relationship between increased problematic social media use and heightened perceived stress. Poor mental health at baseline did not predict increased problematic social media use over time. Contrarily to problematic use, frequency of social media use was not significantly correlated with any mental health measures at baseline.

Conclusion

This study offers a longitudinal perspective, providing valuable insights into the potential protective role of resilience against the detrimental mental health effects seen with increases in problematic social media use.

Problematic social media use and psychological symptoms in adolescents

PURPOSE

This study examined time trends in significant child and adolescent psychological symptoms and explored the association of frequent and problematic social media use with these symptoms.

METHODS

Time trends in psychological symptoms were assessed using data from five waves of the international survey of Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC), conducted between 2001 and 2018 (N = 1,036,869). The associations of frequent and problematic social media use with significant psychological symptoms were assessed by hierarchical multinomial logistic regression using data from 2001-2002 and the 2017-2018 survey waves. The direction of effect between social media use variables and psychological symptoms was explored using Linear Non-Gaussian Acyclic Models (LiNGAM).

RESULTS

Prevalence of more severe psychological symptoms increased from 6.7% in 2001-2002 to 10.4% in the 2017-2018 survey waves. The increase was especially large among 15-year old and older girls: from 10.9 to 19.1%. The higher prevalence of more severe psychological symptoms in 2017-2018 compared with 2001-2002 was eliminated after adjusting the model for problematic social media use. LiNGAM analysis supported the direction of effect going from social media use and problematic social media use to psychological symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that frequent and problematic use of social media contribute to the increasing trend of psychological symptoms in adolescents in recent years.

Poverty and birth cohort effects of experiencing the 2007-2009 Great Recession during adolescence on major depressive episodes and mental health treatment of young adults in the United States

PURPOSE

Household economic adversity during adolescence is hypothesized to be a risk factor for poor mental health later in life. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis of an economic shock, the Great Recession of 2007-2009. We tested if going through adolescence during the Great Recession was associated with increased risk of major depressive episodes (MDE) and mental health treatment in young adulthood with potential moderation by household poverty to explore differences by economic adversity.

METHODS

We analyzed data on young adults age 18-29 years from the 2005-2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (N = 145,394). We compared participants who were adolescents during the recession to those followed-up prior to the recession. Regression analysis tested effect modification by household poverty status.

RESULTS

Adolescent exposure to the Great Recession was associated with higher likelihood of MDE during young adulthood (aOR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.23, 1.37); there was no relationship with mental health treatment. Effects on MDE were stronger among those in households with higher incomes compared to those living in poverty.

CONCLUSION

Findings support the hypothesis that exposure to the Great Recession during adolescence may have increased risk for MDE, but raise questions about whether the mechanism of this association is economic distress.

Depressive inclinations mediate the association between personality (neuroticism/conscientiousness) and TikTok Use Disorder tendencies

BACKGROUND

We introduce a novel measure for assessing TikTok overuse, called the TikTok Use Disorder-Questionnaire (TTUD-Q). As part of ongoing investigations into the suitability of the World Health Organization's (WHO) framework for diagnosing Gaming Disorder in the context of social media overuse, we developed this questionnaire by adapting the WHO framework, replacing the term "gaming" with "TikTok use".

METHODS

In order to address this question, we investigated the psychometric properties of the newly designed TTUD-Q and assessed its associations with the BFI-10 (assessing the Big Five of Personality) and the PHQ-8 (assessing depressive tendencies).

RESULTS

In this study, involving a final sample of 378 participants, we observed that higher levels of neuroticism were linked to greater tendencies toward TikTok Use Disorder (TTUD). Furthermore, we identified that this association was mediated by depressive tendencies. Similar trends emerged when investigating the relationship between lower levels of conscientiousness and higher TTUD tendencies, with depressive tendencies once again serving as a mediator.

DISCUSSION

Our research sets the foundation for future studies that should delve deeper into examining individual differences in TTUD using the WHO framework originally designed for Gaming Disorder.

Lonely and scrolling during the COVID-19 pandemic: understanding the problematic social media use and mental health link among university students

Introduction

Undergraduate university students experienced many academic and non-academic stressors during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, putting them at a greater risk of negative mental health outcomes. Reports worldwide have shown high incidences of depressive, anxiety, and stress scores among university students at the beginning of the pandemic. Emerging evidence also suggests that to cope with the stress and loneliness of the pandemic, many youth and young adults increased the amount of time they spent on social media platforms.

Methods

Undergraduate students participated in an online study aimed to understand the link between time spent on social media, coping through the use of social media and problematic social media use (PSMU) with mental health symptoms, such as stress, depression, anxiety, and loneliness, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

While time spent on social media was only weakly associated with stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness scores, PSMU more strongly mapped onto these outcomes. Additionally, students who were coping highly using social media displayed elevated stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness levels in comparison to those reporting low levels of coping with social media. Finally, students who reported high levels of coping using social media displayed higher PSMU scores, with this relationship appearing more pronounced in students who had higher levels of loneliness.

Conclusion

These data support evidence that it is not necessarily time spent on social media but rather PSMU that is relevant for mental health symptoms, and that PSMU is exacerbated by loneliness. Moreover, the current results highlight the effects of maladaptive coping on mental health symptoms and PSMU among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online Binge-Watching Among Chinese College Students: Implications for Loneliness, Anxiety, and Depression

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate binge-watching behavior and addiction among a sample of 446 Chinese college students and assess its consequences for mental health, with a particular focus on feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

Participants and Methods

We conducted an online survey to gather data, examining participants' binge-watching habits and preferred platforms. We also utilized regression analysis to assess the impact of binge-watching addiction on mental health, exploring the associations between binge-watching addiction and feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

Results

Our findings revealed that the Chinese college students in our study typically defined binge-watching sessions as lasting approximately 7.22 hours, with an average of 10.83 episodes. Regarding the self-assessment of binge-watching, the average duration of participants was 5.76 hours, and the average number of episodes was 7.42. Tencent Video, iQIYI, and Bilibili emerged as the dominant platforms for binge-watching among the respondents. Regression analysis demonstrated a significant link between binge-watching addiction and mental health, with positive associations observed between binge-watching addiction and increased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

Conclusion

The results of this study reinforce previous findings regarding the detrimental effects of excessive media consumption on mental well-being. Moreover, they provide valuable insights into the global prevalence of binge-watching and its impact on the psychological health of young adults in the digital age, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to address this issue.

An umbrella review of the benefits and risks associated with youths' interactions with electronic screens

The influence of electronic screens on the health of children and adolescents and their education is not well understood. In this prospectively registered umbrella review (PROSPERO identifier CRD42017076051 ), we harmonized effects from 102 meta-analyses (2,451 primary studies; 1,937,501 participants) of screen time and outcomes. In total, 43 effects from 32 meta-analyses met our criteria for statistical certainty. Meta-analyses of associations between screen use and outcomes showed small-to-moderate effects (range: r = -0.14 to 0.33). In education, results were mixed; for example, screen use was negatively associated with literacy (r = -0.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -0.20 to -0.09, P ≤ 0.001, k = 38, N = 18,318), but this effect was positive when parents watched with their children (r = 0.15, 95% CI = 0.02 to 0.28, P = 0.028, k = 12, N = 6,083). In health, we found evidence for several small negative associations; for example, social media was associated with depression (r = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.19, P ≤ 0.001, k = 12, N = 93,740). Limitations of our review include the limited number of studies for each outcome, medium-to-high risk of bias in 95 out of 102 included meta-analyses and high heterogeneity (17 out of 22 in education and 20 out of 21 in health with I2 > 50%). We recommend that caregivers and policymakers carefully weigh the evidence for potential harms and benefits of specific types of screen use.

Screen time and addictive use of gaming and social media in relation to health outcomes

Introduction

This study examined associations between screen time and addictive use (i.e., heavy involvement and negative consequences) of gaming and social media, and their independent effects on health outcomes.

Methods

Survey data were collected from 2,265 participants (mean age = 21.57). Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Social Media Disorder (SMD) were measured with the Gaming and Social Media Questionnaire (GSMQ-9), with separate measures for heavy involvement and negative consequences. Screen time was measured by weekly hours of gaming and social media. Assessed health outcomes were psychological problems, low self-concept, social problems, sleep problems, and sleep time.

Results

Screen time and addictive use were significantly associated for both gaming and social media, with associations being stronger for symptoms of heavy involvement compared to symptoms of negative consequences. However, despite significant associations, a substantial proportion of the participants with a high screen time did not meet any or just one symptom of addiction. More importantly, it was primarily negative consequences that had independent effects on health outcomes, except for sleep. High levels of heavy involvement in gaming, were even related to lower, not higher, levels of psychological problems.

Conclusion

The present findings study show that screen time is a poor indicator of addictive use of gaming and social media. Given that it was primarily negative consequences of gaming or social media that had effects on health outcomes, our study also emphasizes the need to distinguish between different types of addictive use and to further examine the diagnostic validity of the nine IGD symptom criteria.

Which social media platforms matter and for whom? Examining moderators of links between adolescents' social media use and depressive symptoms

INTRODUCTION

Despite extensive research on social media and risks for mental health, not enough is known about individual differences in these risks.

METHODS

The present study, with data collected from 2018 to 2020, investigated the association between social media use (total and for specific platforms) and depressive symptoms in a sample of 237 American adolescents (Mage  = 15.10; SD = 0.49; 51.1% girls and 48.5% boys). We investigated several moderators: gender, self-esteem, personality, and negative reactions to social media. Covariates were gender, timing of the follow-up (pre vs. during the pandemic), and depressive symptoms a year earlier.

RESULTS

Results indicated that greater total time spent on social media was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. This effect held for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube (but not Snapchat, Facebook, or Twitter). Several moderated effects were found. Twitter was associated with more depressive symptoms for girls but not boys. More frequent Instagram use was linked to more depressive symptoms for less or average-level extraverted teens but not for more extraverted teens, suggesting extraversion may be protective. More frequent TikTok use was associated with more depressive symptoms, particularly for teens who said they have more or average-level negative reactions to social media a year earlier.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that certain adolescents may be at increased risk for serious mental health challenges, like elevated depressive symptoms, when using TikTok, Instagram, or Twitter more frequently, underscoring the importance of examining individual differences and particular social media platforms.

A systematic review on automated clinical depression diagnosis

Assessing mental health disorders and determining treatment can be difficult for a number of reasons, including access to healthcare providers. Assessments and treatments may not be continuous and can be limited by the unpredictable nature of psychiatric symptoms. Machine-learning models using data collected in a clinical setting can improve diagnosis and treatment. Studies have used speech, text, and facial expression analysis to identify depression. Still, more research is needed to address challenges such as the need for multimodality machine-learning models for clinical use. We conducted a review of studies from the past decade that utilized speech, text, and facial expression analysis to detect depression, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guideline. We provide information on the number of participants, techniques used to assess clinical outcomes, speech-eliciting tasks, machine-learning algorithms, metrics, and other important discoveries for each study. A total of 544 studies were examined, 264 of which satisfied the inclusion criteria. A database has been created containing the query results and a summary of how different features are used to detect depression. While machine learning shows its potential to enhance mental health disorder evaluations, some obstacles must be overcome, especially the requirement for more transparent machine-learning models for clinical purposes. Considering the variety of datasets, feature extraction techniques, and metrics used in this field, guidelines have been provided to collect data and train machine-learning models to guarantee reproducibility and generalizability across different contexts.

Maternal Antibiotic Exposure and the Risk of Developing Antenatal or Postpartum Depressive Symptoms: The Maternal Experience Study Protocol

Limited epidemiological evidence suggests a link between antibiotic use and developing depression. This study seeks to investigate this association in depth, using a cohort of pregnant individuals. The primary aim is to explore any association between the use of antibiotics during pregnancy and the development of antenatal depressive symptoms up to the third trimester, as well as the use of antibiotics during pregnancy and within 12 months postpartum and the development of postpartum depressive symptoms. A national prospective, observational, longitudinal cohort study has been designed to examine these relationships. A sample size of 1500 pregnant individuals has been sought for this study, assuming 10 potential predictor variables (including antibiotic use) in the final multiple logistic regression model and allowing for a 30% drop-out rate. The development of depressive symptoms is considered either a diagnosis by a medical doctor and/or a scoring 13 or higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Data will be collected during the third trimester and at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months postpartum. These surveys include variables previously identified as associated with antenatal and postpartum depression (e.g., level of social support, experience of intimate partner abuse, and obstetric complications), as well as antibiotic and probiotic use. This study will provide an update on the prevalence of the symptoms of depression during pregnancy and postpartum and its associated risk factors. It will also, for the first time, comprehensively explore the potential association between antibiotic use during pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum and the development of depressive symptoms.

Predictors of social networking service addiction

The surge in social network services (SNS) usage has ignited concerns about potential addictive behaviors stemming from excessive engagement. This research focuses on pinpointing the primary determinants of SNS addiction by introducing a theoretical framework centered on flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit. A sample of 282 SNS users from South Korea was surveyed, and the gathered data was assessed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The evaluation revealed that positive affect closely relates to flow and perceived enjoyment, whereas negative affect amplifies flow but diminishes perceived enjoyment. Additionally, the research underscored that social influence significantly shapes habits and affects perceived enjoyment. Notably, flow demonstrated a strong connection to addiction, and perceived enjoyment influenced both flow and habit significantly. Habit was directly linked to addiction. These insights pave the way for more in-depth studies on SNS addiction patterns and offer a foundation for devising effective strategies to mitigate its adverse effects.

The Relationship Between Psychological Distress and Physical Activity Is Non-linear and Differs by Domain: a Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

There is increasing evidence for the relationship between physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour and mental health. Limited data exists on sex-specific associations. We aimed to identify associations between PA dose and domain and television time with psychological distress, including sex-stratified models.

METHODS

A total of 22,176 adults from the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study follow-up 2 cohort (2003-2007) participated in this cross-sectional study. Occupational, household, transport, leisure PA, hours watching television and psychological distress were assessed. Restricted cubic splines were used to examine the relationships between PA domains, television viewing time and psychological distress.

RESULTS

The relationships between PA and psychological distress were non-linear (p < 0.05) and differed by PA domain. There were dose-dependent, inverse associations between distress with transport (B[95% CI] = -0.39[-0.49, -0.30]) and leisure PA (B[95% CI] = -0.35[-0.46, -0.25]). The effect estimates for transport and leisure PA with distress were larger for women. For household domain, a U-shaped curve with an elongated tail was seen. Median PA was associated with lower distress compared with lower quantities (B[95% CI] = -0.12[-0.22, -0.03]); however, this association was not evident with increasing household PA. There were no clear associations between occupational PA and distress. Higher television viewing was associated with higher distress (B[95% CI] = 0.16[0.02, 0.30]).

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing PA and reducing television viewing may contribute to reduced psychological distress, particularly in women. Future interventions should incorporate leisure and transport PA and decrease television viewing to assess the impact on mental health.

Words for the hearts: a corpus study of metaphors in online depression communities

Purpose/significance

Humans understand, think, and express themselves through metaphors. The current paper emphasizes the importance of identifying the metaphorical language used in online health communities (OHC) to understand how users frame and make sense of their experiences, which can boost the effectiveness of counseling and interventions for this population.

Methods/process

We used a web crawler to obtain a corpus of an online depression community. We introduced a three-stage procedure for metaphor identification in a Chinese Corpus: (1) combine MIPVU to identify metaphorical expressions (ME) bottom-up and formulate preliminary working hypotheses; (2) collect more ME top-down in the corpus by performing semantic domain analysis on identified ME; and (3) analyze ME and categorize conceptual metaphors using a reference list. In this way, we have gained a greater understanding of how depression sufferers conceptualize their experience metaphorically in an under-represented language in the literature (Chinese) of a new genre (online health community).

Results/conclusion

Main conceptual metaphors for depression are classified into PERSONAL LIFE, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, TIME, and CYBERCULTURE metaphors. Identifying depression metaphors in the Chinese corpus pinpoints the sociocultural environment people with depression are experiencing: lack of offline support, social stigmatization, and substitutability of offline support with online support. We confirm a number of depression metaphors found in other languages, providing a theoretical basis for researching, identifying, and treating depression in multilingual settings. Our study also identifies new metaphors with source-target connections based on embodied, sociocultural, and idiosyncratic levels. From these three levels, we analyze metaphor research's theoretical and practical implications, finding ways to emphasize its inherent cross-disciplinarity meaningfully.

COVID-19 Restrictions Resulted in Both Positive and Negative Effects on Digital Media Use, Mental Health, and Lifestyle Habits

While studies have reported effects on digital media during the COVID-19 restrictions, few have included data prior to the pandemic, and most have only measured screen time. We therefore investigated changes in specific digital media activities, as well as mental health and lifestyle habits, in a longitudinal study of adolescents spanning from before the pandemic (T1) to one month into restrictions (T2) and one year later when schools had reopened (T3). Adolescents (16-19 years) rated smartphone use, problematic/addictive media use, negative experiences (e.g., victimization), mental health (i.e., irritability, stress, and closeness), and protective lifestyle habits (i.e., sleep and exercise). Results showed initial decreases in irritability and negative digital experiences, increases in sleep and exercise, as well as a decrease in closeness during remote learning (T2). However, these changes returned to, or superseded, their initial levels at follow-up (T3). There were also increases in digital media use and stress at T3. Conclusively, by investigating specific digital media activities and collecting data both prior to and during different phases of the pandemic, we were able to find both positive and negative effects.

Social-networks use as adaptive or maladaptive strategy for coping with stress

Social networks are frequently used to distract, procrastinate, or cope with stress. We aimed to investigate how (problematic) social-networks use affect stress perception in interaction with different stress recovery conditions. A total of 104 participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups. Three groups underwent a stress induction with subsequent stress recovery via (1) using Facebook, (2) reading magazines, or (3) waiting. Another group (4) waited without stress induction. Stress perception was repeatedly assessed with the State-Trait-Anxiety-Inventory. Facebook use and reading magazines decreased acute stress indicating adaptive coping strategies. Stress-recovery conditions and symptom severity showed significant interactions. Facebook use was not effective for individuals with high symptom severity in contrast to non-digital strategies or for individuals with low symptom severity. The usage of social networks may be an adaptive strategy for coping with stress for some people, it is maladaptive for individuals having a problematic usage.

Social media and mental health in students: a cross-sectional study during the Covid-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND

Social media causes increased use and problems due to their attractions. Hence, it can affect mental health, especially in students. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between the use of social media and the mental health of students.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The current cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 on 781 university students in Lorestan province, who were selected by the Convenience Sampling method. The data was collected using a questionnaire on demographic characteristics, social media, problematic use of social media, and mental health (DASS-21). Data were analyzed in SPSS-26 software.

RESULTS

Shows that marital status, major, and household income are significantly associated with lower DASS21 scores (a lower DASS21 score means better mental health status). Also, problematic use of social media (β = 3.54, 95% CI: (3.23, 3.85)) was significantly associated with higher mental health scores (a higher DASS21 score means worse mental health status). Income and social media use (β = 1.02, 95% CI: 0.78, 1.25) were significantly associated with higher DASS21 scores (a higher DASS21 score means worse mental health status). Major was significantly associated with lower DASS21 scores (a lower DASS21 score means better mental health status).

CONCLUSION

This study indicated that social media had a direct relationship with mental health. Despite the large amount of evidence suggesting that social media harms mental health, more research is still necessary to determine the cause and how social media can be used without harmful effects.

Problematic social media use is associated with depression and similar to behavioral addictions: Physiological and behavioral evidence

While many studies have examined the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU) and mental health disorders, little is known about reward responsiveness mechanisms that might be driving this relationship and the neurophysiological characteristics of PSMU. We surveyed 96 undergraduate students at a private liberal arts college in upstate NY. PSMU was assessed using the Social Media Disorder Scale. Fourteen Individuals endorsing in five or more and three or less categories on the Social Media Disorder Scale were offered and underwent resting state QEEG. Mental health was assessed with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Short Form, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, and a locally developed measure of Substance Use Disorder. Reward and motivational systems were studied using the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale, Behavioral Inhibition/Behavioral Activation Scale, and Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale. SMDS scores were associated with poorer mental health on all measures except substance use. SMDS scores were positively associated with the behavioral inhibition scale, and the anticipatory pleasure scale. QEEG results revealed a negative association of high PSMU and right central and frontal lobeta, right central beta, and a positive association with frontal alpha asymmetry. The study replicates findings that PSMU is associated with mental health issues. Further the pattern of reward response is different compared with other addictive behaviors. QEEG results are consistent with previous work in substance use and depression.

Clinical guidelines for the use of lifestyle-based mental health care in major depressive disorder: World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM) taskforce

OBJECTIVES

The primary objectives of these international guidelines were to provide a global audience of clinicians with (a) a series of evidence-based recommendations for the provision of lifestyle-based mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and (b) a series of implementation considerations that may be applicable across a range of settings.

METHODS

Recommendations and associated evidence-based gradings were based on a series of systematic literature searches of published research as well as the clinical expertise of taskforce members. The focus of the guidelines was eight lifestyle domains: physical activity and exercise, smoking cessation, work-directed interventions, mindfulness-based and stress management therapies, diet, sleep, loneliness and social support, and green space interaction. The following electronic bibliographic databases were searched for articles published prior to June 2020: PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Cochrane Methodology Register), CINAHL, PsycINFO. Evidence grading was based on the level of evidence specific to MDD and risk of bias, in accordance with the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry criteria.

RESULTS

Nine recommendations were formed. The recommendations with the highest ratings to improve MDD were the use of physical activity and exercise, relaxation techniques, work-directed interventions, sleep, and mindfulness-based therapies (Grade 2). Interventions related to diet and green space were recommended, but with a lower strength of evidence (Grade 3). Recommendations regarding smoking cessation and loneliness and social support were based on expert opinion. Key implementation considerations included the need for input from allied health professionals and support networks to implement this type of approach, the importance of partnering such recommendations with behaviour change support, and the need to deliver interventions using a biopsychosocial-cultural framework.

CONCLUSIONS

Lifestyle-based interventions are recommended as a foundational component of mental health care in clinical practice for adults with Major Depressive Disorder, where other evidence-based therapies can be added or used in combination. The findings and recommendations of these guidelines support the need for further research to address existing gaps in efficacy and implementation research, especially for emerging lifestyle-based approaches (e.g. green space, loneliness and social support interventions) where data are limited. Further work is also needed to develop innovative approaches for delivery and models of care, and to support the training of health professionals regarding lifestyle-based mental health care.

Should I post? The relationships among social media use, emotion recognition, and mental health

Introduction

While increased time spent on social media can be negatively related to one's overall mental health, social media research often fails to account for what behaviors users are actually engaging in while they are online. The present research helps to address this gap by measuring participants' active and passive social media behavioral styles and investigates whether and how these two social media behavioral styles are related to depression, anxiety, and stress, and the mediating role of emotion recognition ability in this relationship.

Methods

A pre-study (N = 128) tested whether various social media behaviors reliably grouped into active and passive behavioral styles, and a main study (N = 139) tested the relationships between social media use style, emotion recognition, and mental health.

Results

While we did not find evidence of a mediating relationship between these variables, results supported that more active social media use was related to more severe anxiety and stress as well as poorer emotion recognition skill, while passive social media use was unrelated to these outcomes.

Discussion

These findings highlight that, beyond objective time spent on social media, future research must consider how users are spending their time online.

Social media use of adolescents who died by suicide: lessons from a psychological autopsy study

BACKGROUND

while there are many benefits for young people to use social media, adverse effects such as cyberbullying, online challenges, social comparison and imitation may provoke and aggravate suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The influence of social media on mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviours has been amply studied, but there is little empirical evidence for its potential role in adolescent suicides. The current study aimed to inform digital suicide prevention strategies by examining the meaning of social media in the lives of young suicide victims and elucidating the harmful and supportive effects of social media use on their wellbeing and distress.

METHODS

data were analyzed from a psychological autopsy study of 35 adolescents who died by suicide in the Netherlands (43% of all adolescents who died by suicide in that year). These were 18 girls and 17 boys. All were under the age of twenty years, with an average of seventeen years. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was performed of 55 semi structured interviews with peers and parents of the decedents.

RESULTS

young people benefitted from peer support and recovery stories. However, various themes were discussed relating to the harmful effects of social media, including dependency, triggers and imitation, challenges, cybervictimization and psychological entrapment. The themes of dependency and triggers and imitation were more salient in young females. A group of girls cultivated an online identity around their suicidal thoughts and behaviours. Next-of-kin, particularly parents, faced various challenges to talk to the adolescents about social media use, including technological illiteracy, online anonymity, and the youths' closedness.

CONCLUSIONS

based on the findings, we recommend education to stimulate the digital literacy of parents, health workers and educators, supporting conscientious social media use in young people, and extending the prevention of cyberbullying. We encourage future research to examine how virtual social networks may sustain suicidal thoughts and behaviour, and to further investigate the effectiveness of digital interventions, like moderated peer support and the use of positive role models.

To use or be used? The role of agency in social media use and well-being

In this paper, we develop the concept of agentic social media use: a way of engaging with social media that emphasizes having the beliefs, knowledge, and practices to use it intentionally. In comparison to instances of “mindless” social media use, people who use social media agentically do so with a purpose in mind: they leverage the affordances of social media to do things that are meaningful, useful, or satisfying for them. For example, people can use social media to intentionally build or manage their relationships, to seek out and learn new information about their interests, or to craft a positive image of themselves through the content they post. Crucially, however, there are many other valuable uses of social media that may not be considered conventionally productive but are nonetheless deliberate and useful, such as using social media intentionally to relax, unwind, and entertain themselves in an effort to modulate their emotions. To use social media agentically means to (1) hold an agentic mindset about one's relationship with social media, (2) have the knowledge and literacy to understand how to navigate social media effectively, and (3) enact practices that assert control over specific elements of social media use, such as curating content and refining algorithmic recommendation. Approaching social media use from the perspective of agency and intentionality allows us to better understand heterogeneous social media effects and to identify new ways of helping people benefit from these technologies.

Analyzing an Emerging Pandemic on Twitter: Monkeypox

Background

Social media platforms like Twitter provide important insights into the public's perceptions of global outbreaks like monkeypox. By analyzing tweets, we aimed to identify public knowledge and opinions on the monkeypox virus and related public health issues.

Methods

We analyzed English-language tweets using the keyword "monkeypox" from 1 May to 23 July 2022. We reported gender, ethnicity, and race of Twitter users and analyzed tweets to identify predominant sentiment and emotions. We performed topic modeling and compared cohorts of users who self-identify as LGBTQ+ (an abreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning) allies versus users who do not, and cohorts identified as "bots" versus humans.

Results

A total of 48 330 tweets were written by LGBTQ+ self-identified advocates or allies. The mean sentiment score for all tweets was -0.413 on a -4 to +4 scale. Negative tweets comprised 39% of tweets. The most common emotions expressed were fear and sadness. Topic modeling identified unique topics among the 4 cohorts analyzed.

Conclusions

The spread of mis- and disinformation about monkeypox was common in our tweet library. Various conspiracy theories about the origins of monkeypox, its relationship to global economic concerns, and homophobic and racial comments were common. Conversely, many other tweets helped to provide information about monkeypox vaccines, disease symptoms, and prevention methods. Discussion of rising monkeypox case numbers globally was also a large aspect of the conversation.

Conclusions

We demonstrated that Twitter is an effective means of tracking sentiment about public healthcare issues. We gained insight into a subset of people, self-identified LGBTQ+ allies, who were more affected by monkeypox.

Internet use and depressive symptoms among Chinese older adults: Two sides of internet use

Objective

To explore the relationship between internet use which includes time spent on the internet, internet skills, types of online activities, and depressive symptoms in older adults.

Methods

We used 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data with 3,171 older adults aged 60 years. Depression symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), and internet use was measured by time spent on the internet, internet skills, and types of online activities. Multiple linear regression models were used to explore the relationship between internet use and depressive symptoms in older adults.

Results

Longer time spent on the internet was associated with higher scores of depressive symptoms (β = 0.14). Higher internet skills were associated with lower scores of depressive symptoms (β = −0.42). Watching short-form videos (β = 1.34) was associated with higher depressive symptom scores, and the use of the WeChat function (β = −0.96) was associated with lower depressive symptom scores, while online games and online shopping were not significant.

Conclusion

The effect of internet use on depressive symptoms in older adults is a double-edged sword. Controlling the time spent on the internet, improving internet skills, and guiding specific a type of online activities in older adults can improve depressive symptoms through rational use.

Envy, Social Comparison, and Depression on Social Networking Sites: A Systematic Review

This study aims to review the evidence for the reciprocal relationship between envy and social comparison (SC) on social networking sites (SNSs) and depression. We searched PsychINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science from January 2012 to November 2022, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A total of 9 articles met our inclusion criteria. In all articles reviewed, a simple correlation was found between SC on SNSs, envy, and depression. Three cross-sectional studies successfully tested a model with envy as a mediator between SNSs and depression. The moderating role of additional variables such as self-efficacy, neuroticism, SC orientation, marital quality, and friendship type was also evident. The only two studies that were suitable to determine direction found that depression acted as a predictor rather than an outcome of SC and envy, and therefore depression might be a relevant risk factor for the negative emotional consequences of SNSs use.

Conceptualizing and Examining Change in Communication Research

Communication research often focuses on processes of communication, such as how messages impact individuals over time or how interpersonal relationships develop and change. Despite their importance, these change processes are often implicit in much theoretical and empirical work in communication. Intensive longitudinal data are becoming increasingly feasible to collect and, when coupled with appropriate analytic frameworks, enable researchers to better explore and articulate the types of change underlying communication processes. To facilitate the study of change processes, we (a) describe advances in data collection and analytic methods that allow researchers to articulate complex change processes of phenomena in communication research, (b) provide an overview of change processes and how they may be captured with intensive longitudinal methods, and (c) discuss considerations of capturing change when designing and implementing studies. We are excited about the future of studying processes of change in communication research, and we look forward to the iterations between empirical tests and theory revision that will occur as researchers delve into studying change within communication processes.

A four-level meta-analytic review of the relationship between social media and well-being: a fresh perspective in the context of COVID-19

Social media, one of the most pervasive forms of technology, has been widely studied in relation to the mental health and well-being of individuals. However, the current literature on social media and well-being has provided mixed and inconclusive findings, thus creating a polarizing view of social media. These mixed findings continue to extend into the pandemic, with researchers debating over the effects of social media in the new norms of social isolation. In light of these inconclusive findings, the aim of our meta-analysis was to synthesize previous research data in order to have a holistic understanding of the association between social media and well-being, particularly in the present context of COVID-19. The current meta-analysis systematically investigated 155 effect sizes from 42 samples drawn from 38 studies published during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 43,387) and examined the potential moderators in the relationship between social media and well-being, such as the different operationalizations of social media usage and demographics. Overall, our study found that the relationship between social media usage and well-being was not significant in the context of COVID-19. Additionally, the impact of various moderators on the relationship between social media and well-being was found to vary. We discuss the various theoretical, methodological and practical implications of these findings and highlight areas where further research is necessary to shed light on the complex and nuanced relationship between social media and well-being.

Social media use, mental health, and suicide-related outcomes in Russian women: A cross-sectional comparison between two age groups

BACKGROUND

Women who belong to the age group "emerging adulthood" (18 to 29 years) are vulnerable to mental health issues and suicide-related outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

This study investigated potential predictors of suicide-related outcomes in females emerging adulthood and compared them to older women.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Data of 2537 women from Russia (group "18 to 29 years": n = 1123; group "> 29 years": n = 1414) on lifetime suicide-related outcomes, (problematic) social media use, daily stress, depression and anxiety symptoms, and positive mental health were assessed via online cross-sectional surveys.

RESULTS

The younger group spent significantly more time on social media use than the older group. It had significantly higher levels of daily stress, problematic social media use, depression and anxiety symptoms, and suicide-related outcomes. The older group showed significantly higher levels of positive mental health. Only in the younger group, problematic social media use significantly mediated the relationship between daily stress and suicide-related outcomes in a moderated mediation analysis. Positive mental health significantly moderated the association between problematic social media use and suicide-related outcomes. Specifically, the higher the positive mental health level, the less close the link between both variables.

CONCLUSION

The current results reveal that young women in Russia could be at enhanced risk for daily stress, problematic social media use, and low levels of mental health. The interaction between these variables could foster suicide-related outcomes. Public governmental communication in Russia should call attention to potential negative impact of intensive social media use.

Facebook use intensity and depressive symptoms: a moderated mediation model of problematic Facebook use, age, neuroticism, and extraversion

BACKGROUND

Research on the relationship between Facebook use intensity and depressive symptoms has resulted in mixed findings. In contrast, problematic Facebook use has been found to be a robust predictor of depressive symptoms. This suggests that when intense Facebook use results in a problematic usage pattern, it may indirectly predict depressive symptoms. However, this mediation pathway has never been examined. Moreover, it remains unclear whether the possible indirect relationship between Facebook use intensity and depressive symptoms through problematic Facebook use is moderated by demographic (age), and personality (neuroticism and extraversion) characteristics.

METHODS

To address these gaps, we conducted an online cross-sectional study (n = 210, 55% female, age range: 18-70 years old, M_age = 30.26, SD = 12.25). We measured Facebook use intensity (Facebook Intensity Scale), problematic Facebook use (Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale), depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised), and neuroticism and extraversion (Ten Item Personality Inventory).

RESULTS

A mediation analysis revealed that problematic Facebook use fully mediates the relationship between Facebook use intensity and depressive symptoms. Moreover, a moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that this indirect relationship is especially strong among young users and users scoring high on neuroticism.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings expand our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the relationship between Facebook use intensity and depressive symptoms and describe user characteristics that act as vulnerability factors in this relationship.

Enriching sociocultural perspectives on the effects of idealized body norms: Integrating shame, positive body image, and self-compassion

Body image is an integral aspect of the psychology of the self. Idealized body images are ubiquitous in both traditional media forms (e.g., magazines, television) and social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram). The classic sociocultural model of body image (i.e., the Tripartite Influence Model) emphasizes pathways between idealized body norms, appearance comparisons, internalization of body ideals, and body dissatisfaction and its outcomes. We summarize the model and identify some issues to be addressed in future work, particularly in light of the immense popularity of social media. We review three topics that are not included in the sociocultural model but that provide a more complete picture of the influence of societal body norms on body image: (1) body shame, (2) positive body image, and (3) self-compassion. Research on the nature, assessment, and relevance of these constructs is reviewed in detail. In terms of clinical applications of these areas of research for individuals at risk of body dissatisfaction, we suggest assessing for and targeting body shame, cultivating facets of positive body image, and teaching strategies for developing self-compassion.

Factors Affecting the Use of Social Networks and Its Effect on Anxiety and Depression among Parents and Their Children: Predictors Using ML, SEM and Extended TAM

Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety associated with social networks. However, little research has explored parents' depression and anxiety constructs as mediators that may account for children's depression and anxiety. The purpose of this paper is to test the influence of different factors on children's depression and anxiety, extending from parents' anxiety and depression in Jordan. The authors recruited 857 parents to complete relevant web survey measures with constructs and items and a model based on different research models TAM and extended with trust, analyzed using SEM, CFA with SPSS and AMOS, and ML methods, using the triangulation method to validate the results and help predict future applications. The authors found support for the structural model whereby behavioral intention to use social media influences the parent's anxiety and depression which correlate to their offspring's anxiety and depression. Behavioral intention to use social media can be enticed by enjoyment, trust, ease of use, usefulness, and social influences. This study is unique in exploring rumination in the context of the relationship between parent-child anxiety and depression due to the use of social networks.

Predicting Psychological Symptoms When Facebook’s Digital Well-being Features Are Used: Cross-sectional Survey Study

Background

Prior research has linked social media usage to poorer mental health. To address these concerns, social media platforms have introduced digital well-being tools to help users monitor their engagement. Nonetheless, little is known about the effectiveness of these tools.

Objective

In this study, we focused on Facebook to assess users’ awareness and usage of the following six Facebook well-being tools: the Unfollow, Snooze, Off-Facebook Activity, Your Time on Facebook, Set Daily Reminders, and Notification Settings features. Additionally, we examined whether the use of these tools was associated with better mental health outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 598 Facebook users. The survey comprised questions about (1) baseline Facebook use, (2) the adoption of Facebook’s digital well-being tools, and (3) participant demographics. These were used to predict the primary outcome measure—scores on the 21-item Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale.

Results

Most participants (580/598, 97%) knew about Facebook’s digital well-being tools, but each tool was used by only 17.4% (104/598) to 55.5% (332/598) of participants. In turn, the use of two tools was associated with better well-being; although participants who spent more time on Facebook reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, those who managed their feed content or notifications by using the Unfollow or Notification Settings features had lower scores on each of these measures. However, the use of the Snooze, Off-Facebook Activity, Your Time on Facebook, or Set Time Reminder features was not associated with lower depression, anxiety, or stress scores.

Conclusions

Of the 6 Facebook digital well-being tools, only 2 were associated with better mental health among users. This underscores the complexity of designing social media platforms to promote user welfare. Consequently, we urge further research into understanding the efficacy of various digital well-being tools.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04967846; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT04967846

The relationship between real-life social support and Internet addiction among the elderly in China

Internet addiction among the elderly is a novel issue in many countries. However, extant research about excessive use of the Internet is focusing on adolescents and younger adults. There are few studies to explore the topic of the elderly's Internet addiction. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between real-life social support and Internet addiction among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. This article adopted a self-reported questionnaire via internet links to collect data. A total of 303 valid samples about Internet addiction for the elderly were obtained in China. The results suggested that real-life social support is significantly and negatively related to Internet addiction among the aged. Moreover, the findings revealed that real-life social support could mitigate Internet addiction by increasing the levels of hopefulness and decreasing the feeling of loneliness. We expect that this study can enrich the understanding of the problematic Internet usage within older populations. Finally, the contributions, practical significance, and limitations of this study were discussed.

The impact of interaction with children on internet addiction in older adults: A moderated mediation model

Internet addiction among older adults is a new problem in many countries. However, previous studies on excessive Internet use have focused more on young people, and only few studies have focused on Internet addiction in older adults. There is a need to continue to expand research on Internet addiction in older adults. This paper aimed to fill the gap in exiting literature. We adopted a self-reported questionnaire to assess the elderly’s interaction with children, loneliness, life satisfaction and Internet addiction among old adults. A total of 241 old people were obtained from data collection in China via online survey with the help of a professional research company. We used OLS regression analysis and bootstrap method to test the hypothesis. The results of the empirical analysis indicated that (1) interaction with children was significantly negatively associated with the Internet addiction of old people; (2) loneliness mediated the relationship between interaction with children and old adults’ Internet addiction; and (3) life satisfaction moderated the effect of interaction with children, and the indirect effect between interaction with children and old adults’ addiction via loneliness was stronger for those with low life satisfaction. Finally, we discussed the theoretical significance, practical implications, limitation of this research. Interventions to improve family function systems especially for older people with low life satisfaction can help prevent the development of Internet addiction.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Types and Social Media: Are Social Media Important and Impactful for OCD People?

Social media (SM) are the new standard for social interaction and people with OCD use such platforms like everyone else. However, the research on these individuals provides limited, sporadic, and difficult-to-generalize data outside of social-media evidence for one specific context concerning how SM is experienced by people with OCD. Our cross-sectional study involved 660 participants (71.4% females, 28.6% males) with 22% of the sample surpassing the 90° percentile threshold to be identified as high-level OCD-symptomatic individuals. Our work highlighted that roughly all OCD types are affected by social media in terms of mood and that these individuals appeared to give SM more importance than non-OCD individuals. The evidence presented, although very narrow, can be conceived as the first building blocks to encourage future research considering how individuals with OCD experience social media, since they appear to be affected more by them compared to non-OCD individuals.

Problematic versus reflective use: Types of social media use as determinants of mental health among young Filipino undergraduates

Background: The link between problematic social media use (SMU) and mental health among youth has been established. However, there is insufficient information on how mental health is influenced by COVID-19 pandemic-related changes and positive aspects of SMU. This study aims to determine the relationship of pandemic-related changes in SMU, and two types of SMU (problematic and reflective use) with mental health among young Filipino undergraduates. Methods: A total of 1087 Filipino undergraduates aged 18 to 30 years old participated in this cross-sectional study. Data collection via online survey was conducted in August 2021. Results: Findings indicate the significant association between the perceived changes in SMU and mental health among respondents (P <0.001). In terms of type of use, results suggest that students who demonstrate lower problematic SMU (B=-0.608, P <0.001, 95% CI=-0.955 - -0.259) and higher reflective SMU (B=3.524, P <0.001, 95% CI=2.051- 4.895) had higher mental wellbeing. Moreover, poorer mental wellbeing was observed among females and LGBTQ+ respondents with poorer internet quality (P <0.05). Conclusion: Mental health among young Filipino undergraduates is influenced by pandemic-related changes and types of SMU. With the increasing necessity of social media amid the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health practitioners and advocates can increase their visibility online to promote reflective SMU as a protective factor against mental health decline.

Problematic Social Media Use in Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Technology is ever evolving, with more and more diverse activities becoming possible on screen-based devices. However, participating in a heavy screen-based lifestyle may come at a cost. Our hypothesis was that problematic social media use increased the prevalence of mental health outcomes.

OBJECTIVE

This study seeks to systematically examine problematic social media use in youth and its association with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.

METHODS

A systematic search was conducted to identify studies in adolescents and young adults, using the databases Engineering Village, Psycinfo, Pubmed, and Web of Science. A total of 18 studies were identified, with a total of 9269 participants in our review and included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Our metaregression shows moderate but statistically significant correlations between problematic social media use and depression (r=0.273, P<.001), anxiety (r=0.348, P<.001), and stress (r=0.313, P<.001). We did not find evidence of heterogeneity of these summary correlations by age, gender, or year of publication.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides further evidence of the association between problematic social media use and negative mental health among adolescents and young adults and supports future research to focus on the underlying mechanisms of problematic use of social media.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

PROSPERO CRD42021222309; https://tinyurl.com/2p9y4bjx.

The Effect of Problematic Social Media Use on Happiness among Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Lifestyle Habits

Background: Although the relationship between problematic social media use (PSMU) and happiness has been already explored, less is known about the mechanisms that translate PSMU into lower happiness through lifestyle habits. Therefore, the current study focuses on the association between PSMU and happiness, exploring a mediating effect of lifestyle habits (e.g., difficulties in getting to sleep and frequency of physical activity) among Italian adolescents. Methods: A total of 58,976 Italian adolescents (mean age = 13.6, SD = 1.63; age range = 10.5−16.5; 49.4% females) were included. The pattern of relationships specified by the theoretical model was examined through path analysis. Results: Difficulties in getting to sleep (β = −0.037, p < 0.001) and frequency of physical activity (β = −0.012, p < 0.001) were mediators in the relationship between PSMU and happiness. Multi-group analyses across gender and age groups (11, 13, and 15 years old) showed that the chain mediating effect of the frequency of physical activity on the difficulties in getting to sleep was not significant for females but significant for males and for all of the three age groups. Overall, females and older ages were sensitive to the whole model. Conclusion: Along with difficulties in getting to sleep and the frequency of physical activity, lifestyle habits may contribute to the association between PSMU and happiness. We also recommend that future studies focus on PSMU in females and older adolescents, as they show more general sleep problems and reduced physical activity.