Cited by 111Impact of Technology on AdolescentsCOVID-19 and Mental HealthChild Development and Digital Technology

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 110 of the 111 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 86 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Reexamining Social Media and Socioemotional Well-Being Among Adolescents Through the Lens of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Theoretical Review and Directions for Future Research

Open access
Hamilton, Jessica L., Nesi, Jacqueline, Choukas-Bradley, Sophia·2022·Perspectives on Psychological Science

Abstract

Social media has rapidly transformed the ways in which adolescents socialize and interact with the world, which has contributed to ongoing public debate about whether social media is helping or harming adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified both the challenges and opportunities of adolescents’ social-media use, which necessitates revisiting the conversation around teens and social media. In this article, we discuss key aspects of adolescent social-media use and socioemotional well-being and outline how these issues may be amplified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We use this as a springboard to outline key future research directions for the field, with the goal of moving away from reductionist approaches and toward a more nuanced perspective to understand the who, what, and when of social-media use and its impact on adolescent well-being. We conclude with a commentary on how psychological science can inform the translation of research to provide evidence-based recommendations for adolescent social-media use.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This theoretical review argues that COVID-19 magnified existing challenges and opportunities of adolescent social media use, requiring a move beyond reductionist “helpful or harmful” questions. It outlines future research directions around the who, what, when, and how of social media use to make psychological science more nuanced and applicable for teens, families, and providers.

Key findings

  • The review organizes adolescent social media and socioemotional well-being into four domains—social connection, peer influence and risky behaviors, self-presentation and self-expression, and social stressors and mental health—and argues COVID-19 amplified both benefits (connection, support, identity exploration) and risks (misinformation, FoMO, appearance comparison, cybervictimization).
  • It argues overall “screen time” is less informative than specific online behaviors and affordances; prior findings are mixed, with some studies showing significant but small associations between social media time and depression, anxiety, sleep problems, body dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and health-risk behaviors, others finding no associations, and some finding positive effects when social media facilitates direct social interaction.
  • It highlights individual and systemic differences: effects may be particularly pronounced for adolescent girls, and racial/ethnic minority adolescents face disproportionate COVID-19 burden—e.g., in the U.S., Black, Latinx, and Indigenous individuals were two to four times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than White communities as of December 2020.
  • Future research should examine who is affected, what content/functions/meanings are involved, when use occurs at micro and developmental levels, and how to study these questions with theory-driven, multi-method, diverse, and open-science approaches.

Methods

  • Design: theoretical review and future research agenda, not an empirical study; it uses developmental and media-effects frameworks to discuss how COVID-19 magnified social media risks and opportunities.
  • Data or sample: no original sample; it draws on cited literature and public reports about adolescents, generally defined as roughly ages 10–18 in the U.S. and many other nations.
  • Main analysis: narrative synthesis across four socioemotional well-being domains, followed by proposed research directions organized around who, what, when, and how.

Limitations

  • Stated: a full review of COVID-19 effects across all individual and system domains is beyond scope; the field has mostly relied on cross-sectional methods and self-report measures, limiting causal and directly applicable conclusions; and COVID-19 effects on adolescent social media use and psychosocial outcomes have not yet been rigorously tested.
  • Evident: as a theoretical review, it presents no new empirical data or effect sizes; many claims are framed as possibilities or hypotheses, and the cited evidence is mixed and rapidly evolving.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/17456916211014189

Cites

110 of 110 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

68 Not checked yet · 65 Own interpretation · 2 No basis given

Verify all 86 references — free account

Show all 51 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 53
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 44
84 of 84
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The core components of this review and future directions remain relevant to the periods before, amidst, and in the aftermath of COVID-19.

    “While our article focuses on adolescent social media use and socioemotional well-being in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe the core components of this review and future directions remain relevant to the periods before, amidst, and in the aftermath of COVID-19.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The risks and benefits of social media that have been exacerbated by the pandemic will continue to increase in relevance in the future.

    “Furthermore, the risks and benefits of social media that have been exacerbated by the pandemic will only continue to increase in relevance in the future.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The current state of knowledge about adolescent social media use is insufficient to provide clear guidance to parents, educators, providers, and teens.

    “This has left many parents, educators, providers, and teens without clear guidance on how to understand and approach adolescents’ social media use.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all interpersonal interaction with peers occurs through social media.

    “During the COVID-19 pandemic, when almost all interpersonal interaction with peers occurs through social media, these self-presentational concerns may be further exacerbated.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In-person interactions cannot correct false self-presentations.

    “because in-person interactions cannot correct false self-presentations.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Parents vary in adherence to physical distancing practices.

    “FoMO may be even more pronounced as parents vary in adherence and physical distancing practices, and it may be more challenging for teens whose peers are spending time together in person.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Adolescents have ongoing cognitive development that affects their ability to disengage from social media.

    “particularly given adolescents’ ongoing cognitive development.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The majority of studies in adolescent social media research have relied on cross-sectional methods and self-report measures.

    “Although the field of adolescent social media research is beginning to evolve, the majority of studies have relied on cross-sectional methods and self-report measures.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Industry already has access to rich information about social media use.

    “given the richness of information to which they already have access”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Broader sociocultural and systemic contexts shape teens’ social media experiences.

    “Considering the broader sociocultural and systemic contexts that shape teens’ social media experiences is important, such as the geopolitical news and policies that may directly affect social media content and teens’ experiences with it.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Diversity of investigators and participants has implications for the equitability, generalizability and applicability of research and ensuing recommendations.

    “which has implications for the equitability, generalizability and applicability of the research and ensuing recommendations”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Disciplines, policymakers, and people in industry have a unique skillset and perspective that can jointly inform this future research agenda and improve the translation of research into direct recommendations and resources for the public.

    “Disciplines (e.g., psychological science, computer engineering, public health, education, medicine), policymakers, and people in industry have a unique skillset and perspective that can jointly inform this future research agenda, as well as improve the translation of research into direct recommendations and resources for the public.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The dichotomy of whether social media is helping or harming teens today is false.

    “the false dichotomy of whether social media is helping or harming teens today”
13 of 13

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Choukas-Bradley S., Gender and sexuality development: Contemporary theory and research
  2. Tynes B. M., 2019, Microaggression theory: Influence and implications, 194
  3. Weinstein E. C., 2014, International Journal of Communication, 8, 210

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Hamilton, J. L., Nesi, J., & Choukas-Bradley, S.
Affiliations
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
  • Brown University (US)
  • Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
Corresponding author
Hamilton, Jessica L.
Venue
Perspectives on Psychological Science
Published
2021-11-10
Volume
17
Issue
3
Pages
662-679
ISSN
  • 1745-6916 (ISSN-L)
  • 1745-6924
OpenAlex
W3211721575
Cited by
110
References
111
Citations by year
2026: 11 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 1
FWCI
27.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Perspectives on Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH121584, K23MH122669, L30MH117642)
  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (PDF-010517)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
Keywords
social media use, adolescents, social and emotional wellbeing, COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent mental health, social media influence, research translation, evidence-based recommendations
MeSH terms
COVID-19, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Communication, Humans, Pandemics, Social Media

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