Social media use, mental health and sleep: A systematic review with meta-analyses
Ahmed O, Walsh EI, Dawel A, Alateeq K, Espinoza Oyarce DA, Cherbuin N
Journal of affective disorders · 71 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Meta-analysis (indexed by PubMed)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- Health markers and function
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- University or hospital
- Australian National University
Based on 1 listed funder(s).
Publication
- Published
- 2024-09-04 · J Affect Disord · vol. 367 · pp. 701–712
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Cited
- 170 citations · more than 100% of similar papers · 21.1× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 90 works
- Access
- Open access (hybrid journal) · CC-BY-NC
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Mental Health via Writing
- Keywords
- social media use, social media addiction, mental health, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, well-being, youth, adolescents, moderators
- MeSH
- humans, depression, anxiety, mental health, sleep, adolescent, adult, female, male, young adult, social media, sleep wake disorders
6 authors
From AU, SA
- Oli AhmedAustralian National University
- Erin WalshAustralian National University
- Amy DawelAustralian National University
- Khawlah AlateeqAustralian National University; King Saud University
- Daniela Andrea Espinoza OyarceAustralian National University
- Nicolas CherbuinAustralian National University
Abstract
Background
The literature investigating the relationship between social media use, mental health, and sleep has produced inconsistent findings. Younger people spend more time on social media than other age groups, and are more likely to be impacted by social media use. This systematic review with meta-analysis aimed to synthesise the evidence on the associations between social media use, mental health, and sleep of young individuals.
Methods
Electronic databases PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO were searched using an established methodology and pre-determined search terms for studies that reported the association between social media use, mental health, and sleep.
Results
The search yielded 6108 articles, of which 182 (n = 1,169,396) were eligible for the systematic review, and 98 (n = 102,683) could be included in the meta-analyses. The systematic review identified a high level of heterogeneity in the study results. Meta-analyses found small but significant positive associations between social media use, depression, and anxiety. In addition, problematic social media use was positively associated with depression, anxiety, and sleep problems, and negatively associated with wellbeing. Geographical location, anxiety measure type, study design, age, and gender were identified as potential moderators.
Limitations
Associations for specific social media platforms as well as some moderator effects were not examined due to an insufficient number of studies.
Conclusions
This study provides important evidence of an association between social media use/ problematic social media use, mental health, and sleep. The findings support future longitudinal research to identify the directions and underlying mechanisms of the inter-relationship between these variables.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY-NC).
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