Association Between Social Network Sites Use and Mental Illness: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The existing literature shows mixed results of how the use of social networking sites (SNSs) is related to mental health. Some studies provided evidence that SNS users are more mentally healthy because of the exchanged social support, while others argued that users tend to engage in upward social comparison, which would result in mental illness. To shed light on this relationship, we conducted a meta-analytic review to examine a) the association between SNS use and mental illness and b) the factors that moderate the association. A total of 1,451 studies were retrieved from six databases (i.e., Communication & Mass Media Complete, PsycINFO, Academic Search Complete, Web of Science, PubMed, and Medline), among which 37 empirical studies (N = 84,955) were eligible for meta-analysis based on the inclusion criteria (i.e., empirical and quantitative studies with human subjects, including sufficient statistical information for effect size computation, concerned with SNS use and mental illness). Results showed that SNS use is associated with not only the likelihood of experiencing overall mental illness (r = .11) but also specific illness, including depression (r = .10), suicidal ideation (r = .22), schizophrenia/mania (r = .09), and ADHD/hyperactivity (r = .27). In addition, the intensity of SNS use, continuous measurement (vs. categorical), and participants’ health condition were found as positive moderators, whereas adopting social support as the theoretical framework and the proportion of African American participants as negative moderators of the association between SNS use and mental illness. Implications of the current study were discussed.