Longitudinal associations between problematic social media use and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls
Open accessAbstract
The primary aim of the current study was to examine longitudinal relation between problematic social media use (PSMU) and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls. Adolescent girls (n = 397) were assessed in three time points across two years. PSMU and depressive symptoms were subjectively assessed at three waves spaced 2 years apart. Latent growth models were used to test whether changes in PSMU were related to changes in depressive symptoms, and whether baseline PSMU predicted changes in depressive symptoms and vice versa. Results revealed baseline PSMU was positively associated with baseline depressive symptoms (β = 0.29, p < 0.01), and changes in PSMU were related to changes in depressive symptoms (β = 0.22, p < 0.05). In addition, baseline depressive symptoms were predictive of changes in PSMU (β = 0.23, p < 0.05), but baseline PSMU did not predict changes in depressive symptoms. These findings provide evidence of positive associations between increasing PSMU and depressive symptoms and suggest that interventions should target reduction of PSMU to prevent adolescents' mental health problems.
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The more time adolescents spent on social media, the more depressed they became.
“Another study found that the more time adolescents spent on social media, the more depressed they became (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
From Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction (2021) · cites this paper as Raudsepp & Kais, 2019
The Conclusions report that increases in problematic social media use were associated with increases in depressive symptoms over two years, which supports a longitudinal association in adolescent girls. But the study measured problematic use, not time spent on social media, and the Discussion says initial problematic use did not predict later changes in depressive symptoms. It therefore does not establish that spending more time on social media made adolescents more depressed. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredRaudsepp and Kais's 2-year study of adolescent girls revealed that baseline levels of depressive symptoms predicted problematic social media use, whereas prior social media use did not predict depressive symptoms.
“Similarly, Raudsepp and Kais's (35) 2-year study of adolescent girls revealed that baseline levels of depressive symptoms predicted problematic social media use, whereas prior social media use did not predict depressive symptoms.”
From Does Social Media Use Increase Depressive Symptoms? A Reverse Causation Perspective (2021) · cites this paper as [35]
Longitudinal studies observe either no or very small effects for the impact of screen time on depressive symptoms, video games, social media, and passive screen use.
“A handful of studies that have approached questions around screen time using longitudinal methods observe either no or very small effects for the impact of screen time on experiences such as depressive symptoms [21,45]. This holds when exploring specific forms of screen activities such as video games [46], social media [5,6,47,48], and passive screen use [21].”
From The Conceptual and Methodological Mayhem of “Screen Time” (2020) · cites this paper as [48]
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Adolescents’ Intense and Problematic Social Media Use and Their Well-Being in 29 Countries
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“Another study found that the more time adolescents spent on social media, the more depressed they became (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
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“In the same way, research by Heffer et al. (2019) and Raudsepp and Kais (2019) found that depression led to increased social media use.”
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“More- over, our findings are in agreement with studies that reported a stronger association between engagement in social media use and depressive mood, low self‐esteem, and other psychological symptoms among females than males (McCrae et al., 2017; Nowland et al., 2018; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
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Does social media use confer suicide risk? A systematic review of the evidence
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“…have examined the link between social media use and depression across a variety of media contexts, including the United States (Escobar-Viera et al., 2018), Germany (Ozimek, 2020), Estonia (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019), Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, Taiwan, Romania and Spain (McCrae et al., 2017).”
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“Several cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies have found evidence linking psychological symptoms with excessive social media use [e.g., 6,7–11].”
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“Negative emotions, alexithymia, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress all serve as risk factors for the development of problematic social media use (Li et al., 2018; Nesi et al., 2017; Pace et al., 2022; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019; Shoshani et al., 2024).”
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“Conversely, two other studies revealed that 10–14-year-old adolescents’ higher baseline depression symptoms were significantly associated with a higher incidence (Li et al., 2018) or a steeper increase (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019 ) of problematic social media use over time.”
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“Some authors proposed a bidirectional association, by supporting the hypothesis that PSMU may lead to depression and, similarly, depression may increase a pre-existing PSMU [78].”
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“…isolation outcomes (see the appendix for an expanded review of the following studies, Brailovskaia & Margraf, 2017; Chen et al., 2020; Di Blasi et al., 2022; Marttila et al., 2021; Muusses et al., 2014; Raudsepp, 2019; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019; van den Eijnden et al., 2018; Vernon et al., 2017).”
de Mello, V. O., Cheung, F., & Inzlicht, M. (2024) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-024-00062-z · Cited by 35 · see citing works
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“…social media use may promote attention problems, impulsivity (e.g., Boer et al., 2020a), anxiety (e.g., Chang et al., 2022), cybervictimiza-tion (e.g., Boer et al., 2021) and depressive symptoms (e.g., Raudsepp & Kais, 2019), and may lower life satisfaction (e.g., Van den Eijnden et al., 2018).”
BackgroundHousehold chaos: a risk factor for adverse child outcomes gains attention in public health
Emond, J. A. (2020) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08680-y · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“It is also possible that excessive social media use in adolescence may relate to internalizing behaviors including depression and anxiety [19, 20] and risky sexual behaviors [18, 21, 22], although findings are mixed [23].”
BackgroundMesce, M., Cerniglia, L., & Cimino, S. (2022) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs12080255 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Developmental changes in brain function linked with addiction-like social media use two years later
Flannery, J. S., Burnell, K., Kwon, S., Jorgensen, N. A., Prinstein, M. J., Lindquist, K. A., & Telzer, E. H. (2024) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nsae008 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
“Indeed, research shows that ASMU symptoms are associated with depressive symptoms (Robinson et al ., 2019), especially among adolescent girls (Raudsepp and Kais, 2019).”
BackgroundSamra, A., & Dryer, R. (2024) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2024.06.057 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Identification of the opportunities and threats of using social media among Iranian adolescent girls
Abolfathi, M., Dehdari, T., Zamani‐Alavijeh, F., Taghdisi, M. H., Ashtarian, H., Rezaei, M., & Irandoost, S. F. (2022) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09224 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
“For girls, higher levels of depressive symptoms may lead to more use of social media and put them in a vicious cyclic of relations [2, 4, 15, 19, 20, 61].”
BackgroundGeng, Y., Gu, J., Yu, J., & Zhu, X. (2020) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-020-00621-7 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Ahmed, O., Dawel, A., Walsh, E., & Cherbuin, N. (2025) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108446 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Nomophobia in teenagers: digital lifestyle, social networking and smartphone abuse
Ramos-Soler, I., López-Sánchez, C., & Quiles-Soler, C. (2021) · Communications Society · doi:10.15581/003.34.4.17-32 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
“…Valle, Oberst & Chamarro, 2015; Lee, Kim, Mendoza & McDonough, 2018; Darvishi, Noori, Nazer, Sheikholeslami & Karimi, 2019), general health problems (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019), as well as low productivity and academic performance (Duke & Montag, 2017; Lanaj, Johnson & Barnes, 2014 ; Montag &…”
Wang, H. (2024) · Psychology Research and Behavior Management · doi:10.2147/prbm.s452603 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“21,38 On the one hand, universities are currently undergoing digital reform and transformation with the development of digital technology, and activities related to the learning and development of university students are carried out online and even on social media; over time, this situation creates…”
InfluentialMaftei, A., & Diaconu-Gherasim, L. R. (2023) · Journal of Children and Media · doi:10.1080/17482798.2023.2255304 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“Adolescence is a crucial period for the emergence of various dependences (Gladwin et al., 2011), including behavioral addictions, such as social media addiction, and the escalation of emotion-related symptoms (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
BackgroundPacker, J., & Flack, M. (2023) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-023-01094-y · Cited by 17 · see citing works
“Longitudinal research has also indicated a temporal relationship depression and increased the risk of PSMU severity (Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
Social media and e-cigarette use: The mediating role of mental health conditions
Azagba, S., Ebling, T., & Korkmaz, A. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.10.053 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Social Media Use and Well-being With Bipolar Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Path Analysis
Star, A. P., Bachner, Y. G., Cohen, B., Haglili, O., & O’Rourke, N. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/39519 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
“Alternatively, depression may predict excessive SMU [23], as those with severe chronic depression are often socially isolated and rely on online interactions [24].”
BackgroundProblematic Digital Media Use and Addiction
Domoff, S. E., Borgen, A. L., Rye, B., Barajas, G. R., & Avery, K. (2022) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108976237.016 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Conceptualización del comportamiento emocional y la adicción a las redes sociales virtuales
García del Castillo, J. A., García del Castillo-López, Á., Dias, P. C., & García-Castillo, F. (2019) · Health and Addictions/Salud y Drogas · doi:10.21134/haaj.v19i2.525 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Hernández, C., Cottin, M., Parada, F., Labbé, N., Núñez, C., Quevedo, Y., Davanzo, A., & Behn, A. J. (2021) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2021.106995 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Zotova, D., & Rozanov, V. A. (2020) · Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University Psychology · doi:10.21638/spbu16.2020.204 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“и патологической тяги к СС у девочек-подростков [61].”
Xiong, S., Yi, X., Chen, Y., & Zhang, B. (2025) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2025.00032 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
“Overall, the Chinese adolescents showed a linear increase in PSMU over the course of one year, consistent with existing longitudinal research (Raudsepp, 2019; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019).”
Oberle, E., Ji, X. R., Molyneux, T. M., Guhn, M., Forer, B., Thomson, K., Alkawaja, M., Kassan, A., & Gadermann, A. (2025) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118201 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Luo, Y., Liang, L., Zhou, H., Qi, X., Xu, J., & Meng, H. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-23443-3 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
McIsaac, M. A., King, N., Steeves, V., Phillips, S. P., Vafaei, A., Michaelson, V. E., Davison, C., & Pickett, W. (2023) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107451 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Clayborne, Z. M., Wong, S. L., Roberts, K. C., Prince, S. A., Gariépy, G., Goldfield, G. S., Janssen, I., & Lang, J. J. (2024) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2024.11.071 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Durmuş, M., Sarman, A., Çiftçi, N., & Durmuş, Y. (2025) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing · doi:10.1111/jcap.70024 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“Social media enables individual expression (Radovic et al. 2017) but, when used excessively, can negatively impact mental health (Raudsepp and Kais 2019), leading to loneliness, insomnia, fatigue, diminished interest and concentration, depressive moods, and stress (Aalbers et al. 2019; Azhari et…”
Ren, Z., Lu, H. J., Zheng, P., Lu, H., Su, Z., Huang, Z., & Wu, Y. (2025) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2025.108515 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Dampak Penggunaan Media Sosial Terhadap Gangguan Psikososial Pada Remaja: A Narrative Review
Gunawan, I. A. N., Suryani, & Shalahuddin, I. (2022) · Jurnal Kesehatan · doi:10.23917/jk.v15i1.17426 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Ji, W., Ding, L., Li, X., Wu, Y., & 李海燕 (2026) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2026.108640 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Digital generation: the association between daily smartphone app use and well-being
Schenkel, K., Nußbeck, F. W., Kerkhoff, D., Scholz, U., Keller, J., & Radtke, T. (2024) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2024.2406255 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Waqar, L., Mazhar, A. F., Rafique, M., & Rehman, M. (2022) · Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society · doi:10.63050/jpps.19.04.184 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Examining the Associations Between Online Interactions and Momentary Affect in Depressed Adolescents
Moukalled, S., Bickham, D. S., & Rich, M. (2021) · Frontiers in Human Dynamics · doi:10.3389/fhumd.2021.624727 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Researchers acknowledge, however, that depression may precede and motivate SNS use, or that vulnerable youth may engage with interactive media in maladaptive ways that have been associated with increases in depressive symptoms (Raudsepp and Kais 2019).”
BackgroundLei, H., Huang, Y., chai, Y., & Zhang, X. (2022) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.942720 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Sursely, A. M., Baran, B., Bardhoshi, G., & Platt, J. (2025) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.70088 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“…al. 2023a; Hanprathet et al. 2015; Li et al. 2017; Muzi et al. 2021; Pontes 2017; Wang et al. 2018; Watson et al. 2022; Yurdagül et al. 2021; Boer et al. 2021; Raudsepp and Kais 2019; Vernon et al. 2017), and a null association was reported in two studies (Khalil et al. 2022; Gingras et al. 2023).”
Wiedemann, H., Lüdecke, D., Thomasius, R., & Paschke, K. (2026) · Computers in Human Behavior Reports · doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2026.100958 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Ledel, Å., Låftman, S. B., & Landberg, J. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-22927-6 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
“Excessive time spent on social media platforms may also imply a risk for poor health since it limits the time spent on health promoting habits such as adequate sleep, physical and social activities [13].”
Internet addiction and psychological impact on adolescents: A scoping review
Dermani, H., & Perdikaris, P. (2022) · International Journal of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Archive · doi:10.53771/ijbpsa.2022.4.2.0096 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Bonassi, A., Carollo, A., Cataldo, I., Gabrieli, G., Tandiono, M., Foo, J. N., Lepri, B., & Esposito, G. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph18147547 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Rice, T., Calov, C., & Arias, D. (2024) · Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic · doi:10.1521/bumc.2024.88.4.360 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Zhang, Y. L., & Chao, M. (2025) · Addiction Research & Theory · doi:10.1080/16066359.2025.2517630 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Furthermore, longitudinal studies have found that adolescent social media use is associated with depressed mood, over time (Raudsepp and Kais 2019; Thorisdottir et al. 2020).”
Social Media and Youth Mental Health: A Departure from the Status Quo
Coyne, S. M., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Bekalu, M. A., Charmaraman, L., Primack, B. A., Shafi, R. M. A., Valkenburg, P. M., & Williams, K. D. A. (2024) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-69362-5_17 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Importance of patient online activities
Monteith, S., Glenn, T., Geddes, J. R., Whybrow, P. C., Achtyes, E. D., Bauer, R., & Bauer, M. (2025) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.2025.32 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Chen, H.-J., Lee, T. S., & Wu, W. (2025) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2025.2490223 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“…exploring the relationship between depression and IA have focused on adolescents (e.g. Bai et al., 2020; Cheung et al., 2018; Houghton et al., 2018; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019; Zhao et al., 2023, 2024; Zhen et al., 2020) or adults (e.g. S. K. Chen & Lin, 2016; Jasso-Medrano & López-Rosales, 2018; Lim…”
Dou, K., Li, Y.-Y., Wang, M.-L., Yuan, X., & Liang, W. (2025) · Journal of Behavioral Addictions · doi:10.1556/2006.2025.00074 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Previous studies have recognized the trajectory of PSMU among adolescents (Boer et al., 2022; Raudsepp, 2019; Raudsepp & Kais, 2019; Xiong et al., 2025).”
InfluentialThe Relationship Between Social Media Addiction, Depression, Stress, and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis
Dadiotis, A., Malliari, K., Critselis, E., Bacopoulou, F., Vlachakis, D., Chrousos, G. P., & Darviri, C. (2025) · Advances in experimental medicine and biology · doi:10.1007/978-3-032-03398-7_28 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Digital Media Use in Transitional-Age Youth: Challenges and Opportunities
Weigle, P. E., Kaliebe, K., Dalope, K. A., Asamoah, T., & Shafi, R. M. A. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-62113-1_18 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Faulhaber, M. E. (2023) · doi:10.31274/td-20240617-356 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Problematic social networking site use in Turkey: A large-scale national survey study
Ünübol, H., Sayar, G., Hussain, Z., Savcı, M., Kircaburun, K., & Griffiths, M. D. (2024) · Journal of Concurrent Disorders · doi:10.54127/gmqz8433 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mulisa, F., Kejela, M., & Shuku, J. (2025) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-025-00502-5 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Ahmed, O., Walsh, E., Dawel, A., & Cherbuin, N. (2025) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1155/hbe2/6575876 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Mental development of children and adolescents in the context of digitalization of society
Александровна, Ф. А. (2025) · Psychology and Law · doi:10.17759/psylaw.2025150302 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Effects of problematic social media use on depressive symptoms
Blanquer-Cortés, M., Estévez, E., Estévez, J. F., & Irles, D. L. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-29258-x · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“The results are in line with those found in previous studies, which support the idea that problematic social media use increases depressive symptoms 38,39 , as well as the development of other mental health problems 25,40 .”
Yuan, C., Zhou, H., Wang, A., Jiang, H., & Xiao, N. (2026) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.70210 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Remondi, C., Tona, A. L., Salerno, L., Aiello, R., Donisi, V., Poli, S., De, E. F., Delvecchio, E., & Brugnera, A. (2026) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1002/jad.70237 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“This perspective has been supported by a substantial body of cross‐sectional research, as well as longitudinal studies examining temporal precedence (e.g., Raudsepp and Kais 2019; Zhou et al. 2023).”
Patel, A., Sefi, A., Hanley, T., Conn, C., & Prescott, J. (2022) · Mental Health and Social Inclusion · doi:10.1108/mhsi-05-2022-0032 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Social media, societal changes, and mental health
Shawcroft, J. E., Gale, M., & Coyne, S. M. (2021) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-91497-0.00002-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
#ConnectedTeens: Social media use and adolescent wellbeing
Boer, M. (2022) · doi:10.33540/1272 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Bermejo‐Martins, E., Torres-Sahli, M., Madsen, K. R., Tabs-Damgraads, M., Nielsen, L., Meilstrup, C., Toftager, M., & Santini, Z. I. (2023) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2023.08.31.23294835 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Yi, H., Wu, X., & Liu, X. (2025) · Research Square · doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-7600425/v1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Social support, social media and life satisfaction with BD during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)Preprint
Star, A. P., Bachner, Y. G., Cohen, B., Haglili, O., & O’Rourke, N. (2022) · doi:10.2196/preprints.39519
Vaňková, K. (2024) · Clinical Social Work and Health Intervention · doi:10.22359/cswhi_15_2_11
“…10,930 adolescents from six European countries has shown an association between problematic Internet use and a higher risk of overweight/obesity through various information and communication technologies as well as reduced academic performance (Tsitsika et al., 2016; Raudsepp, Kais, 2019).”
Background
- Authors
- Raudsepp, L., & Kais, K.
- Affiliations
- University of Tartu (EE)
- Corresponding author
- Raudsepp, Lennart
- ORCID
- Raudsepp, Lennart
- Venue
- Preventive Medicine Reports
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-09
- Volume
- 15
- Pages
- 100925
- ISSN
- 2211-3355 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6603436
- OpenAlex
- W2952745509
- Cited by
- 114
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 24.11
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Preventive Medicine Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Tartu Ülikool
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health via Writing
- Keywords
- social media addiction, depressive symptoms, adolescent girls, longitudinal associations, mental health, social media use, prevention interventions
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