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Cited by 22Impact of Technology on AdolescentsDigital Media and PhilosophyPersonal Information Management and User Behavior

Social Media Usage, Working Memory, and Depression: An Experimental Investigation among University Students

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Almarzouki, Abeer F., Alghamdi, Renad A., Nassar, Roaa, Aljohani, Reem R., Nasser, Abdulrahman, Bawadood, Manar, Almalki, Rawan H.·2022·Behavioral Sciences
DOI 10.3390/bs12010016PMC PMC8772695
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Abstract

Social media usage (SMU) and its relationship with working memory (WM) and academic performance remain unclear, and there is a lack of experimental evidence. We investigated whether WM mediates the association between SMU and academic performance, including the roles of depression, anxiety, and disordered social media use as possible contributors. A sample of 118 undergraduate students aged 19 to 28 from Saudi Arabia performed a WM test twice; for one assessment, participants were required to interact with social media before the test, and the other test was preceded by painting online. We also measured grade point average (GPA), habitual social media usage (SMU), depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and disordered social media usage (SMDS). There was no significant difference between WM scores in the social media condition compared to the control condition, but when solely considering at least moderately depressed participants, social media use predicted significantly more errors in the social media condition compared to the control condition. Furthermore, higher SMDS scores were significantly predicted by higher PHQ-9 scores and more hours of habitual SMU. GPA scores were not predicted by WM performance or SMU. The present study is one of the first experimental attempts to compare the relationship between SMU and WM and highlights the priming effect of depression on the relationship between SMU and WM.

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  • One study suggested a low negative correlation between social media use and memory, indicating minimal impact, and found that healthy adolescents exhibit resilience to social media use, showing no significant impact on memory.

    “In contrast, one study suggested a low negative correlation between social media use and memory, indicating minimal impact found that healthy adolescents exhibit resilience to social media use, showing no significant impact on memory [13].”

    From Impact of social media on cognitive development of children and young adults: a systematic review (2025) · cites this paper as [13]

    Section 4.1 of the Discussion says working memory may be resilient to social media use in a healthy group of adults, and the Discussion reports no significant overall difference between the social-media and control conditions. The study involved university students, not adolescents. Section 3.4 reports no considerable correlation between overall social media use and other measures, rather than the claimed low negative correlation; the Discussion also notes increased working-memory errors among participants with at least moderate depression. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Working memory, attention, and inhibition are directly and indirectly (through mental health) impacted by problematic social media usage.

    “Working memory (WM), attention, and inhibition have been directly, and indirectly through mental health, impacted by problematic social media usage (PSMU) (Reed, 2023; Almarzouki et al., 2022).”

    From The Relationship Between TikTok Usage and Executive Function Is Mediated by Problematic Social Media Use (2025) · cites this paper as Almarzouki et al., 2022

    The Discussion reports that acute social media use increased working-memory errors only among participants who were at least moderately depressed; it found no significant working-memory difference overall. The Introduction proposes attention diversion as a possible mechanism and considers mental health as a mediator, but the reported findings do not establish effects on attention or inhibition, or an indirect effect through mental health. The study examined social media use, not specifically problematic use. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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Authors
Almarzouki, A. F., Alghamdi, R. A., Nassar, R., Aljohani, R. R., Nasser, A., Bawadood, M., & Almalki, R. H.
Affiliations
King Abdulaziz University (SA)
Corresponding author
Almarzouki, Abeer F.
ORCID
Venue
Behavioral Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
2022-01-17
Volume
12
Issue
1
Pages
16
ISSN
2076-328X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3390/bs12010016
PMC
PMC8772695
OpenAlex
W4206278116
Cited by
22
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1
FWCI
5.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Behavioral Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
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 › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Personal Information Management and User Behavior
Keywords
social media use, working memory, depression, anxiety, academic performance, grade point average, university students, priming effect, mediation

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