The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 61 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Media Use Is Linked to Lower Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from Three Datasets
Abstract
Adolescents spend a substantial and increasing amount of time using digital media (smartphones, computers, social media, gaming, Internet), but existing studies do not agree on whether time spent on digital media is associated with lower psychological well-being (including happiness, general well-being, and indicators of low well-being such as depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts). Across three large surveys of adolescents in two countries (n = 221,096), light users (<1 h a day) of digital media reported substantially higher psychological well-being than heavy users (5+ hours a day). Datasets initially presented as supporting opposite conclusions produced similar effect sizes when analyzed using the same strategy. Heavy users (vs. light) of digital media were 48% to 171% more likely to be unhappy, to be in low in well-being, or to have suicide risk factors such as depression, suicidal ideation, or past suicide attempts. Heavy users (vs. light) were twice as likely to report having attempted suicide. Light users (rather than non- or moderate users) were highest in well-being, and for most digital media use the largest drop in well-being occurred between moderate use and heavy use. The limitations of using percent variance explained as a gauge of practical impact are discussed.
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“A wealth of evidence suggests higher levels of social media use are associated with symptoms of anxiety [3-5], symptoms of depression [3,6-8], decreased psychological well-being [9], lower self-esteem [3], psychological distress [10-12], and loneliness [5].”
From Problematic Social Media Use in Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
In the citing paper
“social media can increase users’ sense of connectedness with others [4], thus reducing social isolation.”
From How social media usage affects psychological and subjective well-being: testing a moderated mediation model (2023) · cites this paper as [4]
Citations
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Self-citationFacebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Twenge, J. M., & Martin, G. N. (2020) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.12.018 · Cited by 582
Self-citationProblematic Social Media Use in Adolescents and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Shannon, H., Bush, K., Villeneuve, P. J., Hellemans, K. G., & Guimond, S. (2022) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/33450 · Cited by 593
Social Media and Mental Health
Braghieri, L., Levy, R., & Makarin, A. (2022) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.20211218 · Cited by 673
Social Media and Well-Being: Pitfalls, Progress, and Next Steps
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Twenge, J. M. (2019) · Current Directions in Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0963721419838244 · Cited by 339
Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K.
- Affiliations
- San Diego State University (US)
- University of Georgia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Twenge, Jean M.
- Venue
- Psychiatric Quarterly
- Published
- 2019-03-11
- Volume
- 90
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 311-331
- ISSN
- 0033-2720 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-6709
- OpenAlex
- W2921374582
- Cited by
- 429
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 79 · 2025: 81 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 8
- FWCI
- 74.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Psychiatric Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Communication › Digital Media and Philosophy
- Keywords
- digital media use, adolescents, psychological well-being, happiness, depression, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, social media, smartphone use, gaming, effect size interpretation
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Computers, Depression, Female, United Kingdom, Happiness, Humans, Male, Personal Satisfaction, Suicide, United States, Video Games, Internet, Social Media, Datasets as Topic
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