maagdenhuis

8 September 2021

Two umbrella reviews on social media and mental health

 umbrella

Patti Valkenburg completed two umbrella reviews of the effects of social media use on mental health. An umbrella review is a review of existing meta-analyses and literature reviews.

Both umbrella reviews available on PsyArXiv here and here

The scientific literature on social media use on mental health and well-being has exploded in the past years. As of 2019, 46 reviews (meta-analyses, systematic, or narrative reviews) on this topic have been published. Yet a recent higher-order synthesis of these meta-analyses and reviews was still lacking.

One of the two umbrella reviews focuses on adolescents (10-18 years)  one on adults (18+).

Valkenburg summarizes and synthesizes the findings in existing meta-analyses and reviews. And she presents several important avenues for future research on social media use and mental health.