ArticleDiscover mental health2025
Navigating the relationship between social media use and mental health in the digital age.
Article in Discover mental health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Parasocial Engagement With Social Media Influencers and Mental Health Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR mental health · 2026Pooled it
- Social media use duration and epigenetic aging among U.S. adults in the MIDUS refresher study.PLOS digital health · 2026Article
- Perceptions of Somali American male young adults in Salt Lake City about social media marketing of e-cigarettes: a pilot study.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Mental health and meaning in modern life among young adults in Norway.Discover mental health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study examines the impact of social media use on mental health among young adults through the lens of social comparison theory. Using a sample of 343 participants, data were collected via an online survey and analyzed with SPSS and SmartPLS. The results indicate that the direction of comparison, frequency of social comparison, nature of media content, and relevance of comparison significantly influence mental health outcomes. However, individual differences and comparison targets did not have significant effects. These findings suggest that social comparison behaviours on social media platforms can amplify negative mental health effects, emphasizing the importance of content type and frequency of engagement. The study extends social comparison theory by highlighting how digital interactions shape emotional well-being, particularly in a developing country context. The results provide practical recommendations for policymakers, mental health professionals, and social media platform designers to promote healthier online engagement. Future research should explore longitudinal effects, cross-platform variations, and cultural differences to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this relationship.
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.