A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents

While becoming inextricable to our daily lives, online social media are blamed for increasing mental health problems in younger people. This systematic review synthesized evidence on the influence of social media use on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. A search of PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, CINAHL and SSCI databases reaped 13 eligible studies, of which 12 were cross-sectional. Findings were classified into four domains of social media: time spent, activity, investment and addiction. All domains correlated with depression, anxiety and psychological distress. However, there are considerable caveats due to methodological limitations of cross-sectional design, sampling and measures. Mechanisms of the putative effects of social media on mental health should be explored further through qualitative enquiry and longitudinal cohort studies

The beauty and the beast of social media: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the impact of adolescents' social media experiences on their mental health during the Covid‑19 pandemic

Despite extensive research, the mental health implication of social media in adolescents is not yet understood due to mixed  and inconsistent fndings and more in-depth qualitative studies are needed to expand our understanding of the impact of  social media on adolescent mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to explore why and  how adolescents use social media, adolescents’ lived experiences on social media, how they make sense of these experiences  having impact on their mental health, and the infuence of the Covid-19 pandemic on their use of social media and mental  health. In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven adolescents aged 14–16 (fve female, six male) across England. The  interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two  key themes were identifed: the beauty of social media that captured positive experiences and emotions of adolescents and  the beast of social media that captured negative experiences and emotions. From the adolescents’ accounts, social media has  both positive and negative impacts on their mental health, but mostly positive impacts during the Covid-19 pandemic. The  results were discussed in relation to the study aims and previous study fndings. Strengths and methodological limitations  of the study, implications for future research that emerged from the study were discussed </p

A study protocol: the role of relational orientation in the relationship between social media use and mental health in adolescents

There is a complex relationship between social media use and mental health outcomes. To explore this complexity and understand how social media influence adolescent mental health, a two-phase, explanatory sequential mixed-method study will be conducted. Firstly, the quantitative phase will involve surveying a healthy sample of 400 adolescents attending secondary schools in the UK (n=200) and Turkey (n=200). We will use the survey to investigate the moderating effect of relational orientation in a cross-sectional study, in which participants will be selected from secondary schools in England or the United Kingdom and in Turkey. Secondly, the qualitative phase will involve interviewing a mixed sample of 12 clinical and non-clinical adolescents in England or the UK. In these interviews we will explore key quantitative findings in more detail, for example, how and why adolescents use social media, and the role of social media in the development and maintenance of mental health well-being. The strengths and limitations of the study proposal have been discussed