Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27881357›Full record

ReviewJMIR mental health2016

Social Networking Sites, Depression, and Anxiety: A Systematic Review.

Elizabeth M Seabrook, Margaret L Kern, Nikki S Rickard

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in JMIR mental health, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 242 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
242citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

242 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  9. Social Media and Depression Symptoms: a Meta-Analysis.Research on child and adolescent psychopathology · 2021
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  14. A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial of a Primary Care Provider-Delivered Social Media Counseling Intervention.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2023
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  20. Big Five Traits and Facets, Internet Gaming Disorder, and Social Media Addiction.The International journal of social psychiatry · 2026
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182 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Elizabeth M SeabrookMonash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1844-127X
Margaret L KernCenter for Positive Psychology, Melbourne School of Graduate Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4300-598X
Nikki S RickardMonash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4236-8538

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSocial networking sites (SNSs) have become a pervasive part of modern culture, which may also affect mental health.

objectiveThe aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize research examining depression and anxiety in the context of SNSs. It also aimed to identify studies that complement the assessment of mental illness with measures of well-being and examine moderators and mediators that add to the complexity of this environment.

methodsA multidatabase search was performed. Papers published between January 2005 and June 2016 relevant to mental illness (depression and anxiety only) were extracted and reviewed.

resultsPositive interactions, social support, and social connectedness on SNSs were consistently related to lower levels of depression and anxiety, whereas negative interaction and social comparisons on SNSs were related to higher levels of depression and anxiety. SNS use related to less loneliness and greater self-esteem and life satisfaction. Findings were mixed for frequency of SNS use and number of SNS friends. Different patterns in the way individuals with depression and individuals with social anxiety engage with SNSs are beginning to emerge.

conclusionsThe systematic review revealed many mixed findings between depression, anxiety, and SNS use. Methodology has predominantly focused on self-report cross-sectional approaches; future research will benefit from leveraging real-time SNS data over time. The evidence suggests that SNS use correlates with mental illness and well-being; however, whether this effect is beneficial or detrimental depends at least partly on the quality of social factors in the SNS environment. Understanding these relationships will lead to better utilization of SNSs in their potential to positively influence mental health.

Indexed as

anxietydepressionmental healthreview, systematicsocial mediasocial networkingwell-being

Identifiers

PMID27881357
PMCPMC5143470

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.