A meta-analysis of the problematic social media use and mental health

Although previous meta-analyses were conducted to quantitatively synthesize the relation between problematic social media (SM) use and mental health, they focused on Facebook addiction.

The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine this relation by extending the research scope via the inclusion of studies examining problematic use of all platforms.

One hundred and thirty-three independent samples (N =244,676) were identified.

As expected, the mean correlations between problematic SM use and well-being are negative, while those between problematic SM use and distress are positive. Life satisfaction and self-esteem are commonly used to represent well-being, while depression and loneliness are usually used to indicate distress. The mean correlations of problematic SM use with life satisfaction and self-esteem are small, whereas those of problematic SM use with depression and loneliness are moderate. The moderating effects of publication status, instruments, platforms and mean age are not significant.

The magnitude of the correlations between problematic SM use and mental health indicators can generalize across most moderator conditions.