SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2015
"Friending" teens: systematic review of social media in adolescent and young adult health care.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 7 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
80 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Digital interventions for weight control to prevent obesity in adolescents: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Comparability of Patients in Trials of eHealth and Face-to-Face Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Depression: Meta-synthesis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- A Technology-Mediated Interventional Approach to the Prevention of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Participatory Interventions for Sexual Health Promotion for Adolescents and Young Adults on the Internet: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 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
- Social media use for nutrition outcomes in young adults: a mixed-methods systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2018Pooled it
- Social Media and HIV: A Systematic Review of Uses of Social Media in HIV Communication.Journal of medical Internet research · 2015Pooled it
- Parental, peer, and individual determinants of depression among adolescents and young adults: estimates from a within-between model.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2026Article
- Awareness and Sense of Urgency in Dental Avulsion Management: Knowledge Gaps Among Dutch Teens and Students.Dental traumatology : official publication of International Association for Dental Traumatology · 2026Article
- Enhancing LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in an AI-Powered Sexual Health Chatbot: User-Centered Design Approach Through a Nonprofit and Academic Partnership.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- The Role and Importance of Society, Family, and Schools in Promoting Adolescent Health.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Effectiveness of social network site-based interventions promoting condom use among youth: A systematic review based on the intervention mapping taxonomy.Preventive medicine reports · 2025Review
- Use of Social Media to Support Gestational Diabetes Risk Reduction for American Indian and Alaska Native Females: A Qualitative Study Soliciting Perspectives From American Indian and Alaska Native Youth, Mothers, and Content Experts.The science of diabetes self-management and care · 2025Article
- SESS Model for Adolescent Sexual Health Promotion: A Quasi-Experimental Two-School Evaluation in Thailand.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Using Social Media to Promote Life Skills Among Adolescents: A Debate on Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for Health and Education.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2025Article
- Recruitment and retention in young adult health research: Motivations and barriers.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2025Article
- TikTok and teen mental health: an analysis of user-generated content and engagement.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2025Article
- Fostering Digital Life Skills Through Social Media With Adolescents in 6 German States: Protocol for an Accessibility Study According to the RE-AIM Framework.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Keeping you connected or keeping you addicted? Weekly use of social media platforms is associated with hazardous alcohol use and problem gambling among adults.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2024Article
- The Impact of Social Media Use on Sleep and Mental Health in Youth: a Scoping Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial media has emerged as a potentially powerful medium for communication with adolescents and young adults around their health choices.
objectiveThe goal of this systematic review is to identify research on the use of social media for interacting with adolescents and young adults in order to achieve positive health outcomes.
methodsA MEDLINE/PubMed electronic database search was performed between January 1, 2002 and October 1, 2013, using terms to identify peer-reviewed research in which social media and other Web 2.0 technologies were an important feature. We used a systematic approach to retrieve papers and extract relevant data.
resultsWe identified 288 studies involving social media, of which 87 met criteria for inclusion; 75 studies were purely observational and 12 were interventional. The ways in which social media was leveraged by these studies included (1) observing adolescent and young adult behavior (n=77), (2) providing health information (n=13), (3) engaging the adolescent and young adult community (n=17), and (4) recruiting research participants (n=23). Common health topics addressed included high-risk sexual behaviors (n=23), alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use (n=19), Internet safety (n=8), mental health issues (n=18), medical conditions (n=11), or other specified issues (n=12). Several studies used more than one social media platform and addressed more than one health-related topic.
conclusionsSocial media technologies offer an exciting new means for engaging and communicating with adolescents and young adults; it has been successfully used to engage this age group, identify behaviors, and provide appropriate intervention and education. Nevertheless, the majority of studies to date have been preliminary and limited in their methodologies, and mostly center around evaluating how adolescents and young adults use social media and the resulting implications on their health. Although these explorations are essential, further exploration and development of these strategies into building effective interventions is necessary.
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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.