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Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health
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KEY POINTS In the last decade, increasing mental distress and treatment for mental health conditions among youth in North America has paralleled a steep rise in the use of smartphones and social media by children and adolescents. In Ontario, the proportion of teenagers reporting moderate to serious
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“In addition, several reviews used a broad and sometimes even boundless (operational) definition of mental health, which led to the inclusion of a multitude of outcomes, including marihuana use, identity development, social support, (cyber)bullying, and/or academic performance [22,23,27,30].”
From Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“However, some reviews were less nuanced in their conclusions and used qualifications of the effect sizes such as 'substantial,' 'detrimental,' and 'deleterious' [25,30,38].”
From Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Results showed that most reviews interpreted the associations between social media use and mental health as 'weak' or 'inconsistent,' whereas a few qualified the same associations as 'substantial' and 'deleterious.'”
From Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Although the majority of the reviews concluded that the reported associations of SMU with mental health were small to moderate, some others interpreted these associations as serious [30], substantial [48] or detrimental [25].”
From Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. (2022) · cites this paper as [30]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“Los datos confirman un consumo adictivo del teléfono móvil en los jóvenes ( Han ; Kim , 2019; Rather ; Rather , 2019; Abi-Jaoude , Treurnicht-Naylor ; Pignatiello , 2020) que conduce a diversas patologías.”
From Redes sociales y consumo digital en jóvenes universitarios: economía de la atención y oligopolios de la comunicación en el siglo XXI (2020) · cites this paper as Abi-Jaoude, Treurnicht-Naylor; Pignatiello, 2020
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In the citing paper
“For example, time spent on SNS is associated with higher levels of depression [17], whereas emotional connectedness to SNS ('intensity of use') [15] and the number of friends on SNS [16] are unrelated to depression.”
From Social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: An umbrella review of the evidence. (2022) · cites this paper as [16]
In the citing paper
“However, recent studies have shown that the intensity of online activity is negatively associated with subjective well-being (37).”
From Effects of Short Video Addiction on the Motivation and Well-Being of Chinese Vocational College Students (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
In the citing paper
“and that the subjective well-being of individuals who use online activities intensely may be affected (7, 37).”
From Effects of Short Video Addiction on the Motivation and Well-Being of Chinese Vocational College Students (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
In the citing paper
“Several studies have found that addiction may negatively affect users' wellbeing”
From Effects of Short Video Addiction on the Motivation and Well-Being of Chinese Vocational College Students (2022) · cites this paper as [37]
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“For example, adolescents who maintain high levels of face-to-face interaction may be protected from potentially harm - ful effects of problematic use (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020 ).”
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“…consistent, however, with evidence for a weak association between higher usage and poorer mental health (Abi-Jaoude et al ., 2020; Orben, 2020a), including symptoms of depression, anxiety and general distress (Abi-Jaoude et al ., 2020; Keles et al ., 2019; McCrae et al ., 2017; Orben, 2020a).”
Lin, S., Yuan, Z., Niu, G., Fan, C., & Hao, X. (2023) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-023-01026-w · Cited by 39
“It is also noteworthy that social media use is mainly formed in early adolescence (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020; CNNIC, 2020).”
Akbari, M., Bahadori, M. H., Khanbabaei, S., Milan, B. B., Jamshidi, S., & Potenza, M. N. (2023) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107802 · Cited by 30
Orsolini, L., Volpe, U., Albert, U., Carmassi, C., Carrà, G., Cirulli, F., Dell’Osso, B. M., Vecchio, V. D., Nicola, M. D., Giallonardo, V., et al. (2022) · Annals of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12991-022-00419-w · Cited by 37
Beyond Doomsday Fears: Why We Need to Consider the Potential Harms of AI Psychotherapy
Tekin, Ş., & Delehanty, M. (2025) · The American Journal of Bioethics · doi:10.1080/15265161.2025.2457724 · Cited by 29
“Given worries about the increased cell phone and social media use on mental health (Abi-Jaoude, Naylor, and Pignatiello 2020), an excessive use of these apps may create their own problems for the patients.”
Prevalence and underlying factors of mobile game addiction among university students in Bangladesh
Sayeed, M. A., Rasel, M. S. R., Habibullah, A. A., & Hossain, M. M. (2021) · Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health · doi:10.1017/gmh.2021.34 · Cited by 30
“Starting from different types of addiction (mobile game addiction is one of them), it is also responsible for deadly acts such as attempts to suicide (Stravynski and Boyer, 2001; Chang et al., 2019; Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020).”
BackgroundSocial media use and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Ansari, S., Iqbal, N., Asif, R., Hashim, M., Farooqi, S. R., & Alimoradi, Z. (2024) · Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2024.0001 · Cited by 32
“Notably, users ’ well-being is related to the growing use of social media apps, websites, the Internet, and electronic devices, 15 – 18 whereas the peak usage of social media platforms has resulted in certain changes in well-being.”
Mansfield, K. L., Puntis, S., Soneson, E., Cipriani, A., Geulayov, G., & Fazel, M. S. (2021) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052717 · Cited by 39
Vagka, E., Gnardellis, C., Lagiou, A., & Notara, V. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21070920 · Cited by 42
“Nevertheless, the benefits of online platforms, such as media literacy, creativity, self-expression, sense of belonging, and civic participation, should not be underestimated [73].”
BackgroundDistance Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Comparison between European Countries
Katić, S., Ferraro, F., Ambra, F. I., & Iavarone, M. L. (2021) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci11100595 · Cited by 41
Mancinelli, E., Sharka, O., Lai, T., Sgaravatti, E., & Salcuni, S. (2021) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/20551029211038811 · Cited by 32
“Moreover, NSSI has also been considered in association with SNSs (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020; Arendt et al., 2019; Memon et al., 2018) as the spreading of the NSSI phenomenon has been observed to associate with greater SNSs use (Memon et al., 2018; Whitlock et al., 2006, 2009) as well as with Internet…”
BackgroundInfluentialSeptiana, N. Z. (2021) · Nusantara of Research Jurnal Hasil-hasil Penelitian Universitas Nusantara PGRI Kediri · doi:10.29407/nor.v8i1.15632 · Cited by 69
Draganidis, A., Fernando, A. N., West, M. L., & Sharp, G. (2024) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117231 · Cited by 36
Kerekes, N., Zouini, B., Tingberg, S., & Erlandsson, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.669958 · Cited by 28
Single-Item Happiness Measure Features Adequate Validity Among Adolescents
Lukoševičiūtė, J., Gariépy, G., Mabelis, J., Gaspar, T., Joffė-Luinienė, R., & Šmigelskas, K. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.884520 · Cited by 33
“, 2018) which in turn are highly associated with self-directed violence among adolescents, including cases with suicidal intentions (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020).”
BackgroundRifkin-Zybutz, R. P., Turner, N. L., Derges, J., Bould, H., Sedgewick, F., Gooberman‐Hill, R., Linton, M.-J., Moran, P., & Biddle, L. (2023) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/44064 · Cited by 26
“It is also increasingly asserted that asking about digital technology use and its associated risks is an important part of a comprehensive assessment of young people during mental health consultations [8].”
Factors of heavy social media use among 13-year-old adolescents on weekdays and weekends
You, Y., Yang‐Huang, J., Raat, H., & van Grieken, A. (2023) · World Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.1007/s12519-023-00690-1 · Cited by 32
“reported that heavy social media use could increase mental distress, self-injury behavior and suicidality among youth; moreover, there is a dose‒response relationship [6].”
BackgroundBiddle, L., Rifkin-Zybutz, R. P., Derges, J., Turner, N. L., Bould, H., Sedgewick, F., Gooberman‐Hill, R., Moran, P., & Linton, M.-J. (2022) · BMC Psychiatry · doi:10.1186/s12888-022-04093-w · Cited by 25
“Background Social media and internet use have been linked to poor mental health in children and young people by a significant body of empirical literature of varying study designs [1].”
BackgroundResultMontero-Mesa, L., Varela, F. F., Couñago, E. V., & Groba, A. R. (2023) · Education Sciences · doi:10.3390/educsci13101029 · Cited by 25
A nationwide study on time spent on social media and self-harm among adolescents
Tørmoen, A. J., Myhre, M. Ø., Kildahl, A. T., Walby, F. A., & Rossow, I. M. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-46370-y · Cited by 31
“Furthermore, a review found a dose–response relationship between social media use and mental distress and suicidality among adolescents, most prominent among girls 22 .”
BackgroundSocial Media Use and its Impact on Adolescent Mental Health: An Umbrella Review of the EvidencePreprint
Valkenburg, P. M., Meier, A., & Beyens, I. (2021) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/y8zdg · Cited by 29
Assessing the impact of Instagram use and deliberate self‐harm in adolescents: A scoping review
Moss, C., Wibberley, C., & Witham, G. (2023) · International Journal of Mental Health Nursing · doi:10.1111/inm.13055 · Cited by 25
Wang, Y., Luo, Y., Yan, N., Mackay, L. E., Wang, Y., Wang, Y., Shiferaw, B. D., Shen, X., Zhu, Y., & Wang, W. (2024) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108170 · Cited by 26
Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health
Yue, Z., & Rich, M. (2023) · Current Pediatrics Reports · doi:10.1007/s40124-023-00298-z · Cited by 32
Marijuán, P. C., & Navarro, J. (2020) · Biosystems · doi:10.1016/j.biosystems.2020.104170 · Cited by 24
Lee, Y. L., Yang, B. X., Liu, Q., Luo, D., Kang, L., Yang, F., Ma, S., Lu, W., Chen-Li, D. C. J., Rosenblat, J. D., et al. (2020) · Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences · doi:10.1111/pcn.13101 · Cited by 23
“However, SM use is also associated with elevated risk for depression: greater symptoms of depression and loneliness are observed in young adults who use SM extensively.(7,8) Moreover, during public health crises, SM can aggravate public fear and panic: for example, SM networks have been implicated in the spread of fal…”
BackgroundHumer, E. C., Probst, T., Wagner‐Skacel, J., & Pieh, C. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19159072 · Cited by 23
“Adolescents might also benefit from online access to productive mental health information, such as online inter‐ ventions for mental health or low barriers to resources such as crisis interventions [19].”
BackgroundLenzi, M., Elgar, F. J., Marino, C., Canale, N., Vieno, A., Berchialla, P., Stevens, G. W. J. M., Boniel‐Nissim, M., van den Eijnden, R. J. J. M., & Lyyra, N. (2022) · Information Communication & Society · doi:10.1080/1369118x.2022.2109981 · Cited by 28
“…research found PSMU was associated with psychological distress (Marino et al., 2018), somatic symptoms (Andreassen, 2015), lower school achievement (Van Den Eijnden et al., 2018), body image concerns and disordered eating (Holland & Tiggemann, 2016), and negative mood (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020).”
BackgroundBallara, N. B. (2023) · International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews · doi:10.55248/gengpi.4.723.51227 · Cited by 22
Ethical Dimensions of Digital Phenotyping Within the Context of Mental Healthcare
D’Alfonso, S., Coghlan, S., Schmidt, S., & Mangelsdorf, S. N. (2024) · Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s41347-024-00423-9 · Cited by 24
“Excessive smartphone usage and the negative influences of social media have been posited as contributing to the prevalence of mental health issues, particularly in youth populations (Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020; Valkenburg et al., 2022).”
Zhu, C., Li, S., & Zhang, L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1542040 · Cited by 22
A taxonomy of social media for learning
Demir, M. (2024) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105091 · Cited by 35
Wong, S. M., Chen, E. Y., Wong, C. S., Suen, Y., Chan, D. L., Tsang, S. H., Wong, T., Cheung, C., Chan, K., Lui, S. S., et al. (2022) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114939 · Cited by 21
Mahmud, S., Jobayer, M. A. A., Salma, N., Mahmud, A., & Tamanna, T. (2023) · Health Science Reports · doi:10.1002/hsr2.1774 · Cited by 23
Association Between Social Media Use and Substance Use Among Middle and High School-Aged Youth
Liu, J., Charmaraman, L., & Bickham, D. S. (2024) · Substance Use & Misuse · doi:10.1080/10826084.2024.2320372 · Cited by 25
“However, studies have also found links between youth social media use and negative mental health outcomes including: social isolation, increased risk for anxiety and depression, decrease in self-acceptance, and cyberbullying (Cipolletta et al., 2020; Abi-Jaoude et al., 2020; Schønning et al., 2020).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., & Pignatiello, A.
- Affiliations
- University Health Network (CA)
- Venue
- Canadian Medical Association Journal
- Publisher
- CMA Impact Inc.
- Published
- 2020-02-09
- Volume
- 192
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- E136-E141
- ISSN
- 0820-3946 (ISSN-L)
- 1488-2329
- PMC
- PMC7012622
- OpenAlex
- W3005199011
- Cited by
- 627
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 57 · 2025: 127 · 2024: 149 · 2023: 149 · 2022: 79 · 2021: 51 · 2020: 15
- FWCI
- 12.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Canadian Medical Association Journal (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Toronto
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- smartphones, social media use, youth mental health, adolescents, psychological distress, psychotherapy
- MeSH terms
- Smartphone, Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Child, Humans, Mental Health, Social Media
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