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Cited by 290Impact of Technology on AdolescentsDigital Media and PhilosophyPersonality Traits and Psychology

Are Social Media Ruining Our Lives? A Review of Meta-Analytic Evidence

Appel, Markus, Marker, Caroline, Gnambs, Timo·2020·Review of General Psychology
DOI 10.1177/1089268019880891
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Abstract

A growing number of studies have examined the psychological corollaries of using social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter (often called social media). The interdisciplinary research area and conflicting evidence from primary studies complicate the assessment of current scholarly knowledge in this field of high public attention. We review meta-analytic evidence on three hotly debated topics regarding the effects of SNSs: well-being, academic achievement, and narcissism. Meta-analyses from different laboratories draw a rather equivocal picture. They show small associations in the r = .10 range between the intensity of SNS use and loneliness, self-esteem, life satisfaction, or self-reported depression, and somewhat stronger links to a thin body ideal and higher social capital. There is no indication for potential devastating effects of social media on school achievement; social media use and school grades are unrelated for adolescents. The meta-analyses revealed small to moderate associations between narcissism and SNS use. In sum, meta-analytic evidence is not in support of dramatic claims relating social media use to mischief.

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  • Meta-analyses have identified small or negligible negative links between social media use and well-being.

    “Meta-analyses have identified small or negligible negative links between social media use and well-being6,7”

    From Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media (2022) · cites this paper as [7]

  • Usually, new technologies tend to have complex and multilayered effects on individuals and societies, which are not simply black or white; that is, the question whether digital technologies have desirable or problematic effects on autobiographical remembering is likely to be too superficial to account for the complexity of reality.

    “Usually, new technologies tend to have complex and multilayered effects on individuals and societies, which are not simply black or white; that is, the question whether digital technologies have desirable or problematic effects on autobiographical remembering is likely to be too superficial to account for the complexity of reality (cf.Appel et al., 2020;Orben & Przybylski, 2019).”

    From Understanding Autobiographical Memory in the Digital Age: The AMEDIA-Model (2024) · cites this paper as Appel et al., 2020

  • A power analysis based on a small-to-medium effect size (f2 = 0.09) indicated that a sample size of 200 provides 90 percent power (α = 0.05) to detect a significant effect, and the authors aimed to recruit 250 participants.

    “A power analysis using G*Power based on a small-to-medium effect size (f2 = 0.09) between social media use and each of our dependent variables indicated that a sample size of 200 provides 90 percent power (α = 0.05) to detect a significant effect; we intentionally oversampled and aimed to recruit 250 participants to account for participants who opt out of providing blood samples.”

    From Social Media Use and Its Link to Physical Health Indicators (2022) · cites this paper as [42]

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Authors
Appel, M., Marker, C., & Gnambs, T.
Affiliations
  • University of Würzburg (DE)
  • Johannes Kepler University of Linz (AT)
Corresponding author
Appel, Markus
ORCID
Venue
Review of General Psychology
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2019-10-16
Volume
24
Issue
1
Pages
60-74
ISSN
  • 1089-2680 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1552
DOI
10.1177/1089268019880891
OpenAlex
W2981075629
Semantic Scholar
cbd4f71d3c79a5521394000d393dd6917cb231b8
Cited by
290
References
111
Citations by year
2026: 43 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 47 · 2022: 51 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 14
FWCI
48.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Review of General Psychology (publishedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (AP 207/2-1)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Science Applications › Digital Media and Philosophy
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Keywords
social media use, social networking sites, well-being, loneliness, self-esteem, life satisfaction, depression, thin ideal, social capital, academic performance, narcissism, adolescents, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

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