The Impact of Social Media on Adolescents' Eating and Sleeping Habits: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background/Objectives: Social media has become a key activity in adolescents' lives, with potential implications for their health and well-being. Because of this, the objective was to examine the influence of social media on the eating behavior and sleep quality of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Methods: The PubMed, Scopus, Proquest, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were reviewed following the PRISMA protocol. The inclusion criteria for the studies were as follows: a sample of adolescents aged 13 to 18 years without a baseline clinical diagnosis and research objectives related to social media and its influence on eating behavior or sleep quality. A total of 24 articles were included at the end of the search. Due to heterogeneity in measurement formats, a single pooled analysis was not feasible. Instead, two partial random-effects meta-analyses of continuous outcomes were performed (sleep and eating behaviours). Results: Qualitative synthesis revealed consistent associations between problematic social media use, poor sleep quality, and disordered eating. The meta-analyses showed a small-to-moderate and statistically significant association on sleep quality (r = 0.36) while the pooled estimate for eating behaviours was imprecise and not significant (r = 0.35), reflecting the very limited number of eligible studies. Conclusions: Excessive social media use is associated with poorer sleep and eating outcomes among adolescents. These findings highlight the need for educational and preventive strategies promoting healthy digital habits and psychological well-being. This systematic review elucidates the implications of social media use for health promotion at this development stage.