Associations Between Social Media Use And Mental Disorders In

The exponential growth of human interactions on social media via the internet has revolutionized global communication, but it has also emerged as a critical factor in mental health linked to suicidal ideation and mental... This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize evidence on the most prevalent disorders in adolescents and young adults associated with social media use based on previous research, highlighting risk factors and key findings. Publications from 2020 to 2024 in highly relevant databases were reviewed following the PRISMA declaration guidelines. The meta-analysis (conducted in R software) of the included documents (24 studies, 68 effects) verified a significant and positive association between exposure to risk factors in social networks and various disorders in adolescents and... Prevention strategies were indicated by revealing data from contexts in which 40% of adolescents who died by suicide had developed online identities focused on suicidal thoughts. Keywords: adolescents; mental health; prevention; risk factors; social networks; suicidal ideation; youth.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Study selection based on the PRISMA 2020 flow diagram. Figure created by the… Pooled effect (meta-analysis). Effect size… Updated April 29, 2025 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods

Social media has transformed the way people interact with each other and the world. Across the globe, researchers have documented political, social, emotional, and even health implications related to these ever-evolving platforms. A new systematic review seeks to better understand how social media use affects people with pre-existing mental health disorders, specifically psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, narcissistic personality disorder,... Social media allows people to interact without the physical and temporal cues that happen during face-to-face interactions. These missing cues can be especially difficult for people with psychiatric disorders. Due to the way the brain processes virtual interactions, the authors hypothesized that social media could exacerbate psychiatric symptoms and conditions.

Their review, published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, combines the data from 155 studies on social media use and psychiatric disorders related to social cognition. It found that social media use is disproportionately high among people with psychiatric disorders involving delusional thinking. Scientific Reports , Article number: (2025) Cite this article We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

The objective of this study is to determine how problematic social media use (PSMU), social media use frequency (SMU), and the number of followers (SMF) predict depressive symptoms evolution in adolescents, while evaluating the... Longitudinal data from 2,121 adolescents (52.38% female) were analysed at two time points (T1, T2) with a mean age (T1) of 13.79 years. Quantile regression models (τ = 0.25, 0.50, 0.75) revealed that problematic use and SMU were associated with increased depressive symptoms across all quantiles. Higher SMU predicted greater increases in depressive symptoms, particularly among younger adolescents. The interaction between SMF and SMU, also SMF and gender, was significantly associated with depressive outcomes; in particular, the effect of a higher number of followers was more pronounced among girls, and when combined... These findings suggest that SMU has a differential impact on depressive symptoms depending on the initial severity, with those exhibiting more severe baseline symptoms being more affected.

Importantly, these results indicate that interventions for adolescent social media use may be tailored to their baseline mental health status, age, and gender; supporting current global regulatory trends aimed at increasing the age threshold... Data is provided within the Supplementary Material 3. Andrade, B., Guadix, I., Rial, A. & Suárez, F. The Impact of Technology on adolescence. Relationships, Risks and Opportunities (UNICEF Spain, 2021).

https://www.unicef.es/publicacion/impacto-de-la-tecnologia-en-la-adolescencia The Growing Mental Health Crisis and Social Media Mental health problems have become a major public health issue in the United States, affecting a significant portion of the population. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), nearly one in five U.S. adults is living with a mental illness, and the prevalence of mental health problems among youth is even more alarming (NIMH, 2023). The widespread use of social networking sites has been identified as a contributing factor to the growing mental health crisis, especially among younger generations.

The Link Between Social Media and Mental Health Issues The link between social media and mental health issues has been well documented in numerous studies and research papers. A systematic review found that the use of social networking sites is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress (Keles, et al., 2020). The associations, though not by itself proof of causation, at least some reason for concern. Additionally, this association is particularly strong in adolescents compared to younger children (Twenge & Campbell, 2018). Moreover, in the United States, the 12-month prevalence of major depressive episodes among adolescents increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.3% in 2014 (Mojtabai, et al., 2016).

The new media screen activities have been suggested as one of the causes of the increase in adolescent depression and suicide (Twenge, et al., 2017). Although research has not necessarily shown that the use of social media has a causal relationship with poorer mental health in young people, health professionals and policy makers are becoming increasingly wary of the... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is calling for increased transparency and for companies to prioritize user wellbeing over revenue, as various studies have shown negative effects on social media use, especially on the... (Surgeon General, 2021). In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics warns that “media use and screen time are associated with increased risks for children and adolescents, such as attention deficits, increased aggression, low self-esteem, and depression” (American...

The American Psychological Association (APA) also highlights the correlation between high social media use and poor mental health among adolescents (APA, 2024). Received 2025 Feb 9; Revised 2025 Apr 14; Accepted 2025 Apr 17; Collection date 2025 May. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Background: The impact of social media on adolescent mental health has become a critical area of research as social media usage has surged among youth. Despite extensive research, findings on this relationship remain inconsistent, with various studies reporting both negative and positive effects.

This scoping review aims to clarify the multifaceted nature of this relationship by analyzing the recent literature. Objective: This review aims to analyze the current evidence regarding the effects of social media use on adolescent mental health, identify consistent patterns and discrepancies in the findings, identify gaps in our knowledge, and... Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage approach. Searches were performed in PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus for articles published between July 2020 and July 2024. Inclusion criteria were systematic reviews, umbrella reviews, narrative reviews, and meta-analyses written in English focusing on youth/adolescents’ mental health and social media. The search strategy identified 1005 articles, of which 43 relevant articles survived the reviewer selection process, from which data were extracted and analyzed to inform this review.

Results: The majority of studies linked social media use to adverse mental health outcomes, particularly depression and anxiety. However, the relationship was complex, with evidence suggesting that problematic use and passive consumption of social media were most strongly associated with adverse effects. In contrast, some studies highlighted positive aspects, including enhanced social support and reduced isolation. The mental health impact of social media use, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, was mixed, with the full range of neutral, negative, and positive effects reported. Conclusions: The nature of social media’s impact on adolescent mental health is highly individualistic and influenced by moderating factors. This review supports the notion that social media’s effects on adolescent mental health can be context specific and may be shaped by patterns of usage.

A focus on longitudinal studies in future research will be useful for us to understand long-term effects and develop targeted interventions in this context. Enhancing digital literacy and creating supportive online environments are essential to maximizing the benefits of social media while mitigating its risks. Keywords: youth, adolescent, mental health, social media, review Since the inception of social media, the relationship between social media and mental health remains a heavy area of contention, and social media usage and mental illness have both become increasingly prominent amongst youth... Research demonstrates that more than 90% of adolescents possess at least one social media account, and this percentage shows no indication of declining (Kucharczuk et al., 2022). A systematic review and content analysis reported that in 2022, TikTok engagement among youth and adolescents increased the most globally among other existing social media platforms (McCashin & Murphy, 2023).

Other popular social media platforms adolescents frequently engage with include Instagram and YouTube (Bozzola et al., 2022). The nature of social media applications renders them particularly enticing for adolescents at this vulnerable stage of development, as the socio-affective circuitry of the brain is rapidly developing. This may increase sensitivity to social information, the desire for social rewards, and anxiety about peer appraisal (Somerville, 2013). The exponential growth of human interactions on social media via the internet has revolutionized global communication, but it has also emerged as a critical factor in mental health linked to suicidal ideation and mental... This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to synthesize evidence on the most prevalent disorders in adolescents and young adults associated with social media use based on previous research, highlighting risk factors and key findings. Publications from 2020 to 2024 in highly relevant databases were reviewed following the PRISMA declaration guidelines.

The meta-analysis (conducted in R software) of the included documents (24 studies, 68 effects) verified a significant and positive association between exposure to risk factors in social networks and various disorders in adolescents and... Prevention strategies were indicated by revealing data from contexts in which 40% of adolescents who died by suicide had developed online identities focused on suicidal thoughts.

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