SynthesisBMC pediatrics2014
A systematic review of the use and effectiveness of social media in child health.
Synthesis in BMC pediatrics, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 134 citations in OpenAlex.
- Social media use and health risk behaviours in young people: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Pooled it
- Social Media and Children's and Adolescents' Diets: A Systematic Review of the Underlying Social and Physiological Mechanisms.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The effect of social media interventions on physical activity and dietary behaviours in young people and adults: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2021Pooled it
- Behavioural interventions delivered through interactive social media for health behaviour change, health outcomes, and health equity in the adult population.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The relationship between fears of cancer recurrence and patient age: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2020Pooled it
- The use of social media in nutrition interventions for adolescents and young adults-A systematic review.International journal of medical informatics · 2018Pooled it
- Using media to impact health policy-making: an integrative systematic review.Implementation science : IS · 2017Pooled it
- A systematic review: effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes.BMC public health · 2015Pooled it
- Empowering aspects for healthy food and physical activity habits: adolescents' experiences of a school-based intervention in a disadvantaged urban community.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2018Trial
- Evaluation of social media videos on weight-loss surgery and GLP-1 agonists: a content quality and reliability analysis.Surgical endoscopy · 2025Article
- Using Social Media to Disseminate Behavior Change Interventions: Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Content Analysis of a Congenital Cataract Social Media Support Group.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- Parenting Information on Social Media: Systematic Literature Review.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2024Review
- Influence of digital health literacy on online health-related behaviors influenced by internet advertising.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Social Media Interventions for Nutrition Education Among Adolescents: Scoping Review.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2023Article
- A better start national science challenge: supporting the future wellbeing of our tamariki E tipu, e rea, mō ngā rā o tō ao: grow tender shoot for the days destined for you.Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand · 2023Review
- Development, Validation, and Utilization of a Social Media Use and Mental Health Questionnaire among Middle Eastern and Western Adults: A Pilot Study from the UAE.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Understanding Australian adolescent girls' use of digital technologies for healthy lifestyle purposes: a mixed-methods study.BMC public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSocial media use is highly prevalent among children, youth, and their caregivers, and its use in healthcare is being explored. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review to determine: 1) for what purposes social media is being used in child health and its effectiveness; and 2) the attributes of social media tools that may explain how they are or are not effective.
methodsWe searched Medline, CENTRAL, ERIC, PubMed, CINAHL, Academic Search Complete, Alt Health Watch, Health Source, Communication and Mass Media Complete, Web of Knowledge, and Proquest Dissertation and Theses Database from 2000-2013. We included primary research that evaluated the use of a social media tool, and targeted children, youth, or their families or caregivers. Quality assessment was conducted on all included analytic studies using tools specific to different quantitative designs.
resultsWe identified 25 studies relevant to child health. The majority targeted adolescents (64%), evaluated social media for health promotion (52%), and used discussion forums (68%). Most often, social media was included as a component of a complex intervention (64%). Due to heterogeneity in conditions, tools, and outcomes, results were not pooled across studies. Attributes of social media perceived to be effective included its use as a distraction in younger children, and its ability to facilitate communication between peers among adolescents. While most authors presented positive conclusions about the social media tool being studied (80%), there is little high quality evidence of improved outcomes to support this claim.
conclusionsThis comprehensive review demonstrates that social media is being used for a variety of conditions and purposes in child health. The findings provide a foundation from which clinicians and researchers can build in the future by identifying tools that have been developed, describing how they have been used, and isolating components that have been effective.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.