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Cited by 355Impact of Technology on AdolescentsMental Health via WritingBody Image and Dysmorphia Studies

Is social network site usage related to depression? A meta-analysis of Facebook–depression relations

Yoon, Sunkyung, Kleinman, Mary, Mertz, Jessica, Brannick, Michael·2019·Journal of Affective Disorders
DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2019.01.026
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Abstract

Background Facebook depression is defined as feeling depressed upon too much exposure to Social networking sites (SNS). Researchers have argued that upward social comparisons made on SNS are the key to the Facebook depression phenomenon. To examine the relations between SNS usage and depression, we conducted 4 separate meta-analyses relating depression to: (1) time spent on SNS, (2) SNS checking frequency, (3) general and (4) upward social comparisons on SNS. We compared the four mean effect sizes in terms of magnitude.Methods Our literature search yielded 33 articles with a sample of 15,881 for time spent on SNS, 12 articles with a sample of 8041 for SNS checking frequency, and 5 articles with a sample of 1715 and 2298 for the general and the upward social comparison analyses, respectively.Results In both SNS-usage analyses, greater time spent on SNS and frequency of checking SNS were associated with higher levels of depression with a small effect size. Further, higher levels of depression were associated with greater general social comparisons on SNS with a small to medium effect, and greater upward social comparisons on SNS with a medium effect. Both social comparisons on SNS were more strongly related to depression than was time spent on SNS.Limitations Limitations include heterogeneity in effect sizes and a small number of samples for social comparison analyses.Conclusions Our results are consistent with the notion of 'Facebook depression phenomenon' and with the theoretical importance of social comparisons as an explanation.

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  • Individuals experiencing depressive symptoms often suffer from social media addiction.

    “studies have shown that individuals experiencing depressive symptoms often suffer from social media addiction [18–20].”

    From Correlations between social media addiction and anxiety, depression, FoMO, loneliness and self-esteem among students: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [20]

  • Previous studies on TikTok and adolescent mental health have found detrimental effects in terms of anxiety, depression, psychological distress, disordered eating, sleep, and wellbeing.

    “While some of them found detrimental effects in terms of anxiety [47], depression [48], psychological distress [49], disordered eating [50], sleep [51], and wellbeing [52]”

    From Scrolling through adolescence: a systematic review of the impact of TikTok on adolescent mental health (2025) · cites this paper as [48]

  • Negative social comparison on social media has been associated with poor mental health such as increased depressive and anxiety symptoms.

    “Similar to PSMU, negative social comparison on social media has been associated with poor mental health such as increased depressive and anxiety symptoms (Appel et al., 2015; Schmuck et al., 2019; Yoon et al., 2019).”

    From Problematic social media use and inhibitory control among post-secondary students (2025) · cites this paper as Yoon et al., 2019

  • Information shared on social networking sites gives rise to upward social comparisons, which can have negative effects on well-being and mental health.

    “the information that is shared on social networking sites gives rise to upward social comparisons, which can have negative effects on well-being and mental health (Verduyn et al., 2020; for meta-analyses, see Yang et al., 2019;Yoon et al., 2019).”

    From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Yoon et al., 2019

  • Heavy reliance on correlational data severely limits the ability to infer directionality and argue that exposure to social media causes depression.

    “The heavy reliance on correlational data severely limits our ability to infer directionality and argue that exposure to social media causes depression (11, 22).”

    From Does Social Media Use Increase Depressive Symptoms? A Reverse Causation Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as [22]

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Authors
Yoon, S., Kleinman, M., Mertz, J., & Brannick, M.
Affiliations
University of South Florida (US)
Corresponding author
Yoon, Sunkyung
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Affective Disorders
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-04
Volume
248
Pages
65-72
ISSN
0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jad.2019.01.026
OpenAlex
W2914027514
Cited by
355
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 60 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 45 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 11
FWCI
9.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies
Keywords
social networking sites, depression, upward social comparison, time spent on social media, social media use
MeSH terms
Depression, Depressive Disorder, Emotions, Humans, Behavior, Addictive, Social Networking, Social Media

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