Trial reportPloS one2021
Hooked on virtual social life. Problematic social media use and associations with mental distress and addictive disorders.
Trial report in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of Social Media Use Interventions on Mental Well-Being: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Problematic social media use among recreational cannabis users in Québec: A Cross-Sectional study.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Article
- Prospective Associations Between Early Adolescent Problematic Screen Use, Mental Health, Sleep, and Substance Use.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Phenotypic Clustering of Addictions Reveals Impulsivity Links to Internalizing Disorders: A Network Analysis.Alpha psychiatry · 2026Article
- The effect of physical exercise on social appearance anxiety among college students: the serial mediating role of social media addiction and self-objectification.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Are FoMO, Experiential Avoidance, and Emotional Distress Related to Problematic Social Network Use in Young Adults?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Reducing Social Media Use Decreases Depression Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education · 2025Review
- Bidirectional associations of problematic social media use and problematic gaming with mental health difficulties and strengths in adolescents: Sex and social support as potential moderators.Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence · 2025Article
- Problematic Social Media Use or Social Media Addiction in Pediatric Populations.Pediatric clinics of North America · 2025Review
- The double-edged sword of internet use in China's aging population: thresholds, mediation and digital health policy.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Screens and scars: SEM analysis of the relationship between childhood trauma, emotion regulation, and social media addiction.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Fostering college students' mental well-being: the impact of social networking site utilization on emotion management and regulation.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Mental health symptom burden in elite ice hockey players and its association with self-reported concussive events.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2024Article
- The Impact of Social Media Use on Sleep and Mental Health in Youth: a Scoping Review.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Article
- Insecure Minds through the Looking Glass: The Mediating Role of Mentalization in the Relationships between Adult Attachment Styles and Problematic Social Media Use.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- The relationship between loneliness and problematic social media usage in Chinese university students: a longitudinal study.BMC psychology · 2024Article
- Longitudinal Problematic Social Media Use in Students and Its Association with Negative Mental Health Outcomes.Psychology research and behavior management · 2024Article
- Exploring the dynamics of mobile app addiction: the interplay of communication, affective factors, flow, perceived enjoyment, and habit.BMC psychology · 2023Article
- The Role of Social Media and Breast Cancer: How Does It Impact Patients?Breast care (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Systematic review of social media addiction among health workers during the pandemic Covid-19.Heliyon · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSocial media is an important and growing part of the lives of the vast majority of the global population, especially in the young. Although still a young and scarce subject, research has revealed that social media has addictive potential. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to explore the associations between problematic use of social media and mental distress, problematic gaming and gambling, within the Swedish general population.
methodsData from 2,118 respondents was collected through self-report questions on demographics and validated scales measuring addiction-like experiences of social media, problem gaming, problem gambling, and mental distress. Associations were analyzed in unadjusted analyses and-for variables not exceedingly inter-correlated-in adjusted logistic regression analyses.
resultsIn adjusted analyses, problematic use of social media demonstrated a relationship with younger age, time using instant messaging services, and mental distress, but not with education level, occupational status, or with treatment needs for alcohol or drug problems. Behavioral addictions (internet, gaming and gambling) were substantially inter-correlated, and all were associated with problematic use of social media in unadjusted analyses.
conclusionsSocial media use is associated with other addictive behaviors and mental distress. While factors of causality remain to be studied, these insights can motivate healthcare professionals to assess social media habits, for example in individuals suffering from issues concerning gambling, gaming or mental health.
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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.