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Graphs and Data

23.2% of teens have been bullied in the last month, while 4.9% had cyberbullied others in the last month

55% of cyberbullying victims are between the ages of 14 and 15

23.7% of girls and 21.9% of boys between the ages of 13 and 17 report being cyberbullied while 35.4% of transgender teens reported being cyberbullied

Parents concerns

most on instagram, snapchat, tiktok, facebook

Abusive behavior ( online harrasment or stalking)

50% of people ages 14-24 have experienced technologically abusive behavior

Catfiahes

8% of instagram accounts are fake

Can scam for money or blackmail someone.

smart social states, "it’s important for parents to help their students prepare for a life in the digital world and build a positive digital footprint."

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It's no secret that with the internet and all of the other technological advancements over the last two to three decades, parenting today looks very different.

66% of parents in America believe that parenting is harder today than it was 20 years ago

26% of these parents think that technology, in general, is to blame and 21% think that it's the fault of social media and its negative impacts (Source: Pew Research)

We've compiled some interesting statistics regarding teenagers and their technology and social media usage and we're sharing advice from 5 experts on how to help your teens safely navigate today's digital world so that they can shine online.

85% of Americans own a smartphone (Source: Pew Research)

87% of American teens own an iPhone and 88% expect an iPhone to be their next phone (Source: How-To Geek)

Non-school related screen time among teenagers doubled from pre-pandemic estimates of 3.8 hours per day up to 7.7 hours (Source: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics)

95% of American teens have daily access to a smartphone

~46% of teens report being online almost constantly (Source: Pew Research)

34% of US teens picked Snapchat as their favorite social media network in the fall of 2020 and ranked TikTok 2nd at 29%. (Source: Statista)

~An average of 5+ billion snaps are created every day (Source: Snap, Inc.)

48% of U.S. internet users between the ages of 15 and 25 years use Snapchat (Source: Statista)

In 2020, TikTok overtook YouTube as the most used app by American teens and pre-teens with 105.1 daily usage minutes (Source: APnews)

TikTok had a total of 78.7 million users in the United States as of 2021

~Around 37.3 million of these were between the ages of 10-25 (Source: Statista)

~Female users between the ages of 10 and 19 make up TikTok's largest user demographic (Source: Statista)

Only 8% of Instagram users are between the ages of 13-17 (Source: Statista)

~Cristiano Ronaldo has the most Instagram followers with 399 million

~Kylie Jenner comes in 2nd with 308 million followers

80% of 12-15-year-olds play video games online (Source: Ofcom)

Teen social media statistics

What do teens think?

Lonely: 3% (More) 25% (Less)

Depressed: 3% (More) 16% (Less)

Anxious: 8% (More) 12% (Less)

Confident: 20% (More) 5% (Less)

Better about themselves: 18% (More) 4% (Worse)

Popular: 20% (More) 3% (Less)

% who say using social media makes them feel:

(Source: Statista)

‍Sometimes feel left out or excluded when using social media"

~70% (low social-emotional well-being) 29% (high social-emotional well-being)

Have deleted social media posts because they got too few "likes":

~43% (low social-emotional well-being) 13% (high social-emotional well-being)

Feel bad about themselves if no one comments on or "likes" their posts:

~43% (low social-emotional well-being) 11% (high social-emotional well-being)

Have ever been cyberbullied:

~35% (low social-emotional well-being) 5% (high social-emotional well-being)

% of social media users who say they: ‍

(Source: Statista)

57% of all teens agree that using social media often distracts them when they should be doing homework

54% of teen social media users agree that it often distracts them when they should be paying attention to the people they're with

29% of teen smartphone owners say they've been woken up by their phones during the night by a call, text, or notification

42% of teens agree that social media has taken away from the time they could spend with friends in person

‍ Technology distracts teens from friends and other important things

(Source: Common Sense Media)

Source: Cyberbullying Research Center

23.2% of teens have been bullied in the last month, while 4.9% had cyberbullied others in the last month

55% of cyberbullying victims are between the ages of 14 and 15

23.7% of girls and 21.9% of boys between the ages of 13 and 17 report being cyberbullied while 35.4% of transgender teens reported being cyberbullied

‍Cyberbullying statistics

Source: Digital Information World

65% of parents surveyed by Pew Researchers said they worry about their kids spending too much time in front of screens

73% of parents believe that children should be at least 12 years old before having their own smartphone. Only 22% think children should be allowed to have their own phone under the age of 12 (Source: Pew Research)

The majority of parents (68%) believe that the use of social media has a negative impact on their teen's ability to socialize normally (Source: Digital Information World)

80% of parents have reported that they monitor their children and their social media and smartphone habits and 45% are using an app to restrict/limit their usage (Source: Digital Information World)

56% of parents think that they spend too much time on their own smartphone (Source: Pew Research)

(Source: Cyberbullying Research Center)

‍Parents are worried

5 experts share social media statistics and advice for parents

As more teens head online to socialize, researchers are discovering some disturbing new trends. Nearly all teens now have access to a smartphone. With so much information, competition, and peer pressure now at their fingertips, experts worry that the technology is taking a toll. We asked 5 experts about some of the latest social media statistics and how the latest trends could be impacting your students.

1. Students are receiving their first phone around the time they enter the stage of human development where peer engagement is critical

Kathryn Ely, JD, MA, ALC, MA,Attorney & Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health

American youth are receiving their first phone right around the time they enter the stage of human development where peer engagement is critical. Teens use social media to explore social comparison, highlight the aspects of themselves they see as positive, and for self-disclosure.

Avoid oversharing on social media. Ask our teens before we post about them

Have designated times every day when we shut down our devices and fully and intentionally engage in face to face contact, so our teens are learning verbal and non-verbal cues that are so important in communication

Giving teens our full attention when they talk to us and avoid glancing at our devices

Set clear, firm boundaries right when you give an adolescent a phone: The phone must be charged somewhere other than in the teen's room at night. The phone will be shut off an hour before bed for good sleep hygiene. A parent has passwords and monitors social media use until he or she is comfortable the teen is using it in a healthy manner

Foster the teen's self-esteem on and off social media by supporting his/her positive inner qualities, rather than promoting popularity and appearances

Teens can use social media to enhance their social development. But teens can also be negatively impacted by their own social media use. Social media use can also lead to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not developmentally appropriate.

The most important thing to know about starting conversations with teens is to be present and look for the opportunities they give us. Lecturing every time you get in the car will not get you anywhere. Listen when your teen talks and asks questions. If you are talking and your teen mentions a friend shared something on social media, ask your teen "What do you think is too much to share?" and insert your opinion in a caring, understanding way

Have conversations with your children about being intentional with social media, devices having a time and place, and making good choices for their future

Remind your teen that everyone reviews social media sites, whether it's a college admissions officer or a person interviewing them for a job

How can we make sure our children are using social media in a positive way that strengthens their self-esteem and connections with peers, which are so crucial in this stage of development?

Model the behavior we want to see in them:

Conversation starters for parents:

(Sources: Pediatrics, Pew Internet, and Common Sense Media)

2. One in three children have been cyberbullied

Chelsea Brown, Digital Mom Talk

One in three children are cyberbullied and 70% of children say they have cyberbullied someone online. It's becoming a growing problem with parents and children. However, cyberbullying is not a major concern for many parents since they aren't even sure what is classified as cyberbullying or when cyberbullying crosses legal lines.

Being an active and positive bystander is proven to be very effective to prevent bullying, but teens do not know how to do so online and are more likely to respond when the bullies are persistent. Many students refuse to call cyberbullies out as the tactics intensify, for fear of being included as well.

Studies are also being done to show that cyberbullying is more damaging than normal bullying. This is due to the tactics of cyberbullying being along the lines of psychological warfare for kids. The constant contact, the appearance of multiple targets, and the aspect of most cyberbullying being based on bullying in real life, has many children facing a semi-silent and unconquerable battle.

Sources: Enough.org, Cyberbullying.org, Wiley Online Library, SpringerLink

3. Only half of parents with students ages 5 to 15 use parental controls

Paul Grattan, Law Enforcement Supervisor

Only half of the parents of kids ages 5-15 use parental controls, other content filters, or blockers. Of those who do not, the number one reason cited is that they trust their kids' online behavior. This is interesting because 9 out of 10 parents who do use them, find they block the right amount of content. (Source: Office of Communications UK research report).
Alexandra Boscolo, Day One
At the same time, I caution this is only a basic first step. While most parents trust their children online, the nature of predatory behavior by bad actors can influence even the savviest and most trustworthy teen.

50% of people ages 14-24 have experienced technologically abusive behavior

22% of people ages 14-24 in dating relationships say they feel like their partner checks up on them too often

A 2013 study found that the most frequent form of harassment or abuse was tampering with a partner's social networking account without permission. Nearly 1 in 10 teens in relationships report having this happen to them in the past year

In the same survey, 7% of teens reported that their partner sent them texts/emails/etc. to engage in unwanted sexual acts. And 7% of teens reported being pressured to send a sexual or naked photo of themselves

That's truly the nature of today's online threat - outside influences and actors. Much of the danger of increased connectivity and technology does not lie directly in the hands of our teens and their overt behavior, but rather in their susceptibility to influences and pressure.

4. Half of people ages 14 to 24 have experienced technologically abusive behavior

Today's teens are constantly online, and abusers always find new ways to stalk and harass their targets.

Here are some important statistics from Day One:

5. Many Instagram accounts are fake and could pose a threat to students

Johnny Santiago, Social Catfish (tool to verify if people are really who they say they are online)

According to a study by Italian security researchers, 8% of Instagram accounts are fake. Instagram is one of the most popular social media apps teens use.

Don't give your student a tablet or their first smartphone without having a conversation with them about digital safety

Talk with your student about what kind of content can be shared on social media and which social media networks they can use

Consider creating a family smartphone agreement that outlines all of the rules around safe cell phone use

Help your student set up their profiles on the networks you decide are safe for your family. We recommend using apps in our Smart Social Green Zone to build a positive digital footprint

Consistently monitor their online activity and have your own profiles on the same social networks they use

If you see negative behavior, don't wait for the incident to get worse before talking to your student

This poses a risk and danger to teenagers from online catfishers. People behind the fake accounts can scam teens out of their money or even blackmail them. A catfisher is a person who creates a fake identity on a social network, usually with the intention of deceiving a specific victim. With this in mind, parents and teens alike should learn the signs that the person they're talking to online is a catfisher.

Lead by example and be the digital role model they need. If you don't want your student constantly on their phone, then make sure you unplug when you want them to unplug

Configure your student's devices with the built-in parental control settings such as Apple Screen Time, Digital Wellbeing, or Google Family Link

Instead of taking their devices away, set ground rules as the first step. Ensure that your student understands the consequences of not following the guidelines. This can empower students to self-regulate their screen time

Teach your children to use social media as a tool to shine online, instead of just as a pastime

Collect all of your family's cell phones before bed each night and charge them in a specific place to avoid having your student check their phone all night

Always be on the apps that your student uses and monitor their activity. Use their behavior to have regular discussions around social media safety

What can parents do?

Parents can teach their students how to manage their screen time, what can (and can't) be posted online, the consequences of making mistakes on social media, and how to value offline activities over negative social media habits.

If your student doesn't have access to social media or a device yet, help them prepare for their future digital footprint:

If your student struggles with managing their screen time, help them develop a healthier relationship with their devices:
Students are you using this page for your homework and need to cite your source? Use this MLA format:
Additional resources

MomTalk with Beth and Andrea

Conclusion

Students' social media use and screen time have increased drastically in the last decade. While the negative effects of social media on teens can be serious, it's impossible for parents to keep their teens offline forever. Instead, it's important for parents to help their students prepare for a life in the digital world and build a positive digital footprint.

"Teen Social Media Statistics 2022 (What Students and Parents Need to Know)." SmartSocial, 14 Feb 2022, https://smartsocial.com/post/social-media-statistics

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Teen Social Media Statistics | SmartSocial.com

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Learn insight from various research on the uprising trends of teen social media and how to create a positive digital footprint.

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How Social Media Is Shaping Art - The Impact of an Instagram Obsessed Culture (magazine)

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How Social Media Is Shaping Art - The Impact of an Instagram Obsessed Culture (magazine)

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Magazine
- Social media is a way to communicate and keep up with current events happening in the world and "satisfy our most materialistic needs or even quench our thirst for activism"
- Social media has changed the view on art, especially street art. From changing forms to walls where many will see like Banksy. Most get a lot of attention on social media and profit off of it. Many question if people use social media to post their art to get more attention and money for themselves instead of making art for the masses themselves.
- Social media can lead to an obsession to become popular or famous. As the magazine states about Yayoi Kusama, "Her installations are all over Instagram, leaving us to wonder if the experience is still about the art, or if it is just another way to cultivate the vanity of the spectator and their overwhelming desire to fit into the practices cultivated and endorsed by social media."
- Art online has become diluted to fit what goes viral and to align with other images and pieces posted online.
- Digitally we’re hyper-connected and yet so disconnected from each other”  - iHeart
- The pink wall in LA was 'sabotaged' in 2018 by the street artist Thrasher, with the words "fuck your selfie"
- With this, it shows how art online can be used as marketing easily becuase like the pink wall people want to post it on their feed and it is famous so more people will go to see it.

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By Naomi Martin

Is this longing for the perfect Instagram post standing in the way of a genuine appreciation of the art, or is it a sign of engagement with the work?

The ubiquitous influence of social media

Almost every aspect of our lives is now being dictated by social media. We look to the omnipresent, all-seeing forces of Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to communicate, keep up with the world, schedule our events, satisfy our most materialistic needs or even quench our thirst for activism, the list goes on. It is therefore only natural for art, in its ceaseless ability to both reflect and influence its host cultures, to be entwined in the ever-growing web of social media. But the relationship between these two worlds is like any, enriching yet troublesome at times. While social media has the ability to liberate and foster art to a prodigious extent, it also raises queries of censorship, and blurs the distinction between art and those categories of creation or design that might aspire to that status.

The issue of the social sharing of art is also a pertinent one, with the rise of the art-selfie hovering between narcissism and promotion. When visiting a museum or exhibition it is now mundane to observe viewers walk past the artwork, phone in hand, ready to snap and promptly post with the appropriate hashtag - looking at the art itself through the window pane of their device rather than directly with their own eyes. But is this longing for the perfect Instagram post - or story - standing in the way of a candid experience and genuine appreciation of the art, or is it a sign of different kind of engagement with the work?

A superstar not only of the art world but also in the sphere of social media, Yayoi Kusama is without a doubt Instagram's favourite artist, with millions of people photographing themselves immersed in her whimsical mirrored Infinity Rooms, often having to queue for hours before entering the gleaming utopia for a mere minute, or under, just enough time to capture the perfect #yayoikusama selfie. Her installations are all over Instagram, leaving us to wonder if the experience is still about the art, or if it is just another way to cultivate the vanity of the spectator and their overwhelming desire to fit in to the practices cultivated and endorsed by social media. But as Kusama's exhibitions have taken over the Instagram feed of a new generation of art lovers, a more positive aspect includes the inclusion of idiosyncratic ideas and aesthetics like these within the mainstream.

From Tagging to Hashtagging

As the entire world has been impacted by the effects of social media, street art has also adapted and evolved accordingly, embracing its influence. Instagram in particular has been rewriting the aesthetics and the consumption of street art and graffiti, as the first forms of street tagging have provided the digital architecture of hashtagging. The location sharing functions of social media have enabled street art to become globalised, a piece shared on Instagram with the right hashtags can become viral, inciting a virtual response across the globe. Experienced as a digital object, street art also has the opportunity to endure and reach a larger audience, it is no longer victim of its own location or ephemerality. The downside is the potential rise of ubiquity, as the supremacy of online trends take over causing diversity to become diminished and diluted.

Many street artists have now fully embraced the interconnected practice of social media in their work, using it both as a way to document their artistic processes and share their work, but also as an abundant source of inspiration, using the tropes of SoMe and its distinguishing aesthetics to produce street art which incorporates repetitive references to the characteristic language of Instagram, or Facebook. The Vancouver based street artist iHeart in particular, has been creating graffiti stencils highlighting the rising influence of social media, with a focus on the younger demographic.

"I see people walking down streets barely glancing up from their devices. Digitally we're hyper-connected and yet so disconnected from each other"
iHeart

Reminiscent of Banksy's pieces, iHeart's stencils are unfolding the repercussions of a social media obsessed culture, even more startlingly so since he mainly features children, interacting with their smartphones, moaning about a lack Instagram likes or writing in hashtags. iHeart is also niftily using the concept of the wall both literally and figuratively, embracing the irony of a wall as a stand-in for a screen. His piece Nobody Likes Me gained worldwide recognition after Banksy himself shared it on his social media channels.

Is the relationship between art and social media about profit?

More than just reshaping the way we think about culture, social media is also, to an extent, transforming street art into advertisements for businesses, retailers, restaurateurs, or even gyms. Corporations are taking advantage of the selfie-taking demographic, luring them with virally geotagged murals - guerilla advertising that they will turn into profit. This "Instagram street art" is in no way representative of the political and social underlying intent inherent to street art, but simply taps its appeal for branding kudos, followers, likes, and, ultimately, revenue.

Retailer Paul Smith's iconic bubble-gum pink wall in L.A is a major illustration of this phenomenon, inspired by Mexican architect Luis Barragan's signature pink buildings. The wall became an Instagram landmark, with thousands of people, mainly tourists, visiting it daily to pose or snap a selfie. These visitors come to create self-content, unaware that they are becoming a part of a cleverly thought-of marketing campaign, benefitting the store as well as the coffee-shops and restaurants surrounding the area, ready to satiate the post-shooting hunger. The wall was sabotaged in 2018 by the street artist Thrasher, with the words "Fuck your selfie".

From marketing to narcissism, what these new habits of interaction with art are essentially exemplifying is the immeasurable impact that social media is having on every facet of our lives. Alarming or uplifting? Undeniably, there is more than one way to look at it. While some of the trends and money-driven approaches might be emphasizing the ruthless features of consumerism and, in the process, tarnishing the alternative innate value system cherished by the art world, social media can also bring about genuinely new connections and inspiring experiences.

Relevant sources to learn more
Read more about iHeart
The Fraught Business of Removing and Selling Street Art Murals
Artland interviews Morten Halborg-Møller of Bricks Gallery, Copenhagen
Discover and Buy Art for Sale

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How Social Media Is Shaping Art - The Impact of an Instagram Obsessed Culture

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As art becomes more and more digitalised, we consider the impact of a social media obsessed culture, from art-selfies to turning street art into profit.

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Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?

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Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health?

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TED Talk/ Lecture

phantom vibration syndrome

when you thing your phone went off

high social media use links to high levels of anxiety and depression

90% of 18-29 yr olds are on social media

"highlight reel"

people only see your best moments

"social currency"

likes, comments, and shares

letting others attribute value to us.

obsessed with other people's views of us

"FOMO"

fear of missing out

social anxiety

7/10 students in a collection of Canadian universitys said they would get rid of their social networking accounts if it were not for fear of being left 'out of the loop'

online harassment

40% of online adults have experienced online harassment 73% have witnessed it

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Is Social Media Hurting Your Mental Health? | Bailey Parnell | TEDxRyersonU

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The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers' Video

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The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers' Video

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Video

Teens who use social media 7+ hours a day are 2x as likely to be diagnosed with depression

social medias effects on youth is driven by three primary factors

inadequate sleep

exposure to cyberbullying

lack of physical activity

social media overuse is often linked to underlying issues

deppression, anxiety and trauma.

"overuse of the apps exposes teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech addiction, and results in less time spent doing healthy, real-world activities."

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How does social media affect teenagers? Like any form of technology, social media has both an upside and a downside. And when it comes to the social media effects on teens, there are significant pros and cons to take into account.

On the plus side, platforms like TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat can be lifesavers for teens who feel isolated or marginalized, particularly LGBTQ teens. In addition, social media helped teens feel more connected and not as lonely during the pandemic.

But the impact of social media on youth can also be significantly detrimental to mental health. In particular, social media and teen depression are closely linked. Furthermore, overuse of the apps exposes teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech addiction, and results in less time spent doing healthy, real-world activities. And while the majority of parents believe they know what their child is posting on social media, according to a Pew Research poll, a survey of teens found that 70 percent of them are hiding their online behavior from their parents.

Are teens and social media platforms a good mix, or does social media use lower teen well-being? Why is social media bad? This has become one of the more controversial questions regarding social media's effects on teens, with studies showing varied results.

According to a recent report released by Common Sense Media on social media's effects on teens, about half of the 1,500 young people surveyed said social media is very important for them in order to get support and advice, feel less alone, and express themselves creatively, as well as for staying in touch friends and family members. And 43 percent said that using social media makes them feel better when they are depressed, stressed, or anxious. Among LGBTQ youth, 52 percent said social media helps them feel better when they are experiencing these difficult emotions.

On the other hand, the report also showed a strong association between social media and teens feeling depressed. Youth with moderate to severe depressive symptoms were nearly twice as likely to say they used social media almost constantly: One-third of teens with depression reported constant social media use, as compared to 18 percent of young people who did not have depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the more severe their symptoms were, the more anxious, lonely and depressed they felt after using social media. Clearly, social media does not help teens who are already feeling depressed and seems to contribute to their negative outlook.

Is social media part of the reason that teen depression has drastically increased over the last decade? Surveys of US adolescents show that teen depressive symptoms and suicide rates showed marked increases between 2010 and 2015, especially among females.

Some researchers theorize that the increase in social media and overall screen use between those years could account for these changes. The adolescents surveyed who spent more time on social media sites were more likely to report mental health issues. Those who spent more time on real-life activities, such as in-person social interaction, sports, exercise, homework, and print media, were less likely to report these issues.

Over the last decade, this theory has been borne out by a large body of research linking teenagers' use of social media with increased teen depression. These studies show that the frequency of a teen's use of social media has a clear correlation to their mental health.

For example, in a 2018 study, 14- to 17-year-olds who used social media seven hours per day were more than twice as likely to have been diagnosed with depression, treated by a mental health professional, or taken medication for a psychological or behavioral issue during the last year. This was compared to those who used screens only about an hour a day.

Many experts believe that the constant overstimulation of social networking shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. As a result, this makes disorders such as ADHD, teen depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and teen anxiety worse. However, some research on social media and teen depression shows that the causality goes the other way-i.e., when teens are depressed, they look at social media more often. In one study of 600 young people, researchers found that social media use did not predict depressive symptoms, but greater depressive symptoms predicted more social media use over time.

"Some experts argue that young people's use of social media is adding to their depression; others that their depression leaves them so uninterested in other activities that they turn to social media by default. [Our] research suggests a third possibility: that many young people who are experiencing depression- whatever the cause-are purposely and proactively using social media and other digital tools to protect and promote their own well-being."
- Common Sense Media report

Additional Psychological Effects of Social Media on Youth

A study by researchers at University College London tracked three years of social media use by 13,000 teenagers, starting when they were 13. The teens also self-reported about their social media experiences and their mood and well-being.

After compiling the data, the study authors concluded that the social media effect on youth is driven by three primary factors:

Inadequate sleep-teens stayed up late to continue scrolling through their social media feeds

Exposure to cyberbullying-having harmful, false, or private content about them posted on social media

Lack of physical activity-scrolling social media on their phones or other devices meant that teens sat for longer periods of time and had less time for exercise. As a result, they missed out on the beneficial impact of exercise on mental health.

According to the study, which was published in the journal Lancet, 27 percent of the teens who frequently used social media reported high psychological stress. For teens who used social media less frequently, only 17 percent reported high psychological stress.

The Impact of Social Media on Youth Social Comparison

One way in which social media impacts teen mental health is through negative social comparison-what media psychologist Don Grant, PhD, Newport Director of Outpatient Services, calls "compare and despair." Teenagers on social media spend much of their time observing the lives and images of their peers. This leads to constant comparisons, which can damage self-esteem and body image, exacerbating depression and anxiety among adolescents.

As with other types of social comparison, teens report lower self-esteem and self-evaluation and peer pressure to look a certain way when looking at their friends on social media sites. For example, this includes looking at profiles on which peers post curated images about their significant others, social events, or accomplishments. And teens felt better about themselves when they make so-called "downward comparisons"-looking at profiles of peers with fewer friends and achievements. According to a Pew Research Center report on the negative effects of social media on teenagers, 26 percent of teens say these sites make them feel worse about their own life.
Read "Teen Mental Health and the Theory of Social Comparison."
The Negative Psychological Effects of Social Media on Teen Body Image

Body image is one primary area in which teen social comparison leads to negative emotions-not only for teen girls, but for all genders. When tees compare themselves to curated and filtered photographs of their peers and of celebrities, they often feel inferior. This can lead to lower self-esteem and negative body image. In addition, Facebook use has also been linked to a higher risk of eating disorders.

According to a survey by Common Sense Media:

35 percent of teenagers on social media worry about being tagging in unattractive photos

27 percent are stressed out about how they look when they post pictures

22 percent feel bad about themselves when nobody comments on or "likes" their photos.

Social Media Effects on Teens: Health Hazard or Healthy Inspiration?

Along with providing ways to seek help and support, social media also provides forums in which teens can encourage each other in unhealthy and dangerous behaviors. Hence, teens with eating disorders or those who self-harm can connect with others to talk about their self-destructive routines. In these online forums, obsessive calorie counting, fasting, or over-exercising are accepted and encouraged. As a result, young people may learn ways to hide or intensify the behavior, putting them at greater risk.

On the flip side, a teen social network can inspire teenagers to develop healthy habits. Thus, seeing peers eating nutritious food, doing something creative, or getting outside in nature can encourage other teens to do the same. Social networks can create peer motivation, inspiring young people to try something new, follow their dreams, and speak up about things that matter to them. Teens can also find positive role models online. Hence, the effect of social media on teenagers might actually result in more unplugged time and increased self-care behaviors.

The Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens' Identity Formation

The impact of social media on youth extends to an important part of adolescent development: the formation of one's unique identity. Hence, social media provides a forum for teens to practice skills related to identity development. These include self-presentation and self-disclosure-sharing their opinions, beliefs, and preferences.

In a longitudinal survey of 219 freshmen at a state university, researchers found that teens who expressed their opinions on social media experienced increased well-being. In addition, another study found that adolescents who communicated more online had greater "self-concept clarity"-a clearer idea of who they were. This self-awareness supports mental health. Furthermore, a research article on teens and social media concluded that social media gives teens the "autonomy to explore and experiment with their identities in a space of their own, where they have control over what, how, and with whom they share information."

Friendships, Teens, and Social Media

Friendship and social skills are additional areas in which the impact of social media on youth can be positive and negative. In the Pew Research Center report, 81 percent of teens in the survey said social media makes them feel more connected to what's going on in their friends' lives. In addition, two-thirds of teens said these platforms make them feel as if they have people who will support them through tough times.

During the pandemic, of course, social media became one of the most frequent-and sometimes the only-way in which teens socialized with peers. But there's a difference between teens' social media friends vs. their real friends: The Pew survey found that 60 percent of teens say they spend time with their friends online on a daily or nearly daily basis, but only 24 percent spent time with their friends that often in person. These stats highlight how online connections may not translate into IRL relationships.

In addition, the more time teens spend plugged in and on social media platforms, the more cyberbullying increases. A 2020 report by the organization L1ght found a 70 percent uptick in hate speech among kids and teens across communication channels on social media and popular chat forums. More time on social media provides enhanced access to both the beneficial and detrimental aspects, further driving the negative effects of social media on teenagers.

The Addictive Quality of Social Media for Teens

Scientists have found that teen social media overuse creates a stimulation pattern similar to the pattern created by other addictive behaviors. Hence, the brain responds to social media the same way it responds to other "rewards"- with a release of dopamine. These dopamine rushes are catalyzed when a teen posts something online and is met with likes, shares, and positive comments from their peers.

"Social media use targets our limbic system through its susceptibility to intermittent variable rewards-the same basic idea behind slot machine design-that get us 'hooked' and coming back from more. Our brains keep seeking the dopamine hit that comes with the next post we see on our feed or the next reaction to something we've posted. Research also suggests that these rituals may prime the brain for other future unhealthy dependencies or addictions."
-Don Grant, PhD, Newport Director of Outpatient Services

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As the research shows, teen social media overuse is often linked with underlying issues, such as depression, chronic stress, anxiety, or low self-esteem. Hence, treatment at Newport Academy includes addressing these root causes while unplugging from phones and social media.

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Key Takeaways

The impact of social media on youth can be significantly detrimental to mental health, exposing teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech addiction, and results in less time spent doing healthy, real-world activities.

Some researchers theorize that the increase in social media and overall screen use between 2010 and 2015 could account for marked increases in teen depressive symptoms and suicide rates beginning in that same time period.

Many experts believe that the constant overstimulation of social networking shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode, exacerbating disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder.

Teenagers on social media platforms spend much of their time observing the lives and images of their peers, leading to constant comparisons, which can damage self-esteem and body image.

Mental health treatment can help teens gain the skills and self-knowledge to heal from the underlying causes and negative consequences associated with social media overuse.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Effects of Social Media on Teens

How does social media affect teenagers?

What are five negative effects of social media?

What impact does social media have on teenagers' self-esteem?

Does social media cause depression, or does depression increase social media use?

Is social media really addictive?

Sources
Curr Opin Psychol. 2022 Apr; 44: 58-68. Nature Human Behaviour. 2019(3): 173-182. Prev Med Rep. 2018 Oct 18;12: 271-283. Clinical Psych Sci. 2019, 2017. Comput Human Behav. 2015; 52: 49-58.

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The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers | Newport Academy

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How does social media affect teenagers? Discover the negative impact of social media on adolescents and its effect on their mental health.

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Social media use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults: a meta-analysis of 14 cross-sectional studies -

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Social media use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults: a meta-analysis of 14 cross-sectional studies -

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Article By Public Health

The purpose of the study was to summarize the association between the time spent on social media platforms during the COVID-19 quarantine and mental health outcomes (depression and anxiety).

14 studies were included.

In all studies, the increased time spent using social media platforms was associated with anxiety symptoms.

An increase in social media use is also associated with depressive symptoms.

Social media use increases the likelihood of having symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Correlations between social media and psychological distress.

This source deepened my understanding of my research question because it directly touches on mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety and their correlations with social media. While referencing multiple studies backing these facts and correlations.

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Abstract

Background

Public isolated due to the early quarantine regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) increasingly used more social media platforms. Contradictory claims regarding the effect of social media use on mental health needs to be resolved. The purpose of the study was to summarise the association between the time spent on social media platform during the COVID-19 quarantine and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety and depression).

Methods

Studies were screened from the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases. Regarding eligibility criteria, studies conducted after the declaration of the pandemic, studies that measured mental health symptoms with validated tools, and studies that presented quantitative results were eligible. The studies after retrieval evaluated the association between time spent on social media platform and mental health outcomes (i.e. anxiety and depression). The pooled estimates of retrieved studies were summarised in odds ratios (ORs). Data analyses included a random-effect model and an assessment of inter-study heterogeneity. Quality assessment was conducted by two independent researchers using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies (RoBANS). This meta-analysis review was registered in PROSPERO ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, registration No CRD42021260223, 15 June 2021).

Results

Fourteen studies were included. The increase in the time spent using social media platforms were associated with anxiety symptoms in overall studies (pooled OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.30-1.85), and the heterogeneity between studies was mild (I ² = 26.77%). Similarly, the increase in social media use time was also associated with depressive symptoms (pooled OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.30-1.85), and the heterogeneity between studies was moderate (I ² = 67.16%). For sensitivity analysis, the results of analysis including only the "High quality" studies after quality assessment were similar to those of the overall study with low heterogeneity (anxiety: pooled OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.21-1.96, I ² = 0.00%; depression: pooled OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.69-2.90, I ²  = 0.00%).

Conclusions

The analysis demonstrated that the excessive time spent on social media platform was associated with a greater likelihood of having symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Peer Review reports

Introduction

Despite the tremendous worldwide efforts including the introduction of vaccines, developing therapeutics and social distancing, the coronavirus outbreak is not expected to dampen due to the continuous emergence of new viral strains and difficulty in effective quarantine interventions. As a result of strong quarantine measures, private meetings, gatherings, and physical contact with intimate relatives have been reduced [ 1]. Prolonged social distancing and loss of intimate interpersonal contact increase feelings of frustration, boredom, anxiety, and potentially depression [ 2].

Studies have found that young, socially active populations or workers at high risk of infection, especially college students and frontline healthcare workers, bear a disproportionate burden of mental health problems worldwide (e.g., high levels of anxiety and depression), highlighting the need for appropriate intervention in these populations [ 3, 4].

Social media in digital platforms is reportedly considered as a new channel of communication that could relieve aforementioned negative aspects of isolation through helping people escape negative emotions [ 5], projecting their personality as they desire, and evoking the impression of gaining back some control [ 6]. Social media may be helpful for relieving anxiety and depression by providing information regarding the pandemic [ 7, 8].

However, prolonged use of social media by the isolated could be a double-edged sword that can adversely affect mental health due to sustained exposure to excessive information and misinformation [ 9, 10, 11]. While social media in digital platforms does help to promote social inclusion among adolescents and young adults, the risk associated with their excessive or problematic use cannot be overlooked [ 12]. Due to conflicting evidence and views regarding the effect of social media platform on the mental health, the recommendation for the use of social media in pandemic has been questioned.

Therefore, a meta-analysis was conducted to solve the contradictory effects of social media platform on anxiety and depression based on studies reporting an association between the use of social media and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety and depression) on the pandemic setting.

Methods

Eligibility criteria

Studies were included which met the following criteria: (1) use of the English language; (2) conducted after March 11, 2020 (date the WHO declared a pandemic) and published by December 20, 2020; (3) collected data using a validated tool of mental health symptoms (e.g., Patient Health Questionnaire: PHQ9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 items: GAD-7); (4) full texts available; (5) measured time spent on social media platform in either continuous or categorical variable; (5) provided their results in OR, β, and/or Pearson's r, and (6) studies measured mental health symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

Studies with the following characteristics were excluded: (1) Studies examined traditional social media (e.g., television and radio); (2) case reports, letters, comments, and narrative reviews without quantitative results, and (3) studies using a language other than English.

Studies investigating the association between time spent on social media and mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety and depression) were summarised in Supplementary Material 1. The pooled effect size of this meta-analysis was mainly presented in an odds ratio (Fig. 2).

Study selection

The search strategy principles were as follows: (1) "Social media" or individual names of social media in the title, keyword and abstract results; (2) Terms referring to mental health with COVID-19 specified in the title (e.g. depression, anxiety or blue).

A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was performed to identify studies. Publication date restrictions are from March 2020 to December 20, 2020. The search terms for a systematic search were as following: (1) ("COVID-19" OR "corona") AND ("mental health" OR depress* OR anxiety) AND ("social media" OR "Instagram" OR "Facebook" OR "twitter") for PubMed, (2) ("coronavirus disease 2019'/exp/mj) AND ("mental health"/exp/mj OR "depression"/exp OR "anxiety"/exp) AND ("social media"/exp./mj OR "Facebook"/exp. OR "twitter"/exp. OR "Instagram"/exp) for Embase; (3) ("COVID-19″ OR "corona") AND ("mental health" OR depress* OR "anxiety") AND ("social media" OR 'Instagram" OR "Facebook" OR "twitter") for Cochrane Library.

Articles were first screened by reviewing titles, followed by a full-text review. Every selection stage involved three independent researchers (two medical doctors [SJJ and YRL] and one graduate student from the Epidemiology Department [YJJ]). Every article was independently evaluated by two researchers (YJJ and YRL) in first hand, and a third researcher (SJJ) mediated the final selection in case of differences in opinion.

Data extraction

Study data were extracted by two independent researchers (YRL and YJJ). A single author first extracted the information and a second author checked for accuracy. The extracted information is as follows: country of study, participant group sampled, age group of sample, date of data collection, mental health measures, effect size information, social media use time, and whether the adjustment was made for each analysis (see Supplementary Material 1). Studies were subdivided into categories according to the summary estimate of effect sizes (odds ratio [OR], beta estimate from multiple linear regression [β], and correlation coefficient [Pearson's r]).

Exposure variables

The final studies after retrieval measured the amount of time spent on social media, which was either categorical or continuous variables (see Supplementary Material 1). It was measured based on the response to an item in the questionnaire: "How often were you exposed to social media? [categorical]" and "How long (in hours) were you exposed to social media? [continuous]." The measurement of exposure was expressed in different wordings as follows: "Less" vs. "Frequently," "Less" vs. "Often", "less than 1 hour" vs. "2 hours or more," or "less than 3 hours" vs. "3 hours or more." To calculate the overall effect, these individually measured exposure levels were operationally redefined (e.g., "Less" and "Few" were considered the same as "less than 2 hours;" "less than 1 hour," "Frequently," and "Often" were treated the same as "2 hours or more" and "3 hours or more").

Outcome variables

The outcomes of included studies were "anxiety", and "depression". Anxiety was ascertained by using GAD-7 (cut-off: 10+), DASS-21, and PHQ-9, while depression was measured using PHQ-9 (cut-off: 10+), WHO-5 (cut-off: 13+), and GHQ-28 (cut-off: 24+). Anxiety and depression measured by using screening tools with cut-offs presented results in odds ratios (see Supplementary Material 1).

Statistical analysis

All statistical analyses and visualisations were performed with the "meta," "metaphor," and "dmeter" package of R version 3.6.3 ( https://cran.r-project.org/), using a random-effect model [ 13, 14, 15]. The effect measures were odds ratio, regression coefficient, and Pearson's r, which calculated the association between the increase in social media use time and anxiety and depressive symptoms. In each study, the association with the mental health level of the social media frequent use group (compared to the low frequency group) was calculated as the odds ratio, and the association with the increase in the mental health level per hour increase was calculated as the regression coefficient (β) and Pearson's r. Statistics used for calculating pooled effects (e.g., odds ratio, regression coefficient, and Pearson's r) were utilized as its adjusted value with covariates from each study, not the unadjusted crude values.

The pooled effect sizes, Cochrane's Q, and I ² to assess heterogeneity were calculated. The pooled effect sizes, CIs, and prediction intervals were calculated by estimating the pooled effect and CIs using the Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman method, which is known as the one of the most conservative methods [ 16]. The degree of heterogeneity was categorised as low, moderate, or high with threshold values of 25, 50, and 75%, respectively [ 17]. Possible causes of heterogeneity among study results were explored by statistical methods such as influential analysis, the Baujat plot, leave-one-out analysis, and Graphic Display of Heterogeneity analysis [ 18]. In addition, publication bias was assessed using funnel plots, Egger's tests, and the trim-and-fill method [ 19].

Quality assessment

Quality assessment was conducted by two independent researchers, a psychiatrist (SHK) and an epidemiologist (YRL), using the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies (RoBANS), which can assess cross-sectional studies [ 20]. RoBANS has been validated with moderate reliability and good validity. RoBANS applies to cross-sectional studies and comprises six items: participant selection, confounding, exposure measurement, blinding of outcome assessments, missing outcomes, and selective reporting of outcomes. Each item is measured as having a "high risk of bias," "low risk of bias," or "uncertain." For example, based on "participant selection," each researcher marked an article as having a "high risk of bias" if, for example, the patient definitions of depression were generated by self-reported data. In cross-sectional studies, misclassification cases due to an unreliable self-contained questionnaire for categorizing depressive patients were rated as "high risk." For the qualitative assessment, studies with two or more "high risk of bias" grades were then classified as "low quality". The study was rated as "high quality" only if the evaluation of both raters was congruent. For sensitivity analysis, additional analysis including only "high quality" studies was conducted and it compared with the pooled estimates of overall results (see Table 1).

Table 1 Association between social media use and anxietya and depressionb

Ethical approval

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines 2020 were followed for this study. No ethical approval and patient consent are required since this study data is based on published literature. This meta-analysis review was registered with PROSPERO ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, registration No CRD42021260223, 15 June 2021).

Results

Included and excluded studies

Total of 346 studies were selected from the database search (288 from PubMed, 34 from Embase, and 24 from the Cochrane Library). After removing 19 duplicate publications, 327 studies were included for the title and full-text review (see Fig. 1). Non-original studies and those conducted with irrelevant subjects ( n = 218) were excluded. Another 95 studies were excluded finally due to inconsistent study estimates. As summarised in Supplementary material 1 and 8, 13 papers studied anxiety as an outcome (6 studies in odds ratio, 3 in regression coefficient, 4 in Pearson's r), and a total of 9 papers studied depression as an outcome (6 studies in odds ratio, 3 in regression coefficient). Each of the final distinct 14 studies (after excluding duplicate studies) measured multiple mental health outcome variables (i.e., anxiety and depression), and pooled effect sizes were calculated for each outcome. Six studies that dealt with anxiety symptoms and six with depression (Supplementary Material 1-1-1, 1-2-1) reported ORs and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) ( n = 9579 and n = 13,241 for anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively). Three studies each on anxiety and depression (Supplementary Material 1-1-2, 1-2-2) reported their findings in β ( n = 2376 and n  = 2574 for anxiety and depression, respectively). All included studies were cross-sectional studies. The pooled effect size was presented in odds ratio.

Flowchart of literature search and selection of the publications

Time spent on social media and mental health outcomes

Table 1 shows the result of the meta-analysis about the relationship between time spent on social media and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety and depression) of the selected cross-sectional studies. The increase in the time spent using social media platforms were associated with anxiety symptoms in overall studies (pooled OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.30-1.85, prediction intervals: [1.08-2.23]), and the heterogeneity between studies was mild (I ² = 26.77%) (see Fig. 2). The three cross-sectional studies (presented in β) were insignificant (β = 0.05, 95% CI: − 0.32-0.15; a unit increment of each screening tool score per hour) with relatively high inter-study heterogeneity (I ² = 76.07%). The overall estimate of the four cross-sectional studies (Pearson's r) was 0.18 (95% CI: 0.10-0.27) with high inter-study heterogeneity (I ² = 73.04%). The increase in social media use time was also associated with depressive symptoms (pooled OR = 1.43, 95% CI: 1.30-1.85, prediction intervals: [0.82-2.49]), and the heterogeneity between studies was moderate (I ² = 67.16%) (see Fig. 2).

Forest plot for social media exposure and symptoms of mental health (i.e. anxiety & depression) in cross-sectional studies. Estimates presented in odds ratios (OR)

Quality assessment

As result of quality assessment analysis, pooled effect size of studies classified as "high quality" was presented in Table 1. The results were similar to the overall outcome (anxiety: OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.21-1.96; depression: OR = 1.42, 95% CI: 0.69-2.90). High-quality studies had low inter-study heterogeneity (anxiety: I ² = 0.00%; depression: I ²  = 0.00%). The kappa statistic (inter-rater agreement) was 33.3%, indicating fair agreement.

Publication bias

Publication bias was assessed by funnel plot analysis and Egger's test (Supplementary Material 4-1). Funnel-plot analyses revealed symmetrical results (Supplementary Material 4-2). In addition, all results of the Egger test were statistically insignificant, indicating improbable publication bias. After applying the trim-and-fill method, the funnel plot revealed no asymmetry (Supplementary Material 5), indicating no significant publication bias.

Discussion

The study aimed to present a comprehensive direction of relevance by analysing studies investigating the association between time spent on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health symptoms (i.e., anxiety and depressive) among the public. The increase in the time spent on social media in digital platforms was associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

The pooled results are in line with previous systematic reviews and meta-analysis performed before the pandemic. A systematic literature review before the COVID-19 outbreak (2019) found that the time spent by adolescents on social media was associated with depression, anxiety, and psychological distress [ 21]. A meta-analysis of 11 studies (2017) also reported a weak association between social media use and depressive symptoms in children [ 22]. A meta-analysis of 23 studies (2018) reported significant correlation between social media use and psychological distress [ 23]. Likewise, this study also observed a similar trend of a negative effect of social media on mental health outcomes in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the estimates of inter-study heterogeneity of these meta-analysis were relatively high (meta-analysis of 11 studies: I ² = 92.4%; meta-analysis of 23 studies: I ² = 62.00% for anxiety, I ²  = 80.58% for depression) compared to the analysis, which implies relatively higher homogeneity of the study population and reliable results.

Unverified information and opinions can be easily disseminated on social media platform and perceived as facts without verification. There has been a stream of news regarding the pandemic, creating a sense of urgency and anxiety. Repeated exposure to the news may affect the construct of external reality and may lead to a delusion-like experience, which has been linked to anxiety and social media overuse [ 24, 25].

Additionally, discrimination and stigma related to COVID-19 on social media can make people fearful of being infected and exacerbate depression and anxiety [ 26]. Fear of COVID-19 may be compounded by coexisting depression and anxiety disorders [ 27]. Due to the high accessibility of social media platform and the ease of socialisation in a controlled setting, individuals with underlying depression may be more drawn to social media interactions rather than face-to-face ones, more so in the pandemic era [ 28].

Also, implementation of social distancing mandates new norms limiting physical conducts in almost all sectors of life, including educational institutes and vocational venue. Rapid transition to the new remote educational environment and telecommuting may trigger mental health issues [ 29].

In interpreting the findings of this study, several limitations should be considered. First, all the studies included were cross-sectional design. The possibility of a reverse causal relationship cannot be ruled out. Further studies with longitudinal data are warranted. Second, the results do not represent the general population since most of the studies recruited participants through a web-based survey, which may have had a selection bias. Lastly, some of the analysis showed a relatively high inter-study heterogeneity (range: I ² = 0.00-80.53%). The results of the statistical approaches to identify the cause of heterogeneity (i.e. influential analysis, Baujat plot, leave-one-out analysis, and GOSH analysis) were summarised in Supplementary Material 6 and 7.

Despite these limitations, this study exhibits a number of strengths; to the best of our knowledge, the study is the first meta-analysis to examine the relationship between use of social media and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, to validate the results by various verification methods such as trim-and-fill methods, influential analysis, and heterogeneity analysis. In addition, sensitivity analysis was also conducted with unbiased "high quality" studies through quality assessment.

The analysis demonstrates that excessive time spent on social media platform is associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms in the pandemic. While social media may be considered as an alternative channel for people to connect with their peers in the pandemic, the findings suggest that excessive use of social media can be detrimental for mental health. Further observation studies with longitudinal design to determine the true effect of social media platform are required.

Availability of data and materials

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

COVID-19:

Coronavirus disease 2019

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

PHQ-9:

Patient Health Questionnaire-9

PHQ-2:

Shortened version of PHQ

GHQ-28:

General Health Questionnaire-28

DASS-21:

Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales

WHO-5:

World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index

GAD-7:

Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7

GAD-2:

Shortened version of GAD

RoBANS:

Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Editage ( www.editage.co.kr) for English language editing.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2020R1C1C1003502), awarded to SJJ.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03722, South Korea

Youngrong Lee & Sun Jae Jung

2. Department of Public Health, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul, South Korea

Ye Jin Jeon, Sunghyuk Kang & Sun Jae Jung

3. Department of Psychiatry, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Sunghyuk Kang & Young-Chul Jung

4. Department of Paediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

Jae Il Shin

Contributions

Conceptualization: YRL, SJJ. Data curation: SJJ, JIS, YCJ, YRL. Formal analysis: YRL, SJJ. Funding acquisition: SJJ. Methodology: JIS, YCJ, YRL, SJJ. Project administration: SJJ. Visualization: YRL. Writing - original draft: YRL, YJJ, SHK, SJJ. Writing - review & editing: YRL, YJJ, SHK, JIS, YCJ, SJJ. The corresponding author attests that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted. The author(s) read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sun Jae Jung.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

No ethical approval and patient consent are required since this study data is based on published literature. This meta-analysis review was registered with PROSPERO ( https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, registration No CRD42021260223, 15 June 2021).

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Not applicable.

Competing interests

Not applicable.

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Lee, Y., Jeon, Y.J., Kang, S. et al. Social media use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults: a meta-analysis of 14 cross-sectional studies. BMC Public Health 22, 995 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13409-0
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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Social media use and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in young adults: a meta-analysis of 14 cross-sectional studies - BMC Public Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Background Public isolated due to the early quarantine regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) increasingly used more social media platforms. Contradictory claims regarding the effect of social media use on mental health needs to be resolved. The purpose of the study was to summarise the association between the time spent on social media platform during the COVID-19 quarantine and mental health outcomes (i.e., anxiety and depression).

# data[].attributes.headline
Social Media Use and Mental Health during the COVID‐19 Pandemic

# data[].attributes.subject
Social Media Use and Mental Health during the COVID‐19 Pandemic

# data[].attributes.body
Article

the study showed that a higher level of social media use was associated with worse mental health.

excessive exposure to disasters on social media may trigger negative effects with may in turn contribute to mental health problems.

Due to covid, people have heavily relied on media especially social media to maintain connectivity.

disaster media exposure may create bad mental health outcomes.

Indeed, Li et al. (2020) found that the general public reported even higher levels of vicarious traumatization than front‐line nurses fighting COVID‐19.

This deepened my understanding of my topic because this source is about a study directly about my topic. Being about covid and the increased use of social media. Overall proving the fact that the use of social media greatly increases the possibility of mental illness.

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INTRODUCTION

A newly emerging coronavirus, SARS‐CoV‐2 (previously known as 2019‐nCoV) which can cause coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), a severe respiratory illness like SARS and MERS, was first reported in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) initially declared the COVID‐19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and then characterised it as a pandemic. In response to the pandemic, rigorous policies to restrict public movement and large gatherings have been implemented in China, such as extending the Lunar New Year holiday, postponing the spring semester for universities, primary and middle schools and kindergartens ("China Extends Spring Festival Holiday", 2020). Due to the strict physical distancing measures, people are heavily reliant on media, especially social media (e.g. Weibo and WeChat), to learn the latest news about the pandemic and to maintain connectivity (Limaye et al., 2020).

Disaster Media Exposure and Mental Health

Despite the importance of media in spreading urgent information during times of collective trauma events, numerous studies have suggested that disaster media exposure may evoke poor mental health outcomes. For example, early 9/11‐ and Iraq War‐related television exposure was prospectively associated with increases in posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms (Silver et al., 2013). Following the Boston Marathon bombings, six or more daily hours of bombing‐related media exposure was associated with higher acute stress symptoms in individuals outside the directly affected community (Holman, Garfin, & Silver, 2014). Among adolescents who did not experience the Sichuan earthquake in 2008, those who were frequently exposed to distressing media images reported a higher risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 6 months later (Yeung et al., 2018). Although the negative impacts of disaster media exposure on a range of psychological outcomes have been demonstrated (see the review by Pfefferbaum et al., 2014), secondary traumatic stress (STS) was not adequately addressed (Ben‐Zur, Gil, & Shamshins, 2012; Blanchard et al., 2004). STS refers to PTSD‐like symptoms, such as arousal, avoidant behaviors, and intrusive imagery, as a consequence of being indirectly exposed to traumatic events (Branson, 2019; Ludick & Figley, 2017). Given that most people are not infected with SARS‐CoV‐2, it is critical to consider whether media exposure is associated with STS among the general population. Indeed, Li et al. ( 2020) found that the general public reported even higher levels of vicarious traumatisation than front‐line nurses fighting COVID‐19.

Compared with traditional media, social media has played a multitude of positive roles in information exchange during the COVID‐19 crisis, including disseminating health‐related recommendations, enabling connectivity and psychological first aid (Merchant & Lurie, 2020), showing public attitudes, experience, and perception of the disease as well as sentiment to the government (Zhu, Fu, Grépin, Liang, & Fung, 2020). On the other hand, social media has also fueled the rapid spread of misinformation and rumors, which can create a sense of panic and confusion among the public (Garfin, Silver, & Holman, 2020). However, there has been a dearth of studies focused specifically on social media exposure. Thus, it is still unknown whether and how using social media to access COVID‐19 is associated with mental health. In addition, it is necessary to examine the association in young adults, considering that they are more frequent users of social media (China Internet Network Information Center, 2013) and are prone to use social media sources to access disaster‐related messages (Piotrowski, 2015).

Theoretical Backdrop

The Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM; Valkenburg & Peter, 2013) is a well‐established integrative model that addresses relationships between media use and health outcomes. According to the DSMM, media usage can influence users' cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral outcomes. Certain individual or social variables moderate the direction or strength of media exposure effects. A group of variables such as current and prior traumatic stress, as well as prior health status, may serve as potential moderators (Houston, Spialek, & First, 2018). Indeed, the relationship between media exposure and worry about the Ebola pandemic was augmented in individuals who reported a higher level of stressful responses to a prior bomb attack (Thompson, Garfin, Holman, & Silver, 2017). In another study, respondents who had previous mental health diagnoses were sensitised to media coverage of disaster events and reported more distress (Thompson, Jones, Holman, & Silver, 2019). To date, however, the conditional effects, such as the moderating role of COVID‐19 stress between social media use and mental health, have not been examined in the current pandemic.

Three response states (i.e. cognitive, emotional, and excitative states) have been proposed as mediator mechanisms between media use and health outcomes in the DSMM. Only two studies explicitly examined the mediating process, with acute stress and fear as mediators, respectively (Holman, Garfin, Lubens, & Silver, 2019; Silver et al., 2013). Using longitudinal designs, Silver et al. ( 2013) concluded that acute stress did not mediate the association between media exposure and physical health, whereas Holman et al. ( 2019) found that fear of future terrorism significantly mediated the association between media usage and functional impairment. Although underexplored, there has been some evidence suggesting that negative affect might mediate the disaster media effects. For example, watching television news after the 9/11 terrorist attack was related to a range of negative emotions, such as fear, anger, and frustration (Cho et al., 2003). Negative affect, in turn, was often a predisposition to mood disorders (e.g. depression; Mor et al., 2010) and anxiety‐related disorders (e.g. PTSD; Weems et al., 2007) in the context of disaster.

The Present Study

The present study aims to investigate whether and how social media exposure to COVID‐19 was associated with various mental health outcomes in a sample of Chinese college students. The relationships among social media use, the COVID‐19 stressor, negative affect, and mental health, such as STS, depression, and anxiety, were examined. Drawing on the logic of the DSMM and empirical findings on traditional media use, we formulated the following hypotheses:

Hypothesis 1

The more time participants spend on social media accessing content related to COVID‐19, the more STS, depression, and anxiety they experience, after controlling for both traditional and internet media usage.

Hypothesis 2

More COVID‐19 stressors are associated with greater STS, depression, and anxiety, after controlling for key covariates (e.g. prior collective trauma exposure, health history).

Hypothesis 3

The COVID‐19 stressor moderates the relationship between social media use and mental health. Participants with a higher level of COVID‐19 stressor report more mental health problems with cumulative daily use of social media, while the association of social media exposure and mental health is attenuated among those with a lower level of COVID‐19 stressor.

Hypothesis 4

Negative affect mediates the relationship between social media use and mental health. Specifically, social media use positively correlates with negative affect, which in turn, is positively associated with STS, depression, and anxiety.

METHOD

Procedure and Participants

The present study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Peking University. To reach college students, the first author posted a recruitment message containing an introduction to the study on a popular social media network in China. During the data collection period, from 24 March to 1 April 2020, the recruitment advertisement was shared and reposted hundreds of times. Viewers who were interested in the study could scan a quick response code directing them to a consent form. Once giving his or herconsents, the potential participant was invited to fill in an online survey via www.sojump.com. It takes about 10 minutes to complete the survey.

There were 705 university students who completed the questionnaire. Following the suggestions of Curran ( 2016), the study adopted various data screening methods to ensure the quality of online data, including response time restriction (ranged from 300s to 2000s, excluded 62 participants), one bogus item (i.e. "I've never used a mobile phone in my life", excluded 67 participants), two instructed items (e.g. "Please indicate option [agree] for this question", excluded 60 participants), and self‐report diligence at the end of the survey (i.e. "In your honest opinion, should we use your data in our analyses?", excluded four participants). The final sample comprised 512 Chinese college students (62.5% women; M age = 22.12 years, range = 18-30 years; for details see Table ).

TABLE 1

Measures

COVID‐19 related media use, risk factors (i.e. the COVID‐19 stressor, prior collective trauma exposure, and health history), and psychological outcomes (i.e. negative affect, STS, depression and anxiety) were assessed as well as demographics.

Social Media Use

Social media use was adapted from the assessment tool developed by Lin et al. ( 2016). Participants were required to recall the average number of total hours per day they had spent on social media usage during the period of severe epidemic (20 January-17 February 2020, characterised by a sharp increase in accumulated confirmed cases from 258 to 70,635). Specifically, they were asked to estimate the time spent accessing COVID‐19‐related information through seven widely used social media platforms (i.e. Weibo, Wechat, QQ, Zhihu, Douban, Douyin, and Kuaishou) in China. Responses could range from 0 to 12 hours for each platform. Social media use was computed by summing up the total daily hours, with higher hours indicating more social media use.

COVID‐19 Stressor

Adapted from the measurement of SARS‐related stressors (Main et al., 2011), a checklist tool with 10 items was used to assess COVID‐19 stressors. Participants were asked whether they experienced the lockdown of Wuhan, confirmed or suspected infection, experienced the death of loved ones, witnessed people dying from the infection, worked with infectious patients, volunteered in epidemic prevention and control, and lacked necessities, such as food, face masks, disinfectants, and medical care. Responses were "yes" (coded as 1) or "no" (coded as 0) to each item. The scores of all items were summed to reflect indexes of disaster stressor during the pandemic. The scores ranged from 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a higher level of disaster stressor.

Negative Affect

The 10‐item self‐reported Negative Affect (NA) scale of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) was used to measure participants' negative mood in the past two weeks (e.g. "Hostile", "Afraid") with 5‐point Likert‐type graded responses (1 = not at all, 5 = very strongly). Total scores were calculated for analyses, with higher scores indicating more negative affect experienced (Cronbach's α = .91).

Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS)

STS was measured using the 17‐item Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale for Social Media Users (STSS‐SM), which was originally developed by Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, and Figley ( 2004) and further adapted by Megan ( 2019) in a sample of social media users. The scale assessed participants' traumatic symptoms such as avoidance, intrusion, and arousal through their experiences on social media with traumatised individuals or traumatic events, using 5‐point Likert‐type scales (1 = never and 5 = very often). For example, "Reminders of things I've seen on social media upset me". Total scores were calculated to indicate STS level (Cronbach's α = .93).

Depression

The nine‐item Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ‐9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001) was used to measure depressive symptoms in 4‐point Likert‐type graded responses (1 = not at all and 4 = nearly every day). For example, "Little interest or pleasure in doing things". Total scores were calculated to indicate the level of depression (Cronbach's α = .89).

Anxiety

The seven‐item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD‐7; Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, & Löwe, 2006) was used to assess anxiety symptoms in 4‐point Likert‐type graded responses (1 = not at all, 4 = nearly every day). For example, "Not being able to stop or control worrying". Total scores were calculated to indicate the level of anxiety (Cronbach's α = .91).

Covariates

Traditional and online media use measured the time spent accessing COVID‐19‐related information through three types of traditional media (i.e. television, radio, newspapers) and online media such as Jinri Toutiao (today's headlines). Prior collective trauma exposure evaluated (a) whether participants or their close others were seriously injured, (b) whether participants witnessed others dying in the 2003 SARS epidemic or the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. Participants who gave at least one "yes" response were coded as 1, otherwise coded as 0. Health history was assessed with two items inquiring whether participants had a cold during the COVID‐19 pandemic or had a history of mental disorder. Participants who answered at least one "yes" response were coded as 1, otherwise coded as 0. Demographics including age, gender, ethnicity, education attainment, and average monthly household income were assessed.

Statistical Analysis

First, social media use, traditional media use, and online media use were transformed with the square‐root for normality. Descriptive statistics and partial correlations of study variables were calculated while controlling for demographics. Given significant correlations of prior collective trauma exposure, health history, traditional and online media use with mental health, those variables were regarded as covariates in the following analyses. Harman's one‐factor test (Podsakoff & Organ, 1986) was used to detect the possibility of common method bias (CMB). All variables of interest were entered into an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the cumulative variance explained by the first unrotated factor was less than 50 percent (i.e. 31.9%), indicating no serious CMB.

Second, to examine the moderating role of the disaster stressor in the relationship of social media use and mental health, mental health outcomes (i.e. STS, depression, and anxiety) were regressed on social media use, the COVID‐19 stressor, and their interaction. Finally, to test the mediating role of negative affect, a path analysis was conducted with social media use, the COVID‐19 stressor and the interaction term as predictors, negative affect as the mediator, and mental health as outcomes.

Data analyses were performed in SPSS 25 and Mplus 7.4. Multiple model fit criteria were used with RMSEA values lower than 0.08, CFI and TLI values close to 0.90 or higher indicating acceptability (Muthén & Muthén, 2012). Standardised, unstandardised, and 95% confidence intervals of path coefficients were estimated with 5,000 bootstraps.

RESULTS

Preliminary Analyses

Table displays descriptive statistics and correlations among the study variables. The skewness and kurtosis of all variables were between −2 and +2, which demonstrated acceptable univariate normality (Mallery & George, 2003). Among the hypothetical risk factors, the COVID‐19 stressor was positively related to negative affect ( r = 0.12), STS ( r = 0.25), depression ( r = 0.19), and anxiety ( r = 0.20). Health history correlated positively with negative affect ( r = 0.16), STS ( r = 0.21), and anxiety ( r = 0.10), while prior trauma had no significant correlation with mental health. Among COVID‐19‐related media use, social media use was positively related to negative affect ( r = 0.12), STS ( r = 0.14), depression ( r = 0.10), and anxiety ( r = 0.10). Online media use positively correlated with STS ( r = 0.10), while traditional media use had no significant correlations with psychological outcomes.

TABLE 2

Regression Analyses

Multiple linear regression results showed that associations of social media use with STS (β = 0.18, p < .001), depression (β = 0.11, p = .019), and anxiety (β = 0.12, p = .014) were significant, suggesting that participants who spent more time on social media reported more mental health problems. The results confirmed Hypothesis 1. Supporting Hypothesis 2, the associations of the COVID‐19 stressor and STS (β = 0.20, p < .001), depression (β = 0.18, p < .001), and anxiety (β = 0.18, p < .001) were also significant, such that more exposure to COVID‐19 was associated with more mental health problems.

More importantly, the interaction of social media use and the COVID‐19 stressor was significantly associated with depression (β = 0.09, p = .043). However, the associations between the interaction and STS (β = 0.06, p = .139) and anxiety (β = 0.06, p = .166) were not significant. Simple slope analysis was conducted to probe the significant interaction (Aiken & West, 1991). As Figure illustrates, at a high level of the COVID‐19 stressor (1 SD above the mean), participants with a greater amount of social media use reported a significantly higher level of depression ( b = 1.05, SE = 0.35, 95% CI [0.36, 1.74]; p = .003). By contrast, at a low level of COVID‐19 stressor (1 SD below the mean), social media use was unrelated to depression ( b = 0.15, SE = 0.33, 95% CI [−0.48, 0.79]; p = .635). These results partially confirmed Hypothesis 3.

Path Analyses

To further test the mediating role of negative affect between social media use and mental health (i.e. Hypothesis 4), a path analysis was conducted (see Figure ), which provided an acceptable fit to the data (CFI = 0.991; TFI = 0.922; RMSEA = 0.077, 90% CI [0.041, 0.118]; χ ²(4) = 16.242). Table displays direct, indirect, and total effects. In general, the model confirmed Hypothesis 4 indicating that social media use was indirectly associated with higher levels of STS ( b = 0.98, 95% CI [0.32, 1.64]), depression ( b = 0.42, 95% CI [0.13, 0.70]), and anxiety ( b = 0.41, 95% CI [0.13, 0.68]) through negative affect. Moreover, the model confirmed the results that the joint influence of social media use and the COVID‐19 stressor on depression was significant.

TABLE 3

DISCUSSION

The mental health status of the public following the outbreak of COVID‐19 is a major issue of concern (Bao, Sun, Meng, Shi, & Lu, 2020). Excessive social media exposure to this public health crisis might lead to heightened acute stress and long‐term psychological distress (Garfin et al., 2020). Our main goal in the present study was to examine the relationships between social media exposure and psychological outcomes during the pandemic. Moreover, we aimed to examine the hypothesised moderator (i.e. the COVID‐19 stressor) and mediator (i.e. negative affect) based on the DSMM theory.

Unique Role of Social Media Use in Mental Health

Results showed that disaster‐related social media consumption was significantly associated with negative mental health (i.e. STS, depression, and anxiety). The relationship of media exposure and mental health has been evidenced during collective trauma events, such as Ebola (Thompson et al., 2017), the Sichuan earthquake (Yeung et al., 2018), and several terrorist attacks (Holman et al., 2014; Silver et al., 2013; Thompson et al., 2019). More importantly, this study has complemented the existing literature by differentiating media types (i.e. traditional, online vs. social media). Interestingly, our findings suggest that social media use particularly contributed to STS, depression, and anxiety while other media usages were unrelated to mental health. This pattern is in line with previous findings indicating that frequently social media usage was positively associated with the high odds of anxiety, depression (Gao et al., 2020), and PTS (Goodwin, Palgi, Hamama‐Raz, & Ben‐Ezra, 2013).

The unique role of social media use in mental health might be explained from the characteristics of social media. During the pandemic, social media has become one of the most important channels to disseminate information with an absolute superiority in speed, reach, and penetration (Merchant & Lurie, 2020). Compared with their use of traditional media, young adults are more likely to use social media sources to attend to disaster‐related coverage (Jones, Garfin, Holman, & Silver, 2016). Massive information on social media with various forms (e.g. text, picture, video and live streaming) enables people to stay informed on the latest policies and recommendations regarding COVID‐19 prevention, and also to get connected with those who have been directly exposed to the disaster (e.g. infected patients, front‐line medical staff; Garfin et al., 2020). Meanwhile, social media has been used to create and share information with personal interpretations, which may lead to the transmission of rumors, conspiracies, or misinformation (Wang, McKee, Torbica, & Stuckler, 2019). Taken together, the indispensability and complexity of social media might amplify the negative psychological consequences of disaster exposure while at the same time covering the effects of traditional media.

Moderator Role of the COVID‐19 Stressor

In addition to media exposure, disaster‐related stressors have also been considered one of the key predictors of mental health (Paul et al., 2014). The COVID‐19 stressor was operationalised as a common stressor that people experienced amid the pandemic in the current study. A higher level of disaster stressor was associated with worse mental health outcomes. The result is consistent with prior studies indicating that individuals who experienced more disaster‐related stressors were at higher risk of DSM‐IV anxiety‐mood disorders (Galea et al., 2007). In addition, social media use was positively related to depression only at a high (but not low) level of the COVID‐19 stressor. It suggests that people who experienced a higher level of the stressor had greater vulnerability to depression. It should be noted, however, that the contribution of the interaction term is relatively small.

Individuals who suffered from collective trauma experienced higher levels of physiological arousal and fear, many of whom continued to worry about themselves and their families (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999). It is likely that excessive exposure to social media coverage maintained their heightened reactivity to traumatic events which may in turn, predispose them to develop post‐disaster stress. However, it is somewhat surprising that the interaction of social media use and the COVID‐19 stressor was only significantly associated with depression, but not STS or anxiety. A possible explanation might be that people who experienced the COVID‐19 stressor are faced with real problems such as lacking necessities and experiencing bereavement. Being immersed in social media may not solve the problems but reinforce their feelings of sadness and helplessness. In this sense, depression might be a more common manifestation of distress than other psychological symptoms.

Mediating Role of Negative Affect

Another main finding is that negative affect mediated the relationship between social media use and mental health (i.e. STS, depression, and anxiety). This finding is not only consistent with the theoretical mechanistic pathways proposed by the DSMM (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013), but is also in line with prior research indicating fear as a mediator from exposure to bloody images of a bombing event to future functioning impairment (Holman et al., 2019). It suggests that negative emotional states explain the relationship between exposure to COVID‐19 information on social media and negative mental health outcomes.

Exposure to disaster content on social media may be associated with mental health through differential plausible avenues. As stated by Bayer and his colleagues (Bayer, Triệu, & Ellison, 2020), one of the elements of social media is stream (or feeds), which is the aggregated flows of content seen on home pages of social media platforms (e.g. "Hot search" on Weibo; "Moments" on WeChat). The stream can help users gain knowledge of heated issues as well as others' activities, thoughts, and stories. In the pandemic context, people have a strong desire to comprehend the consequences of the disaster and stream appears to fulfill this desire by leading users to authentic and personal information (e.g. short videos, blogs documenting COVID‐19) shared by those directly exposed to COVID‐19. This could open doors for emotion contagion because viewers may observe and perceive negative emotions expressed through social media (Kramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014). For example, respondents with social media exposure described negative emotions such as sadness, grief, compassion, shock, and numbness in a disaster situation (Neubaum, Rösner, Rosenthal‐von der Pütten, & Krämer, 2014). Such empathic responses combined with prolonged exposure to suffering may contribute to the onset of STS (Ludick & Figley, 2017). It is also possible that repeated exposure to heartbreaking news with respect to COVID‐19 puts people at risk of depression due to a process of grief rumination (Lenferink, Eisma, de Keijser, & Boelen, 2017). Unlike traditional media on which information is strictly regulated to ensure credibility, social media provides a public space where users can communicate unfiltered information, thus giving rise to rumors (Jones, Thompson, Dunkel Schetter, & Silver, 2017). Coronavirus rumors on social media can greatly exacerbate negative emotions (e.g. panic, fear, and distress), which may in turn induce anxiety symptoms (Dong & Zheng, 2020).

Possible Alternative Explanations for the Findings

Since the findings are largely based on cross‐sectional data, the directionality of the associations among social media use, negative affect, and mental health is still not clear. It is possible that individuals living with mental health conditions tend to consume more COVID‐19‐related information on social media. For example, individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) did spend more daily hours using the computer compared to healthy controls (de Wit, van Straten, Lamers, Cuijpers, & Penninx, 2011), which may put them at increased risk of news coverage of collective trauma. Another study found that stress responses to past traumatic events predicted increased consumption of media following later collective tragedies (Thompson et al., 2019). Such specific media usage patterns may lead to subsequent post‐disaster distress over time, thereby fueling a vicious cycle. This process also corresponds with what the DSMM proposed as transactional effects that media exposure and health outcomes operate in a feedback loop.

Another possible explanation arises from uncertainty management theory which states that seeking disaster‐related information from media is a way of mitigating uncertainty (Lachlan, Spence, & Seeger, 2009). In the case of the September 11 attack, for example, those who experienced a range of negative emotions such as anger, grief, and powerlessness were motivated to learn about the disaster (Boyle et al., 2004). In the context of COVID‐19, people tend to perceive the coronavirus as threatening and present feelings of fear and worry. Consequently, these negative emotions may lead to increased use of social media to seek assurance, but may further heighten the risk for mental health disorders.

Implications

Regardless of the direction of association between social media use and mental health, our findings have important implications. From a theoretical perspective, our findings have enriched the DSMM model by identifying negative affect as one mediator as well as the COVID‐19 stressor as one moderator. The emotional pathway from social media use to mental health highlights the importance of managing negative emotions such as fear, anger, and sadness when using social media to access information. It is also worth noticing that people experiencing a higher level of the COVID‐19 stressor exhibited vulnerability to depression. Together with other dispositional factors such as prior collective trauma and pre‐existing mental health conditions, disaster‐related stressors serve as a significant moderator of the disaster media effect. Our findings also shed light on strategies of trauma prevention and intervention. It is critical for policymakers, public health agencies, parents, psychologists, and healthcare staff to remain sensitive to the potential negative consequences of ubiquitous social media exposure. The general public, especially those who have been directly or indirectly traumatised by COVID‐19, could be advised to avoid excessive social media use and learn effective emotion regulation strategies (e.g. reappraisal) to reduce negative emotions induced by news coverage.

Limitations

There are several limitations to the current study. Participants were fully recruited via social media and those who did not use any type of social media may not be included in the study, posing a potential threat to representativeness of the sample. Time on social media to access COVID‐19 information in a specified period was recalled, which was prone to recall bias. To increase memory accuracy, a brief timeline with major events was provided to remind participants of the time period. We used self‐report measures of social media use, which could be improved by ongoing media diaries or objective data accessed from media platforms. Face‐to‐face clinical interviews rather than self‐report measures of psychological symptoms could also be an alternative.

The time lag between the measurement of social media use and negative affect is not short enough to assess the immediate responses to disaster messages, given that emotional response was characterised as a state‐like variable in the DSMM (Valkenburg & Peter, 2013). It may be valuable for future studies to use intensive longitudinal measures (e.g. daily diaries or experience sampling) to capture the concurrent variations of emotions and social media use patterns on a daily level (Choi & Toma, 2014; Stieger & Lewetz, 2018). Furthermore, the current study measured negative affect as a general emotional state, making the concept excessively overlap with mental health outcomes (i.e. depression, anxiety, and STS). Future studies are encouraged to measure specific emotional responses to COVID‐19, such as fear (Ahorsu et al., 2020), grief (Kristensen, Dyregrov, Dyregrov, & Heir, 2016), and anger (Park, Aldwin, Fenster, & Snyder, 2008).

The current study only tested the potential mediating role of emotional states. Other mediators of disaster media effects, such as cognitive appraisal or excitative responses (Houston et al., 2018), likely exist and should be explored in future research. The study only measured frequency of social media consumption, and did not attempt to disaggregate for media content (e.g. positive vs. negative information; texts, graphics, or videos) and user types (e.g. active vs. passive use). To further investigate how media exposure influences mental health, more detailed assessments on social media use are needed (Hall et al., 2019; Neubaum et al., 2014). Although we have controlled for several potential confounds (i.e. prior collective trauma exposure, mental health, and demographics), it is still possible that other unmeasured, individual characteristics (e.g. neuroticism, specific mental health diagnoses) might exist and explain the observed associations. Lastly, it should be acknowledged that the cross‐sectional design limits causal inferences, although a theoretical case for the direction of causality can be made based on previous literature. Longitudinal studies with large time lags are imperative to clarify the psychological processes that may be affected by social media exposure as well as to track mental health symptoms over time following COVID‐19.

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Social Media Use and Mental Health during the COVID‐19 Pandemic: Moderator Role of Disaster Stressor and Mediator Role of Negative Affect

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A newly emerging coronavirus, SARS‐CoV‐2 (previously known as 2019‐nCoV) which can cause coronavirus disease (COVID‐19), a severe respiratory illness like SARS and MERS, was first reported in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) initially declared the COVID‐19 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and then characterised it as a pandemic.