the impact of social media on mental health research proposal

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• Published: 06 July 2023

Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health

• Ágnes Zsila 1 , 2 &
• Marc Eric S. Reyes   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5280-1315 3  

BMC Psychology volume  11 , Article number:  201 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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The use of social media significantly impacts mental health. It can enhance connection, increase self-esteem, and improve a sense of belonging. But it can also lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and isolation. Mindful use is essential to social media consumption.

Social media has become integral to our daily routines: we interact with family members and friends, accept invitations to public events, and join online communities to meet people who share similar preferences using these platforms. Social media has opened a new avenue for social experiences since the early 2000s, extending the possibilities for communication. According to recent research [ 1 ], people spend 2.3 h daily on social media. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat have become increasingly popular among youth in 2022, and one-third think they spend too much time on these platforms [ 2 ]. The considerable time people spend on social media worldwide has directed researchers’ attention toward the potential benefits and risks. Research shows excessive use is mainly associated with lower psychological well-being [ 3 ]. However, findings also suggest that the quality rather than the quantity of social media use can determine whether the experience will enhance or deteriorate the user’s mental health [ 4 ]. In this collection, we will explore the impact of social media use on mental health by providing comprehensive research perspectives on positive and negative effects.

Social media can provide opportunities to enhance the mental health of users by facilitating social connections and peer support [ 5 ]. Indeed, online communities can provide a space for discussions regarding health conditions, adverse life events, or everyday challenges, which may decrease the sense of stigmatization and increase belongingness and perceived emotional support. Mutual friendships, rewarding social interactions, and humor on social media also reduced stress during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 4 ].

On the other hand, several studies have pointed out the potentially detrimental effects of social media use on mental health. Concerns have been raised that social media may lead to body image dissatisfaction [ 6 ], increase the risk of addiction and cyberbullying involvement [ 5 ], contribute to phubbing behaviors [ 7 ], and negatively affects mood [ 8 ]. Excessive use has increased loneliness, fear of missing out, and decreased subjective well-being and life satisfaction [ 8 ]. Users at risk of social media addiction often report depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem [ 9 ].

Overall, findings regarding the impact of social media on mental health pointed out some essential resources for psychological well-being through rewarding online social interactions. However, there is a need to raise awareness about the possible risks associated with excessive use, which can negatively affect mental health and everyday functioning [ 9 ]. There is neither a negative nor positive consensus regarding the effects of social media on people. However, by teaching people social media literacy, we can maximize their chances of having balanced, safe, and meaningful experiences on these platforms [ 10 ].

We encourage researchers to submit their research articles and contribute to a more differentiated overview of the impact of social media on mental health. BMC Psychology welcomes submissions to its new collection, which promises to present the latest findings in the emerging field of social media research. We seek research papers using qualitative and quantitative methods, focusing on social media users’ positive and negative aspects. We believe this collection will provide a more comprehensive picture of social media’s positive and negative effects on users’ mental health.

Data Availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgements

Ágnes Zsila was supported by the ÚNKP-22-4 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.

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Institute of Psychology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary

Ágnes Zsila

Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary

Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, 1008, Philippines

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AZ conceived and drafted the Editorial. MESR wrote the abstract and revised the Editorial. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marc Eric S. Reyes .

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Zsila, Á., Reyes, M.E.S. Pros & cons: impacts of social media on mental health. BMC Psychol 11 , 201 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01243-x

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Social Media and Mental Health: Benefits, Risks, and Opportunities for Research and Practice

Affiliations.

• 1 Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
• 2 CareNX Innovations, Mumbai, India.
• 3 Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA.
• 4 Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH.
• PMID: 33415185
• PMCID: PMC7785056
• DOI: 10.1007/s41347-020-00134-x

Social media platforms are popular venues for sharing personal experiences, seeking information, and offering peer-to-peer support among individuals living with mental illness. With significant shortfalls in the availability, quality, and reach of evidence-based mental health services across the United States and globally, social media platforms may afford new opportunities to bridge this gap. However, caution is warranted, as numerous studies highlight risks of social media use for mental health. In this commentary, we consider the role of social media as a potentially viable intervention platform for offering support to persons with mental disorders, promoting engagement and retention in care, and enhancing existing mental health services. Specifically, we summarize current research on the use of social media among mental health service users, and early efforts using social media for the delivery of evidence-based programs. We also review the risks, potential harms, and necessary safety precautions with using social media for mental health. To conclude, we explore opportunities using data science and machine learning, for example by leveraging social media for detecting mental disorders and developing predictive models aimed at characterizing the aetiology and progression of mental disorders. These various efforts using social media, as summarized in this commentary, hold promise for improving the lives of individuals living with mental disorders.

Keywords: digital health; mHealth; mental health; psychiatry; safety; social media.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors have nothing to disclose.

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Impact of social media use on mental health within adolescent and student populations during covid-19 pandemic: review.

1. Introduction

2. materials and methods, 2.1. design, 2.2. search strategy, 2.3. study inclusion and exclusion criteria, 2.4. data collection process and extraction, 2.5. assessment of risk of bias, 2.6. data synthesis, 3.1. search results, 3.2. methodological characteristics of the studies, 3.3. objectives and outcomes of included studies, 3.4. risk of bias, 4. discussion, 4.1. principal findings, 4.2. limitations, 5. conclusions, supplementary materials, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

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Draženović, M.; Vukušić Rukavina, T.; Machala Poplašen, L. Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023 , 20 , 3392. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043392

Draženović M, Vukušić Rukavina T, Machala Poplašen L. Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . 2023; 20(4):3392. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043392

Draženović, Marija, Tea Vukušić Rukavina, and Lovela Machala Poplašen. 2023. "Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 4: 3392. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043392

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How Social Media Affects Mental Health (And How To Cut Back)

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Table of Contents

Social media and mental health, why social media can feel addictive, how to cut back on social media.

Editor’s Note: In “Hey, Health Coach,” Sarah Hays Coomer answers reader questions about the intersection of health and overall well-being. Have a question? Send her a message (and don’t forget to use a sleuthy pseudonym!).

Hey, Health Coach,

I live alone, and most nights, when I’m done with work, I end up in bed, scrolling through social media for hours. By the time I go to sleep, I’m exhausted and irritated, but then I do the same thing again the next night. I don’t know why because it’s clearly bad for me. How is social media affecting my mental health, and how can I cut back?

— Stuck on Social

Dear Stuck on Social,

Social media is ubiquitous, and escaping the cycle of nightly scrolling can be tough at the end of a tiring day, especially when your social and professional circles are perpetually online.

As of April 2023, the average person with access to the internet spends 6 hours and 35 minutes online and almost two and a half hours on social media each day, according to consumer data company GWI. [1] Digital 2023 April Global Statshot Report . Datareportal. April 27, 2023. Accessed May 27, 2024. That’s about 38 days per year spent on social media.

When it comes to the specific breakdown of social media sites being used, Pew Research Center reports that 83% of U.S. adults use YouTube, 68% use Facebook, 47% use Instagram and 33% are on TikTok. [2] Americans’ Social Media Use . Pew Research Center. Accessed May 24, 2024.

In my coaching practice, I find many people use social media as a form of “me time.” After juggling responsibilities all day, social media feels like a way to escape or take a break from narrow daily routines. However, when people start feeling numb or unable to put down the phone, scrolling mindlessly can feel frustrating and counterproductive, adding to stress rather than easing it.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• The impact of social media on mental health
• Why it’s so hard to step away from your phone
• Specific tools to help you reduce social media use

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Research shows correlations between excessive use of social media and mental health problems, such as depression , anxiety , loneliness and sleep deprivation. According to researchers, red flags that your social media use may be detrimental include:

• Excessive time spent on social media detracts from other areas of your life
• Feeling addicted to social media
• Comparing yourself to others
• Compulsively checking for updates [3] Karim F, Oyewande AA, Abdalla LF, Chaudhry Ehsanullah R, Khan S. Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review . Cureus. 2020;12(6):e8627.

The importance of losing sleep shouldn’t be underestimated, either. Lack of sleep can negatively impact social-emotional functioning and cognition, making healthy decisions increasingly difficult as you grow more fatigued with each passing night.

The promise of social media is the connection it offers. It allows far flung friends and family members to celebrate births, weddings and graduations. It offers platforms for learning and creates opportunities for like-minded people in disparate communities to interact and organize.

However, that relentless promise of connection and external reinforcement can activate the brain’s reward system in ways that are similar to gambling—with accompanying feelings of withdrawal or distress when you try to stop, according to a study in BMC Psychiatry . [4] Tullett-Prado D, Doley JR, Zarate D, et al. Conceptualising social media addiction: a longitudinal network analysis of social media addiction symptoms and their relationships with psychological distress in a community sample of adults . BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23:509. The unpredictable rewards of likes and comments or the possibility of stumbling on stories that boost your mood reinforce the impulse to continually check in or post online.

Social media platforms are engineered to keep you engaged through features like infinite feeds, push notifications and algorithms that can precisely predict what content will keep you captivated and scrolling.

If social media helped you deal with stress or loneliness in the past, turning back to it when you’re feeling down makes a lot of sense. The urge to check in can become habitual, and each time a click relieves negative emotions, odds increase that you will crave that source of relief again, night after night.

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To break the pattern, consider the prompts below. I recommend physically writing down your answers. You can type them if you like, but many people I work with find that writing longhand helps them take their time and reflect on their answers more fully.

The insights you gain can help you find alternative ways to relieve stress and enjoy your evenings.

What Benefits Do You Get From Scrolling?

What are you gaining from time spent on social media at night? Is it entertaining? Distracting? Are you hoping to connect with other people? Is it how you get your news?

Once you understand the reasons you’re drawn to the phone, you can find other ways to meet those needs.

Clarify Why a New Routine Would Feel Better

What are some of the negative repercussions of overusing social media? How is it affecting your life?

What might be different if you spent less time on your phone at night? How would you prefer to spend your evenings, and why? How would these changes positively impact you?

Answer in as much detail and as clearly you can.

Identify Triggers

You already have one of the most essential tools to dial back your social media use: self-awareness. You know when you tend to start scrolling (after work) and how long it goes on (most of the evening), as well as when it comes to an end (when you finally drift off to sleep).

In your case, it sounds like time of day is a trigger. There may be significant stressors playing a part earlier in the day as well. Are there other internal or external cues that make you want to pick up your phone? What contributes to that need for distraction or entertainment?

Find Healthy Replacements

Odds are the desire for distraction or entertainment isn’t going away. You’re likely to need those things, so what are some alternative ways to get that relief? When the trigger sparks the craving to curl up and zone out, how might you respond? What are some healthier ways to cope or spend your time?

Get creative. Brainstorm anything and everything you can imagine, from big, ambitious changes (take an online fitness class or enroll in graduate school) to small ones that seem almost meaningless (step outside for a deep breath, start a load of laundry, turn on a movie or pick up a book with the goal of reading a single page). Call a friend. Pick up a new hobby. Give yourself as many options as possible.

Substitute Habits

Now you get to play. When you’re triggered, choose one specific option from your list of replacements and give it a try. If it feels good, repeat it to see if it can be the anchor for a new routine. If it feels unmanageable or irritating, try something else.

Keep experimenting until you find ways to fill your evenings that serve you better. When you get derailed, revisit the reasons you’d rather not spend all night on social media and how making a change could benefit you.

Set Boundaries

If you need external reinforcements, set boundaries around when and where social media is available to you. Put chargers on the other side of the room, use app timers to limit your hours online or remove the apps from your phone entirely so they can only be accessed from a computer browser.

These techniques can help, but in my experience as a coach, people often discard them over time because they feel too restrictive. Use them as needed, but if they make you feel rebellious, let them go. Remember: You’re scrolling on social media for a reason. The habit is filling a need.

Rather than blaming yourself or trying to prohibit unhealthy habits, see if you can find new and interesting ways to cope or to stay engaged, distracted and entertained—in your way, on your own terms.

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• Digital 2023 April Global Statshot Report. Datareportal. April 27, 2023. Accessed May 27, 2024.
• Americans’ Social Media Use. Pew Research Center. Accessed May 24, 2024.
• Karim F, Oyewande AA, Abdalla LF, Chaudhry Ehsanullah R, Khan S. Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2020;12(6):e8627.
• Tullett-Prado D, Doley JR, Zarate D, et al. Conceptualising social media addiction: a longitudinal network analysis of social media addiction symptoms and their relationships with psychological distress in a community sample of adults. BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23:509.
• Khalaf AM, Alubied AA, Khalaf AM, Rifaey AA. The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review. Cureus. 2023;15(8):e42990.
• Montag C, Hegelich S. Understanding Detrimental Aspects of Social Media Use: Will the Real Culprits Please Stand Up?. Front Sociol. 2020;5:599270.
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Surgeon general’s call for warning labels on social media underscores concerns for teen mental health

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

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Emily Hemendinger does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

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Amid growing concerns over the effects of social media on teen mental health, on June 17, 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be added to social media platforms, similar to surgeon general warnings on cigarettes and alcohol.

Murphy’s warning cited research showing that teens who use more than three hours of social media a day face double the risk of mental health problems .

This comes a year after Murphy issued a major public advisory over the links between social media and youth mental health.

As a specialist in eating disorders and anxiety , I regularly work with clients who experience eating disorder symptoms, self-esteem issues and anxiety related to social media .

I also have firsthand experience with this topic : I am 16 years post-recovery from an eating disorder, and as a teenager, I grew up when people were beginning to widely use social media. In my view, the impact of social media on mental health, especially on diet and exercise patterns, cannot simply be mitigated with a warning label. However, it is an important starting point for raising awareness of the harms of social media.

Links, associations and causal effects

Experts have long suspected that social media may be playing a role in the growing mental health crisis in young people . However, the surgeon general’s 2023 warning was one of the first government warnings supported by robust research .

Critics of the call for warning labels argue that it oversimplifies a complex issue and that limiting social media access in any way would do more harm than good. Some supporters feel that it is a step in the right direction and far less restrictive than trying to start with more widespread privacy regulations.

And so far, calls for action over regulating social media have fallen flat .

Researchers are limited to only studying associations, which make causal links difficult to establish. But there are numerous studies that do show a relationship between viewing media and worsened self-esteem, body image and mental health.

Additionally, there is scientific data that has shown the effectiveness of including warning labels to deter use of substances such as tobacco and alcohol .

However, the strategy of warning labels has been used for eating disorder content and digitally altered images on the internet, with mixed results . These studies showed that the warning labels do not reduce the negative impact of the media on body image. Some of the research even found that the warning labels might increase body and appearance comparisons , which are thought to be key reasons why social media can be harmful to self-esteem.

Potential harms

Research shows that images of beauty as depicted in movies, social media, television and magazines can lead to mental illness , issues with disordered eating and body image dissatisfaction .

Body dissatisfaction among children and adolescents is commonplace and has been linked to decreased quality of life, worsened mood and unhealthy eating habits.

The mental health of adolescents and teens has been declining for the past decade , and the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to worsening youth mental health and brought it into the spotlight. As the mental health crisis surges, researchers have been taking a close look at the role of social media in these increasing mental health concerns.

The pros and cons of social media

About 95% of children and adolescents in the U.S. between the ages of 10 and 17 are using social media almost constantly . A 2023 study found that teens spend about five hours per day on social media.

Research has shown that social media can be beneficial for finding community support . However, studies have also shown that the use of social media contributes to social comparisons, unrealistic expectations and negative mental health effects .

In addition, those who have preexisting mental health conditions tend to spend more time on social media. People in that category are more likely to self-objectify and internalize the thin body ideal . Women and people with preexisting body image concerns are more likely than others to feel worse about their bodies and themselves after they spend time on social media.

A breeding ground for eating disorders?

A recent review found that, as with mass media, the use of social media is a risk factor for the development of an eating disorder , body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating. In this review, social media use was shown to contribute to negative self-esteem, social comparisons, decreased emotional regulation and idealized self-presentation that negatively influenced body image.

Another study, called the Dove Self-Esteem Project , published in April 2023, found that 9 in 10 children and adolescents ages 10 to 17 are exposed to toxic beauty content on social media, and 1 in 2 say that this has an impact on their mental health.

Researchers have also found that increased time at home during the pandemic led to more social media use by young people and therefore more exposure to toxic body image and dieting social media content.

While social media alone will not cause eating disorders, societal beliefs about beauty , which are amplified by social media, can contribute to the development of eating disorders.

‘Thinspo’ and ‘fitspo’

Toxic beauty standards online include the normalization of cosmetic and surgical procedures and pro-eating-disorder content, which promotes and romanticizes eating disorders. For instance, social media sites have promoted trends such as “thinspo,” which is focused on the thin ideal, and “fitspo,” which perpetuates the belief of there being a perfect body that can be achieved with dieting, supplements and excessive exercise.

Research has shown that social media content encouraging “clean eating ” or following a diet based on pseudoscientific claims can lead to obsessive behavior around food. These unfounded “wellness” posts can lead to weight cycling, yo-yo dieting , chronic stress, body dissatisfaction and higher likelihood of muscular and thin-ideal internalization .

Some social media posts feature pro-eating-disorder content , which directly or indirectly encourages disordered eating. Other posts promote deliberate manipulation of one’s body, using harmful quotes such as “nothing tastes as good as thin feels.” These posts provide a false sense of connection, allowing users to bond over a shared goal of losing weight, altering their appearance and continuing patterns of disordered eating.

While young people can often recognize and understand toxic beauty advice’s effects on their self-esteem, they may still continue to engage with this content. This is in part because friends, influencers and social media algorithms encourage people to follow certain accounts.

Phone-free zones

Small steps at home to cut down on social media consumption can also make a difference. Parents and caregivers can create phone-free periods for the family. Examples of this include putting phones away while the family watches a movie together or during mealtimes.

Adults can also help by modeling healthy social media behaviors and encouraging children and adolescents to focus on building connections and engaging in valued activities .

Mindful social media consumption is another helpful approach. This requires recognizing what one is feeling during social media scrolling. If spending time on social media makes you feel worse about yourself or seems to be causing mood changes in your child, it may be time to change how you or your child interact with social media.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on June 7, 2023 .

• Social media
• Eating disorders
• Youth mental health
• Self-esteem
• Warning labels
• Social media use
• Body dysmorphia
• Eating disorders in teens

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Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms

Dr. Vivek Murthy said he would urge Congress to require a warning that social media use can harm teenagers’ mental health.

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By Ellen Barry and Cecilia Kang

The U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced on Monday that he would push for a warning label on social media platforms advising parents that using the platforms might damage adolescents’ mental health.

Warning labels — like those that appear on tobacco and alcohol products — are one of the most powerful tools available to the nation’s top health official, but Dr. Murthy cannot unilaterally require them; the action requires approval by Congress.

The proposal builds on several years of escalating warnings from the surgeon general. In a May 2023 advisory, he recommended that parents immediately set limits on phone use, and urged Congress to swiftly develop health and safety standards for technology platforms.

He also called on tech companies to make changes: to share internal data on the health impact of their products; to allow independent safety audits; and restrict features like push notifications, autoplay and infinite scroll, which he says “prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use.”

In an interview, Dr. Murthy said he had been deeply frustrated by the platforms’ reluctance to do so.

“I don’t think we can solely rely on the hope that the platforms can fix this problem on their own,” he said. “They’ve had 20 years.”

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Impact of Social Media Use on Mental Health within Adolescent and Student Populations during COVID-19 Pandemic: Review

Marija draženović.

1 Leadership and Management of Health Services, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Tea Vukušić Rukavina

2 Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia

Lovela Machala Poplašen

Associated data.

Data are contained within the article.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed our lives. By increased screen time during the pandemic, social media (SM) could have significantly impacted adolescents’ and students’ mental health (MH). This literature review aims to synthesize the research on the impact of SM usage on MH of adolescents and students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A review of the published literature was conducted in April 2021, through a search of PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection databases. The search yielded 1136 records, with 13 articles selected for this review. Most of the included studies observed the negative impact of SM use on MH of adolescents and students, most noticeably observed were anxiety, depression and stress. More active and prolonged SM usage was associated with a negative impact on MH of adolescents and students. Two studies recorded some potentially positive effects, such as support in coping and providing a sense of connection for those who were isolated due to social distancing measures. Since this review focuses on the early period of the pandemic, future studies should investigate the long-term impact of SM use on adolescents and students MH, with all relevant elements that can enable adequate public health response.

1. Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is not the first pandemic in the history of humanity, but it is undoubtedly the most severe one since the influenza pandemic in 1918. It has led to unprecedented mitigation efforts that disrupted the daily lives of most of the world’s population.

Beyond the general health repercussions of the pandemic itself, these mitigation mandates, including school closures and widespread lockdowns, combined with economic instability, fear of infection and uncertainty for the future, also present a challenge to the mental health (MH) of many [ 1 ]. In particular, this might affect adolescents and students, who highly rely on social contact with their peers [ 2 ].

MH is most affected by internal and external stressors during adolescence. The effect of stress in adolescents is exacerbated when accompanied by other stressors, such as the lack of sufficient internal or external resources or poorly developed coping skills [ 3 ]. Being deprived of social contacts and forced to adjust to online education, while going through a critical developmental stage, adolescents and students might suffer more severe effects of the COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors than the general population [ 4 ].

As reported by UNESCO, at its peak, the pandemic had a significant worldwide impact on the lives of more than 1.6 billion students [ 5 ]. In China, nearly 40.4% of the sampled youth were prone to psychological problems, and 14.4% suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms [ 6 ]. Social media (SM) has been gaining an increasingly prominent role in adolescents’ lives in recent decades, especially in recent years. In 2018, 45% of teens said they use the internet “almost constantly”, a figure nearly doubling from the 24% in the 2014–2015 survey. An additional 44% said they go online several times a day, indicating that roughly nine-in-ten teens go online at least multiple times per day [ 7 ].

SM has become an increasingly important part of adolescents’ daily lives [ 7 ] and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated this trend [ 8 , 9 ]. Many adolescents and students have turned to SM to stay connected with their friends and peers and access information and entertainment during a time when in-person interactions have been greatly restricted [ 10 , 11 ].

SM provides data on the pandemics, but also makes available lots of misinformation. The positive impact of SM during the lockdown is the provision of valuable means for social contact. Still, it can also cause poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety and depression [ 12 ]. US-based research [ 7 ] investigating the impact of SM on teen lives, found that a plurality of teens (45%) believe SM has neither positive nor negative effect on people of their age. Roughly three-in-ten teens (31%) say SM impacts mostly positively while the remaining 24% describe its effect as mostly negative. The most significant positive impact of SM use is connecting with friends and family [ 7 ]. The study by Coyne et al. [ 13 ] found that the time spent using SM was unrelated to individual changes in depression or anxiety. Contrariwise, a study by O’Reilly et al. [ 14 ] observing adolescents between 11–18 years suggested that adolescents perceived SM as a threat to mental well-being. SM can provide a sense of connection using technology to connect and support those isolated or feeling isolated due to physical social distancing measures [ 15 ]. It can also be a useful tool for staying informed about the latest developments related to the pandemic and accessing resources and support [ 16 ]. In contrast, the main negative impacts include bullying/rumor spreading, harm to relationships due to lack of individual contact, unrealistic views of others’ lives and the onset of distraction/addiction [ 7 ].

This study aims to synthesize the existing research on the impact of SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, related to the MH of adolescents and students. The following questions guided our inquiry: Does SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic have a predominantly positive or negative impact on MH within the adolescent and student population? Which MH components have been impacted the most by SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic within the adolescent and student population?

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. design.

This literature review was conducted in accordance with the guidelines for the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses [ 17 ], with minor modifications where appropriate.

The need to assess the impact of SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on MH of adolescents and students is an important health issue. The narrative qualitative synthesis was undertaken with the guidance of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) 2020 Statement [ 18 ].

2.2. Search Strategy

A literature search was performed on 30 April 2021 using two databases, PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection.

The searches were conducted using the following defined search terms: (“covid 19” [MeSH Terms] OR “covid 19 vaccines” [MeSH Terms] OR “covid 19 serotherapy” [All Fields] OR “covid 19 nucleic acid testing” [MeSH Terms] OR “covid 19 serological testing” [MeSH Terms] OR “covid 19 testing” [MeSH Terms] OR “sars cov 2” [MeSH Terms] OR “severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2” [All Fields] OR “ncov” [All Fields] OR “2019 ncov” [All Fields] OR “coronavirus” [MeSH Terms] OR “cov” [All Fields]) AND (“social media” [MeSH Terms] OR “social networking” [MeSH Terms] OR “twitter” [All Fields] OR “youtube” [All Fields] OR “WeChat” [All Fields] OR “Sina” [All Fields]) AND (“mental health” [MeSH Terms]). The search strategy was limited to studies published in English. The full search strategy used for each database has been included in Supplementary Table S1 .

2.3. Study Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Studies were included in this review if they were original research focused primarily on the impact of SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, related to the MH of adolescents and students.

Studies were excluded from this review if they were not in English; were not original primary research: reviews, reports, abstracts only, case studies, letters, opinions, commentaries, policies, guidelines or recommendations; did not focus primarily on the SM use effect on MH of adolescents or students; and if SM posts were used for content analysis, which was not focused on MH issues.

2.4. Data Collection Process and Extraction

Following the search, conducted by an information retrieval specialist (LMP), all references captured by the search engine were uploaded into the reference management software Zotero 6.2 (the Corporation for Digital Scholarship, Virginia, and the USA). Duplicates were identified and removed by MD. The remaining references were uploaded into the Rayyan collaborative tool [ 19 ]. Rayyan is a web application and mobile app for systematic reviews. It eases the process of the initial screening of abstracts and titles and helps researchers save time when they share and compare include-exclude decisions.

Initial screening was done by two researchers (MD and TVR) limiting results to those that complied with eligibility criteria. Full texts of 25 papers were assessed for eligibility in detail against the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review. Thus, a total of 13 studies were finally included in this review. Any disagreements between the reviewers at each stage of the study selection process were resolved through discussion.

One author (MD) used a standardized form developed by the research team to extract the details of the included studies. Data were extracted from each study, including: (1) the first author and year of publication, (2) the study title, (3) the country of origin, (4) the study objective, (5) the study design, (6) the study method/sampling, (7) sample characteristics, (8) mental issues observed, (9) positive vs. negative SM impact on MH observed and (10) main results and conclusions relevant to the impact of SM use on MH of adolescents or students. A second author (TVR) verified the extracted information and checked for accuracy and completeness. Differences were resolved through discussion. The agreed evidence was then synthesized narratively.

2.5. Assessment of Risk of Bias

The risk of bias was graded according to the JBI Critical Appraisal tool, “Checklist for Analytical Cross-sectional Studies” and “Checklists for Cohort Studies” [ 20 ] by one experienced reviewer (TVR). The evaluation was based on answers to 8 questions (yes, no, unclear or not applicable, for cross-sectional studies) or answers to 11 questions (yes, no, unclear or not applicable, for cohort studies). The studies were classified as having low (>70%), moderate (40–70%) or high (<40%) risk of bias.

2.6. Data Synthesis

Data were analyzed according to the study outcomes and objectives. Descriptive (narrative) analyses of the included studies were conducted. A narrative synthesis was undertaken with the guidance of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) 2020 Statement [ 18 ]. A narrative synthesis accompanies the tabulated results from the study characteristics and describes: how the results relate to the review’s objective and questions; did SM use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic have a predominantly positive or negative impact on MH within the adolescent and student population; and what are the recognized positive and negative impacts.

3.1. Search Results

The literature search retrieved 1136 records (641 from PubMed, 495 from Web of Science Core Collection) and after removing duplicates 806 titles and abstracts were screened. Following title and abstract screening, a further 781 articles were excluded leaving 25 to be screened by full text. Twelve articles did not meet the eligibility criteria following full text screening. Thus, a total of 13 studies were finally included in this review [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].

The PRISMA flow diagram of the study selection and review process is displayed in Figure 1 .

PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses) flow diagram of the study selection and review process.

3.2. Methodological Characteristics of the Studies

Characteristics of the included studies are shown in Table 1 . Out of 13 studies included in this review [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], all are observational and the majority (11) [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 33 ] are cross-sectional. Out of a total of 11,975 participants, 584 were observed within two longitudinal studies [ 30 , 32 ].

Methodological Characteristics of Included Studies.

SM—social media; RR—response rate; OpenEpi—free and open-source software for epidemiologic statistics.

The total number of participants in these 13 studies was 11,975, ranging from 49 [ 32 ] to 2449 [ 24 ] participants in a single study.

Out of 13 eligible studies, 3 originated from the USA (observing a total of 1235 participants) [ 27 , 31 , 32 ], 2 originated from China (observing a total of 1047 participants) [ 23 , 30 ], 2 from Belgium (observing a total of 4173 participants) [ 26 , 28 ] and 1 originated from each: Bangladesh [ 21 ], Turkey [ 22 ], Japan [ 24 ], Pakistan [ 25 ], Canada [ 29 ] and Palestine [ 33 ], providing a relatively representative sample of student/adolescent population from North America [ 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 ], Asia [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 30 , 33 ] and Northwestern Europe [ 26 , 28 ] including the countries on various levels of development and wealth.

Participants in the studies were described as adolescents, elementary, high school or university students. Therefore, the participants ranged from 6 [ 33 ] to 48 [ 27 ] years old. The mean (in some cases average) age of participants (with the exclusion of studies where such data is not available) spans from 10.32 [ 30 ] to 22.92 [ 27 ] years old. Therefore, a limited number of adults [ 27 ] among the participants included in some studies is not considered a population with a significant impact on the study results. Additionally, we observed that the majority of participants in most of the studies were female [ 22 , 23 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ] (even up to 87.6%) [ 27 ].

Most studies used online questionnaires or surveys [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], recruiting participants through the internet or social networks [ 21 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. In some cases, the participants were recruited through institutional e-mails [ 24 ], via school [ 26 , 30 ], national news outlets [ 28 ] or within specific classes [ 27 ]. One longitudinal study [ 32 ] used individual-level online data (Google Search and YouTube) to analyze and correlate to the data collected via questionnaires before and during the pandemic.

Online questionnaires were generally organized in sections, with the first section collecting primary data on students and the following sections collecting specific data necessary for measuring behaviors that might impact MH and indicators of the MH condition. Some studies used a variety of original or somewhat modified validated questionnaires and scales (e.g., PHQ-9 [ 21 , 24 , 31 , 32 ], GAD-7 [ 21 , 26 , 31 , 32 ], RULS [ 26 , 28 , 29 ]) and DASS-21 [ 27 , 30 ]), while in the majority of the studies questionnaires and the measures used in them were a combination of validated and self-developed instruments [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 32 ]. One study used a questionnaire for which the validation status could not be established [ 33 ].

3.3. Objectives and Outcomes of Included Studies

The objectives and outcomes of included studies are shown in Table 2 . Several MH disorders or issues have been observed and measured in the papers. Depression [ 21 , 24 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 ], anxiety [ 22 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 ] and stress [ 23 , 27 , 29 ] were listed in three or more studies, while panic [ 33 ], addictive SM use [ 23 ], mental and psychological distress [ 28 , 30 ], worsening of sleep pattern, lack of motivation and family arguments [ 25 ] were connected to SM use in two or fewer studies. Additionally, a nonspecific MH disorder—MH imbalance [ 21 ]—was linked to SM use.

Objectives and Outcomes of Included Studies.

BASE-6—Brief Adjustment Scale-6, BFAS—Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale, BSI—Brief Symptom Inventory, BSMAS—Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, CAS—Coronavirus Anxiety Scale, CBQ—College Belongingness Questionnaire, CESD—Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, CTS—COVID Threat Scale, DASS-21—Depression Anxiety Stress Scales 21, ECS—Emotion Contagion Scale, GAD-7—The General Anxiety Disorder Scale, GHQ-12—General Health Questionnaire, ICG-RC—Inventory for Complicated Grief-Revised for Children, IGDS-SF9—Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form, ISI—Insomnia Severity Index, MH—mental health, NEG—negative, OCD—obsessive compulsive disorder, OCI-R—Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Revised, OSSS-3—3-item Oslo Social Support Scale, PC-PTSD-5—Primary Care Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5, PHQ-9—Patient Health Questionnaire-9, POS—positive, PSS—Perceived Stress Scale, RULS-Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, SABAS—Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale, SITBI—Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Interview, SM—social media, SN—social network.

Active and increased, and daily use of SM was associated with an increased risk of depressive [ 24 , 27 , 29 , 31 ], anxiety [ 31 ] and stress [ 27 ] symptoms. Additionally, individuals with increasing anxiety or depressive disorders during the pandemic usually had longer sessions using SM [ 32 ].

The interaction between COVID-19 stress and SM use was also significant [ 29 ]. Individuals suffering more COVID-19 stress had an increased risk of addictive SM use, which has been fostered by active use and flow experience [ 23 ].

A significant positive statistical correlation was found between SM and spreading panic concerning COVID-19 [ 33 ].

Time spent on SM explained problematic SM use, and problematic SM use subsequently explained psychological/mental distress [ 30 ] with odds of psychological/mental distress 3-fold greater for those with an increase in SM use for more than three hours [ 28 ].

This review has found that most reviewed papers report predominantly negative impacts of SM use in the COVID-19 pandemic on MH of adolescents [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ].

Several reviewed studies revealed that increased SM use was related to the MH disorders of students, such as depression, anxiety and stress [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 ]. It also correlated with tiredness, lack of motivation and negative impact on family arguments [ 25 ]. Such increased SM use was found to be connected to problematic [ 30 ] and addictive SM use [ 23 ], potentially leading to mental distress [ 28 , 30 ] or MH imbalance [ 21 ], and interacting with COVID-19-related stress [ 23 , 29 ]. College belongingness, which influenced student psychological adjustment, was found to be moderated by SM addiction [ 22 ].

Two studies, however, indicated some potentially positive influences of SM on MH, such as long periods of sleep [ 25 ] and support in coping through humoristic content and positive exchange in SM [ 26 ].

Results of a few studies highlighted the gender difference, indicating that more women than men were found to experience significant mental distress [ 28 , 29 ].

Among the negative impacts of increased or problematic SM use on the MH of adolescents and students most noticeably observed are depression [ 24 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 ], stress [ 23 , 27 , 29 ] and anxiety [ 22 , 31 , 32 ].

3.4. Risk of Bias

The risk of bias in 85% (11/13) of the included studies was classified as low [ 21 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], according to the JBI Critical Appraisal tools [ 20 ], as presented in Table 3 a,b. In total, only two studies showed a moderate risk of bias [ 22 , 25 ].

(a) Assessment of Risk of Bias. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tool. Checklist for Analytical Cross- Sectional Studies [ 20 ]. (b) Assessment of Risk of Bias. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tool. Checklist for Cohort Studies [ 20 ].

* NA = Not Applicable. ** Low risk of bias >70%; Moderate risk of bias 40–70%; High risk of bias < 40%. The percentage was calculated according to have many “yes” each study got relative to the applicable items.

4. Discussion

4.1. principal findings.

A significant impact of SM on the lives of adolescents and students was evident even before the COVID-19 pandemic and it resulted in both positive and negative outcomes [ 2 , 3 , 14 , 34 ]. Some previous studies indicated that the influence of SM use on MH of adolescents might be mostly neutral, even for adolescents suffering from depression and anxiety [ 7 , 13 ].

The studies included in this review originate from multiple countries, providing a sample of the student/adolescent population from North America, Asia and Europe, thus including countries on various levels of development and wealth.

According to this literature review, the influence of SM use on the MH of adolescents and students during the COVID-19 pandemic has been significant. The findings of this review indicate that SM use was predominantly associated with the mental ill-being of adolescents and students during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], most commonly related to MH problems, such as depression, anxiety and stress [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 ], which is in line with recent publications regarding SM use and its influence on MH of the younger population during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ].

Among the articles reviewed in our study, seven studies investigated association between SM use and stress [ 21 , 23 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], but the term stress was used inconsistently. It was presented as stress in general [ 27 , 31 ], COVID related stress [ 23 , 29 ] or within constructs of mental distress [ 28 ], psychological distress [ 30 ] or MH imbalance [ 21 ].

Two studied stress described as COVID-19 related, either as stressful events [ 30 ] or reported stress associated with the initial COVID-19 crisis [ 29 ].

Zhao et al. [ 23 ] assessed participants experience of COVID-19 related stressful events. COVID-19 stress was significantly positively correlated with active use, SM flow and addictive SM use. Ellis et al. [ 29 ] assessed COVID-19 stress, using an adopted version of the Swine Flu Anxiety scale. Items were designed to assess fear about the spread of COVID-19 and the possibility of being infected and specific adolescents concerns that may result from physical distancing. They have also assessed depression (using six-item depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory—BSI) and measured participant loneliness (using the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale—RULS). COVID-19 stress was a significant predictor of depression. The interaction between COVID-19 stress and SM use was also significant. The analysis revealed that the relationship between COVID-19 stress and depression was strongest among adolescents who reported the highest SM use after the pandemic as compared to adolescents with lower and average use ( p < 0.001).

Three studies assessed psychological distress, but under different terms, as mental distress [ 28 ], psychological distress [ 30 ] or MH imbalance [ 21 ].

Rens et al. [ 28 ] used GHQ-12 for the assessment of mental distress. Their results indicate experiencing mental distress were significantly higher among those with small or large increase in SM use. Chen et al. [ 30 ] investigated the changes in time spent on use of internet-related activities, changes in problematic use of internet-related activities and changes in psychological distress before and during the school suspension period due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Using 21 items embedded within three subscales of depression (seven items), anxiety (seven items) and stress (seven items), the DASS-21, they have assessed psychological distress. According to their results, increased and problematic SM use is significantly associated with psychological distress. Alam et al. [ 21 ] measured stress level using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), but they also assessed depression (using PHQ-9) and anxiety (using GAD-7). They use the term MH imbalance, which was constructed and categorized in four categories, using cluster analysis combination among three MH scales (PSS, GAD-7 and PHQ-9). Students were categorized into four categories of MH imbalance, where 4.32% had mild, 72.7% had moderate, 12.57% had moderately severe and 10.41% suffered from severe MH imbalance. Since psychological distress refers to non-specific symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression [ 42 ], the term MH imbalance used in Alam et al.’s study [ 21 ] can be presented also as psychological distress. Their results showed that students spending more time on SM (22.60%) were more likely to be severely depressed, anxious and stressed, or as they stated “in severe MH imbalance”.

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21 (DASS-21) was also used by Wheaton et al. [ 27 ]. Their results indicate that hours per day of SM use weakly yet significantly related to concern about COVID-19 that are linked to stress and depression, but not anxiety and OCD. In this study terms psychological or mental distress were not used.

Murata et al. [ 31 ] assessed depression symptoms (using PHQ-9), anxiety symptoms (using GAD-7), PTSD symptoms (using PC-PTSD-5), perceived stress (using Perceived Stress Scale—PSS), lifetime suicidal ideation and behavior (using SITBI) and prolonged grief reactions (using ICG-RC). According to the findings of this study, adolescents were significantly more likely to report clinically significant depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms, suicidal ideation or behavior, perceived stress and sleep problems compared to adults. Adolescents with more hours spent on SM were more likely to have moderate to severe depressive and anxiety symptoms.

This review found a link between increased SM use and depression [ 24 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 ], which is consistent with the findings in recent research where SM exposure [ 38 ] and excessive SM networking site usage [ 39 , 40 ] were associated with increased depression. Research has shown that the more time adolescents and students spend on SM, the more likely they are to experience negative effects on their MH [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 ], that excessive use of SM can contribute to feelings of loneliness [ 39 ], anxiety [ 36 , 40 ] and depression [ 36 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. This is particularly true for those who compare themselves to others on SM [ 44 ] and experience cyberbullying [ 45 , 46 ].

Results were similar when looking at anxiety. This review found that adolescents with more hours spent on SM were more likely to have moderate to severe anxiety symptoms [ 31 ]. Similarly, individuals with increasing anxiety symptoms during the pandemic usually conduct longer sessions when engaging with SM (YouTube) [ 32 ].

Recent research confirms this and finds that anxiety scores were higher in those who used the SM for more than 7 h per day, compared to those who used it for 0–2 or 3–4 h [ 36 ] and that excessive time spent on SM platform was associated with a greater likelihood of having anxiety symptoms [ 40 ].

Other research also shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing MH problems among adolescents [ 47 ] and SM may exacerbate these problems [ 48 ]. For example, the constant stream of news and information about the pandemic on SM can lead to increased levels of stress and anxiety [ 49 ]. Additionally, the lack of in-person social support and the increased reliance on SM for social interaction may contribute to feelings of loneliness [ 34 ]. There is also some evidence to suggest that SM use may interfere with sleep quality and quantity among adolescents and students, which can negatively affect their overall MH and well-being [ 50 , 51 ].

Even though the majority of the studies in this review associate increased or problematic use of SM with a predominantly negative impact on the MH of adolescents and students during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, two studies, however, indicated some potentially positive influences of SM on MH, such as long periods of sleep [ 25 ] and support in coping through humoristic content and positive exchange in SM [ 26 ]. A similar beneficial effect of SM use was also observed by other studies, which found that SM can provide a sense of connection and support for those who are isolated or feeling isolated due to social distancing measures [ 43 ] or SM was observed to offer a helpful way of educating and reaching adolescents to promote mental well-being and cope with emotional burdens [ 52 , 53 ]. Additionally, other publications found SM useful in providing information about MH [ 43 , 53 ] and substituting live social contacts [ 54 ].

Contrarily, SM was used by some to seek support for suicidal thoughts and self-harm [ 36 ] and also contributed to poor MH through validation-seeking practices, fear of judgment, body comparison, addiction and cyberbullying [ 43 ]. A result from a longitudinal study conducted in Sweden, with a 2-year long follow-up, suggests that increased use of SM might be an indicator, rather than a risk factor for MH symptoms [ 55 ].

4.2. Limitations

There are several limitations to this review. The search for this literature review was performed in April 2021 using two databases, PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection. Future searches should be optimized by searching additional multi-disciplinary databases, such as Scopus, CINAHL or PsycINFO. The search for reference lists and citations would also be welcomed in the subsequent literature reviews. Only English language articles, presenting original research in a defined period were included; papers in other languages and outside the timeframe for inclusion may have identified additional relevant studies.

This review was conducted according to the guidelines for the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses [ 17 , 18 , 20 ], with minor modifications. Even though there are recommendations from the JBI that COVID-19 related reviews should, besides the comprehensive literature of multiple bibliographic databases search (e.g., MEDLINE and WoS), include a search of the gray literature and/or scanning of the references [ 56 ]; we have not performed a search of the gray literature nor scanned the references of our final sample. Searching these sources is complex because of a lack of indexing and poor functionality of the search interfaces, thus we omitted it.

The data processed in the studies that were collected were obtained from November 2019 [ 30 ] until August 2020 [ 33 ] and generally related to the first year of the lockdown. Such data represents the short-term impacts of SM use on the MH of adolescents and students. The limitations imposed on the population due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic have, however, already lasted much longer than initially expected more than two years. Therefore, the findings of this review are relevant just for the relatively short period at the beginning of the pandemic, the first 16 months of the COVID pandemic, which limits their relevance. However, this period was significant since the most severe lockdown measures were introduced globally, allowing us to review studies from that period, from a specific perspective on the impact of SM use on MH within the most vulnerable populations (adolescents and students). At the same time, the long-term impacts of SM use on the MH of adolescents and students might significantly differ from the shorter-term impacts included in the reviewed papers.

All of the studies were observational and the majority [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 33 ] were cross-sectional and went no further than describing a prevalence of the specific MH condition. Another limitation was that just two longitudinal studies [ 30 , 32 ] investigating this review’s aims could be found—limiting the time component of reviewed studies. This is probably a consequence of the data collection period occurring relatively early after the pandemic outbreak, so there was a limited opportunity for multiple subsequent research waves on the relevant population samples to be performed.

This notion is also proven by the fact that the included studies used convenient sampling, recruiting participants predominantly via SM and Internet, using online questionnaires. Those methods were the most convenient, practical and feasible methods during the lockdown. Therefore, the results of this review are based on data from the studies, dominantly based on a convenient sample.

Regarding the risk of bias, and quality of the studies in this review’s final sample, only four studies, exactly stated their response rate [ 24 , 30 , 32 , 33 ], ranging from 53% to 100%. Even though the risk of bias vas very low in 11 of 13 studies, it is important that future studies report response rates more often to increase the studies’ quality.

The age of the participants spanning from childhood (elementary school students) to adulthood, makes the review population somewhat heterogeneous. However, the mean/average age of participants, ranging from 10.32 [ 30 ] to 22.92 [ 27 ] years, makes the data used in this study relevant for the population of adolescents and students.

COVID-19 pandemic mitigation efforts have lasted much longer than the period examined in this review. Impacts of SM use during pandemics on the MH of adolescents and students in such a prolonged period might significantly differ from those observed in reviewed papers. Therefore, findings from more recent studies investigating the long-term impact of SM on adolescents and students during the COVID-19 pandemic should also be examined to identify possible differences with outcomes observed in this review.

5. Conclusions

Based on the findings of reviewed studies, we conclude that increased or problematic use of SM predominantly negatively impacted the MH of adolescents and students during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of the included studies observed the negative impact of SM on MH, while just two studies recorded some potentially positive effects, such as support in coping and providing a sense of connection for those who were isolated due to social distancing measures. Among the negative consequences of increased or problematic SM use on MH of adolescents and students, most noticeably observed were anxiety, depression and stress. Since this review focuses on the early period of the pandemic, at this point, we can only speculate about the long-term impacts of SM on MH of adolescents and students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Future studies, especially longitudinal and studies observing the influence of different types of SM behavior and activities, could provide valuable insights and directions for dealing with the influence of SM on the MH of adolescents and students during pandemics since we are clearly facing a new pandemic—an increase of MH disorders among our youngest generations. We should be prepared for how MH care should change due to the COVID-19 pandemic and adequately respond, especially concerning MH of adolescents and students.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/ijerph20043392/s1 , Table S1: Search strategy used in PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

M.D. and T.V.R. led the initial idea, study design and development of the protocol. The search strategy was developed by T.V.R. and L.M.P.; L.M.P. performed the searches and extracted the data files. Title and abstract screening were performed by M.D. and T.V.R. Full text screening was conducted by M.D. and T.V.R.; M.D. led on data extraction for each full text article. M.D. and T.V.R. drafted the narrative overview with support from L.M.P. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the findings. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

This was a desk-based review of the literature therefore ethical approval was not required.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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