Social media use and its impact on adult's mental health and well-being: A scoping review

Ghee Kian Koh; Jenna Qing Yun Ow Yong; Ainsley Ryan Yan Bin Lee; Bernard Soon Yang Ong; Chun En Yau; Cyrus Su Hui Ho; Yong Shian Goh

doi:10.1111/wvn.12727

Social media use and its impact on adult's mental health and well-being: A scoping review

Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2024 May 12. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12727. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Ghee Kian Koh¹, Jenna Qing Yun Ow Yong¹, Ainsley Ryan Yan Bin Lee², Bernard Soon Yang Ong², Chun En Yau², Cyrus Su Hui Ho³, Yong Shian Goh¹

Affiliations

¹ Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.
² Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.
³ Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore City, Singapore.

PMID: 38736207
DOI: 10.1111/wvn.12727

Abstract

Background: Social media use has grown in importance and prevalence, with its estimated number of users at 4.9 billion worldwide. Social media use research has revealed positive and negative impacts on users' mental health and well-being. However, such impacts among adults have not been examined in any reviews.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted based on the framework by Arksey and O'Malley and reported based on the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Eight databases were searched from 2005 to December 2021. Articles were included after being reviewed by three independent teams, with discrepancies resolved through consensus with the senior author. Publication-related information (i.e., authors, year of publication, aims, study population, methodology, interventions, comparisons, outcome measures and key findings) were extracted from each study. Thematic analysis was conducted to answer the research questions.

Results: Among the 114 eligible articles, young adults (69.6%) represented the main age group. Most studies (78.6%) focused on the negative impacts of social media use on mental health and well-being, with nearly a third (32.1%) assessing such impacts on depression. Notably, this scoping review found that more than three-quarters (78.6%) of the included studies revealed that excessive and passive social media use would increase depression, anxiety, mood, and loneliness. Nevertheless, a third (33.0%) also reported positive impacts, where positive and purposeful use of social media would contribute to improvements in mental health and well-being, such as increased perceived social support and enjoyment.

Linking evidence to action: This review has provided an overview of the existing knowledge on how social media use would affect adults and identified areas of research that merit investigations in future studies. More attention should be given to maximizing the positive impacts of social media use on mental health and well-being among adults.

Keywords: addiction; adult; anxiety; depression; life satisfaction; mental health; mental well‐being; scoping review; social media; social networking services.

Publication types

Review