Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42193511›Full record

ArticleBehavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)2026

The Negative Mental Health Consequences of Social Media Use in South Africa: The Role of Smartphone Addiction.

Tyrone B Pretorius, Anita Padmanabhanunni

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

2 authors.

Tyrone B PretoriusDepartment of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7530, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-6325-6623
Anita PadmanabhanunniDepartment of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7530, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-7733-7486

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The use of smartphones and social media has become an increasing feature of daily life among university students. Although technology use can offer benefits, growing evidence links heavier engagement to poorer mental health outcomes. This study examined the associations between social media use and indices of psychological distress among South African university students, and it tested whether smartphone addiction represents a pathway linking social media use to distress. Participants (

Indexed as

anxietydepressionmediatorPTSDsmartphone addictionsocial media use integration

Identifiers

PMID42193511
PMCPMC13203202

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.