Cited by 410Impact of Technology on AdolescentsMedia and Digital CommunicationSocial Media and Politics

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Social Media Elements, Ecologies, and Effects

Bayer, Joseph B., Triệu, Penny, Ellison, Nicole B.·2020·Annual Review of Psychology

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Abstract

This review delineates core components of the social media ecosystem, specifying how online platforms complicate established social psychological effects. We assess four pairs of social media elements and effects: profiles and self-presentation; networks and social mobilization; streams and social comparison; and messages and social connectedness. In the process, we describe features and affordances that comprise each element, underscoring the complexity of social media contexts as they shift to a central topic within psychology. Reflecting on this transitional state, we discuss how researchers will struggle to replicate the effects of dynamic social environments. Consequently, we outline the obstacles in isolating effects that reoccur across platforms, as well as the challenges and opportunities that come with measuring contexts across periods. By centering on the elements that define the online ecosystem, psychological research can establish a more durable foundation for replicating the effects of social media and chronicling the evolution of social interaction.

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BackgroundResult
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“Uma subclasse dessas mídias é chamada de rede social, que é composta tanto por perfis de amigos e familiares, quanto por marcas, empresas, famosos, influenciadores digitais e toda sorte de organizações ligadas ao entretenimento (Bayer, Triêu & Ellison, 2020).”
Influential
Lifting the Digital Curtain: Utilizing Social Media to Promote Health Content and Engage with Asian Populations
Yuthok, T. Y. W., Sales, C., Li, S., Li, N., Connors, K., & Palaniappan, L. P. (2022) · Journal of Asian Health · doi:10.59448/jah.v2i1.16 · Cited by 2
Exploring citizen discussions’ potential to inform smart city agendas: Insights from German-city-centered online communities
Schindler, M., & Domahidi, E. (2023) · New Media & Society · doi:10.1177/14614448231187032 · Cited by 3
“Bayer et al. (2020) identified four key challenge areas, including authenticity, loneliness, envy, and distraction.”
Influential
The Relationship between Social Anxiety and the Intensity of Social Media Usage, and the Passive Social Media Usage among High School Students
雍, 婉. (2023) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2023.139494 · Cited by 2
A Qualitative Study Among Adolescents to Unravel the Perceived Group Dynamics Underlying the Use of Closed SNS Stories and the Sharing of Alcohol-Related Content Therein
Vanherle, R. (2025) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2024.2440321 · Cited by 2
“This aligns with the concept of personalized social media ecologies (Bayer et al., 2020), where individuals prefer specific platforms for particular tasks despite using multiple platforms concurrently.”
Generational Digital Divide of Health Communication: Social Media Use Motivations, Perceived Social Support, and Mental Health in China
Chen, Y., Yang, W., Zhang, X., & Wu, Y. (2025) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2025.2567514 · Cited by 3
“Concerns have been raised about the validity of categorizing SMU as “passive” (Hall, 1980), the existence of a gray area between passive and active use (e.g., liking posts; Carr et al., 2016), and the interdependence of both types of usage (Bayer et al., 2020).”
A dynamic network perspective on the evolution of the use of multiple mobile instant messaging apps
Xu, Y. (2022) · Communication Monographs · doi:10.1080/03637751.2022.2040739 · Cited by 2
“These apps have emerged as companions to existing SNSs (e.g., Facebook Messenger) or mobile native platforms designed speci ﬁ cally for text-or image-based chat (e.g., Snap-chat; Bayer et al., 2020; Sheer & Rice, 2017).”
Background
Language Ecology in New Media: An Analysis of CCTV.com on Douyin
Zhang, W., & Xiao, H.-Z. (2022) · International Journal of English Linguistics · doi:10.5539/ijel.v12n4p1 · Cited by 2
“Bayer et al. (2020) believe that defining social media must have two essential elements: first, it must be internet-based, namely, supporting asynchronous or non-live social interaction; and second, social media should be interactive, or perceived as social, and user-generated, which is the core…”
Background
Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung – Impulse zu Digitalisierung, Inklusion und Klimaschutz
:null (2022) · Verlag Barbara Budrich eBooks · doi:10.3224/84742591 · Cited by 10
A replication and extension of the Personal Social Media Ecosystem Framework
Carter, M. C., Cingel, D. P., Vigil, S. L., & Ruiz, J. B. (2023) · Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication · doi:10.1093/jcmc/zmad036 · Cited by 2
The revenue model of mainstream online social networks and potential alternatives: A scenario-based evaluation by German adolescents and adults
Sindermann, C., Löchner, N., Heinzelmann, R., Montag, C., & Scholz, R. W. (2024) · Technology in Society · doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102569 · Cited by 2
Social media and adolescent mental health
Charmaraman, L., Delcourt, C. G., Ben-Joseph, E. P., & Smucker, R. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-818872-9.00171-0 · Cited by 2
The network structure of online amplification
Gallagher, R. J. (2022) · Digital Repository Service (Northeastern University) · doi:10.17760/d20467308 · Cited by 2
An Antidote to Overpathologizing Computer-Mediated CommunicationPreprint
Katiyar, T., Hunt, A., Chaudhary, N., & Jaeggi, A. V. (2023) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/t4azn · Cited by 2
The Effect of SNS Fatigue on the 20's SNS Users' Self-Presentation: Focusing on the Characteristics of Each SNS Users
Wang, X., & Park, S. (2021) · Journal of Digital Contents Society · doi:10.9728/dcs.2021.22.7.1069 · Cited by 1
Social constructs of online feminine identities in social media: A thematic analysis
Wickens, E., & Haughton, M. (2023) · Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Review · doi:10.53841/bpspowe.2023.6.1.20 · Cited by 1
Increasing Social Care Through Civic Education in Higher Education
Suyato, S., & Hidayah, Y. (2024) · Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan · doi:10.21831/cp.v43i1.67136 · Cited by 1
From paradoxical freedom of opinion to media education as defensive democracy
Kekki, M.-K. (2024) · Ethics and Education · doi:10.1080/17449642.2024.2421705 · Cited by 1
“The content one encounters is often personalized (Thorson and Wells 2016), and those sharing beliefs and values congregate and communicate in a way that is unfeasible through non-digital mass media (see Bayer, Tri ệ u, and Ellison 2020; Bossetta 2018).”
Social Media Research
Guadagno, R. E., & Olivieri, A. F. (2024) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009000796.004 · Cited by 1
Are virtual places perceived as real? Belief in equivalence of virtual and physical spaces and its role in shaping willingness to migrate to virtual worlds
Oleksy, T., & Lassota, I. (2025) · Technology in Society · doi:10.1016/j.techsoc.2025.102943 · Cited by 1
Social media harm abatement: Mechanisms for transparent public health assessment
Lubin, N., Liu, Y., Yarnell, A., Austin, S. B., Ward, Z. J., Iyer, R., Stray, J., Lawrence, M. B., Cooper, A., & Chapman, P. (2025) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/nyas.15345 · Cited by 2
“…and contribute to scientific knowledge on the relationships between social media use, intermediate outcomes, and indicators such as subjective well-being that evolve over a longer timeframe (e.g. 6+ months) than is typically observed in on-platform experiments (typically weeks at most) 97,98 .”
Russia's @RT_Com Twitter campaign supporting the 2022 Ukraine invasion: A rhetorical analysis
Nelson, N., Hodgetts, D., & Chamberlain, K. (2025) · Political Psychology · doi:10.1111/pops.70044 · Cited by 1
Politically Motivated Retroactive Self-Censorship on Social Media: Managing Political Impression in a Politically Polarized Environment
Zhang, X. (2025) · Mass Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/15205436.2025.2515216 · Cited by 1
“Three social media elements shape online identities: profile (photo album), network (followers or friends), and timeline (Bayer et al., 2020).”
Facing a Fast-Paced, Digital World: Gen Z’s Perception of Social (Media) Groups
Schwarze, V., Börsting, J., & Eimler, S. C. (2025) · Journal of Adult Development · doi:10.1007/s10804-025-09536-8 · Cited by 1
“Social media creates spaces for heterogeneous and highly differentiated audiences (Bayer et al., 2020) that consist of various groups such as musicians, activists, or students—to name just a few—with very different interests (e.g., in the fields of art, politics, games, beauty, or research).”
Knowledge sharing in mobile messaging groups: role of governance mechanism, felt responsibility and regulatory focus
Jia, J., Xiao, L., Zhang, Y., & Jiang, S. (2025) · Knowledge Management Research & Practice · doi:10.1080/14778238.2025.2552413 · Cited by 1
Malayali women's travel writing in Instagram and digitally mediated cultures of reading
Salim, S. K. (2025) · New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia · doi:10.1080/13614568.2025.2587150 · Cited by 1
Psychometric Evaluation of a Contextualized Version of the German BFI-2 for the Digital World Across Self- and Other-Ratings
Tinhof, D. L., Rauthmann, J. F., & Mayer, A. (2026) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2026.2691226 · Cited by 1
Hybrid Identity in Motion: Eileen Gu’s Cross-Platform Visual Self-Presentation on Weibo and Instagram
Wang, Z., & Zhu, J. (2026) · Communication & Sport · doi:10.1177/21674795251415010 · Cited by 2
“However, such visual strategies are shaped by the affordances, audience expectations, and regulatory environments of speci ﬁ c platforms (Bayer et al., 2020; Literat & Kligler-Vilenchik, 2019).”
Social media vs. messaging: using GPS data to explore social app ecologies in context
Rhee, L., Ross, M. Q., Le, H., Mount, J., Chang, Y.-J., & Bayer, J. (2026) · Behaviour and Information Technology · doi:10.1080/0144929x.2026.2619109 · Cited by 1
“…interchangeably, to characterise the set of devices, platforms, and content that users incorporate into their daily routines, including ‘ecologies’, ‘repertoires’, and ‘diets’ (Bayer, Triệu, and Ellison 2020; Carter et al. 2023; Frey and Friemel 2023; Orben 2022; Zhao, Lampe, and Ellison 2016).”
Self-citation
From platforms to features: A cross-platform framework for Social Network Sites and mental health
Masciantonio, A., Wormley, A. S., Kross, E., & Verduyn, P. (2026) · SSM - Mental Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmmh.2026.100601
Social media platforms and the spreading of hate speech targeting sexual and gender minorities: a scoping review
Clausen, A., Frischlich, L., & Mayer, P. (2026) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2026.2636138 · Cited by 1
“Social media platforms are interactive websites and apps where social media users can create and share content online (Bayer et al., 2020; Carr & Hayes, 2015).”
Political Communication Special Issue Introduction: Multi-Platform Research
Lukito, J., Pruden, M. L., Suk, J., Yang, Y.-K., & Zhong, W. (2026) · Political Communication · doi:10.1080/10584609.2026.2649632 · Cited by 1
“More recently, scholars have conceptualized social media as an integrated entity, an “ecosystem” of connected platforms (Bayer et al., 2020) or “system” characterized by interdependence (Zhang, Lukito, et al., 2025), that evolves through and is continuously shaped by user interactions (Carter et…”
From Integration Deficit to Imbalanced Integration: Digital–Social Mechanisms Across Places and Migrants' Mental Health
Cheng, H. (2026) · Population Space and Place · doi:10.1002/psp.70349 · Cited by 1
“…in social comparison to the same extent, digital platforms provide abundant opportunities for evaluating one's socioeconomic position, lifestyles, achievements, and interpersonal relationships relative to others (Coyne et al. 2017; Reer et al. 2019; Shepherd and Lane 2019; Bayer et al. 2020).”
What is constant connectivity? The affordances that underlie potential communication
Ross, M. Q., & Bayer, J. (2026) · Annals of the International Communication Association · doi:10.1093/anncom/wlag040 · Cited by 1
Self-citation
Adolescents’ Experiences of Online Harms by Platform
Lee, A. Y., Lim, C. H. J., Liu, X., Jin, R. K. X., Buffone, A. E. K., Iyer, R., Rausch, Z. M., Haidt, J., Fast, N. J., Hancock, J. T., et al. (2026) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4692 · Cited by 1

Authors: Bayer, J. B., Triệu, P., & Ellison, N. B.
Affiliations: The Ohio State University (US)
University of Michigan (US)
ORCID: Bayer, Joseph B.
Triệu, Penny
Ellison, Nicole B.
Venue: Annual Review of Psychology
Publisher: Annual Reviews
Published: 2020-01-04
Volume: 71
Issue: 1
Pages: 471-497
ISSN: 0066-4308 (ISSN-L)
1545-2085
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050944
OpenAlex: W2973059560
Cited by: 410
References: 161
Citations by year: 2026: 65 · 2025: 69 · 2024: 74 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 41 · 2020: 19
FWCI: 8.94
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Annual Review of Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
Keywords: social media, social networking sites, self-presentation, social networks, social mobilization, social comparison, social connectedness, social interaction
MeSH terms: Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Psychology, Social, Social Media

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