Social Media and Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review

McCrae, Niall; Gettings, Sheryl; Purssell, Edward

doi:10.1007/s40894-017-0053-4

Cited by 232 publications

(196 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…In a 2017 systematic review, McCrae, Gettings and Pursell () conducted a more focused review examining the association between social media use and depressive symptoms among children and adolescents (aged 5–18). Only 11 studies met eligibility for inclusion in the quantitative meta‐analysis (focused on social networking sites and usage, restricted to English language publication, and conducted in general vs. clinical samples) resulting in a total N for the analysis of 12,646.…”

Section: What Do We Currently Know About the Association Between Adolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions

Odgers

Jensen

2020

Child Psychology Psychiatry

509

369

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Adolescents are spending an increasing amount of their time online and connected to each other via digital technologies. Mobile device ownership and social media usage have reached unprecedented levels, and concerns have been raised that this constant connectivity is harming adolescents’ mental health. This review synthesized data from three sources: (a) narrative reviews and meta‐analyses conducted between 2014 and 2019, (b) large‐scale preregistered cohort studies and (c) intensive longitudinal and ecological momentary assessment studies, to summarize what is known about linkages between digital technology usage and adolescent mental health, with a specific focus on depression and anxiety. The review highlights that most research to date has been correlational, focused on adults versus adolescents, and has generated a mix of often conflicting small positive, negative and null associations. The most recent and rigorous large‐scale preregistered studies report small associations between the amount of daily digital technology usage and adolescents’ well‐being that do not offer a way of distinguishing cause from effect and, as estimated, are unlikely to be of clinical or practical significance. Implications for improving future research and for supporting adolescents’ mental health in the digital age are discussed.

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Section: What Do We Currently Know About the Association Between Adolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions

Odgers

Jensen

2020

Child Psychology Psychiatry

509

369

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“…There has also been increasing attention on the negative outcomes associated with social media in adolescence (Best et al 2014;Strasburger et al 2013;Woods and Scott 2016), with some indication that the mental health of girls may be vulnerable to its use (Booker et al 2018). Although a moderate significant association have been found between social media and depressive symptoms in young people, most of these studies are crosssectional or of a limited duration (Barry et al 2017;McCrae et al 2017). There is recent evidence that increasing use of social media is associated with increasing depressive symptoms in girls (Raudsepp and Kais 2019).…”

Section: Early Predictors and Adolescent Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered Pathways of Internalizing Problems from Early Childhood to Adolescence and Associated Adolescent Outcomes

Gutman

Mcmaster²

2020

J Abnorm Child Psychol

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Despite trends indicating worsening internalizing problems, characterized by anxiety and depression, there is dearth of research examining gender differences in developmental trajectories of internalizing problems from early childhood to adolescence. Drawing on the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 17,206, 49% female), this study examines trajectories of parent-reported, clinically-meaningful (reflecting the top 10%) internalizing problems from ages 3 to 14 years and their early predictors and adolescent outcomes. Group-based modelling revealed three trajectories when examining boys and girls together, but there were significant gender differences. When examining boys and girls separately, four trajectories were identified including two relatively stable trajectories showing either high or low probabilities of internalizing problems. An increasing trajectory was also found for both boys and girls, showing an increasing probability of internalizing problems which continued to rise for girls, but levelled off for boys from age 11. A decreasing trajectory was revealed for boys, while a moderate but stable trajectory was identified for girls. Boys and girls in the increasing and high probability groups were more likely to report a number of problematic outcomes including high BMI, self-harm, low mental wellbeing, depressive symptoms, and low educational motivation than the low group. Girls on the increasing trajectory also reported more cigarette and cannabis use and early sexual activity at age 14 compared to girls on the low trajectory. Findings suggest that intervention strategies take a systemic view, targeting not only internal feelings, but also behaviours potentially associated with later negative outcomes.

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“…Research on social media and adolescent mental health has proliferated in recent years, with many studies exploring whether more frequent use of social media is associated with various mental health concerns, including depression [11], body image concerns and disordered eating [12], and externalizing problems [13]. In general, findings from these studies have been mixed, with many revealing a small but significant negative effect of social media use on mental health.…”

Section: Understanding the Impact Of Social Media On Youth Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health

Nesi

2020

North Carolina Medical Journal

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Social Media and Depressive Symptoms in Childhood and Adolescence: A Systematic Review

Cited by 232 publications

References 64 publications

Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions

Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions

Gendered Pathways of Internalizing Problems from Early Childhood to Adolescence and Associated Adolescent Outcomes

The Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health

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