The relationship between social media use, quality of life, and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study.

objectiveThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of social media use in schizophrenia patients as well as to compare their quality of life and clinical progress.

methodsA total of 222 schizophrenia patients who have applied to the psychiatry outpatient clinic of our institution have been enrolled in this research. The patients were divided into two groups based on social media usage status and required to fill out the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (CGI-S), Social Media Use Disorder Scale (SMDS), Functional Assessment Short Test (FAST) and 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36).

resultsThe age of the patients using social media was significantly lower than the group not using social media (p < 0.05). Social media use was higher in the male sex (p < 0.05). The level of education and income in the group using social media was significantly higher than those without a social media account (p < 0.05). Among social media users (n = 78), the mean SMDS total score was 8.6 ± 13.6, indicating that most users did not meet criteria for social media use disorder, although a subset demonstrated elevated scores suggestive of problematic use. It has been determined that individuals who use social media have lower scores on both the FAST and PANSS (particularly negative symptoms and general psychopathology). The SF - 36 pain, vitality, and mental health scores were not significantly different in groups using and not using social media. The SF - 36 physical function, physical role, general health, social function, and emotional role score in the group using social media was significantly higher (p < 0.05).

conclusionThe results of this study indicate that social media use among individuals with schizophrenia is associated with lower symptom severity (particularly negative symptoms), better functional capacity, and enhanced quality of life, as measured by the PANSS, FAST, and SF-36. Logistic regression analysis confirmed that younger age, male sex, higher education, and lower functional impairment were independently associated with social media use. These findings suggest that social media may serve as a valuable adjunct to conventional psychosocial interventions; however, the cross-sectional design precludes causal inference, and longitudinal studies are warranted.