What is the impact of social media on the psychological well-being of children and adolescents?

Czech version

Authors: David Kolouch
Published in: Čes-slov Pediat 2025; 80 (1): 9-14.
Category: adolescent health
doi: https://doi.org/10.55095/CSPediatrie2025/001

Overview

Kolouch D. What is the impact of social media on the psychological well-being of children and adolescents?

Social networking sites have become a reality in our lives. their potential impact on the human psyche, especially for children and adolescents, has repeatedly become a subject of enthusiastic debate among both the general public and academics. some aspects of social networking can have negative effects on the psyche. social comparison is often cited, particularly comparison with those who are perceived to be more successful, which can lead to feelings of inferiority and frustration. another negative factor is the fear of missing out, i.e. the fear that others are experiencing more interesting and worthwhile events than oneself. this fear can lead to anxiety and stress. excessive use of social networking sites is also considered problematic, with strong preoccupations, an inability to control time spent on the sites and a negative impact on important areas of life such as relationships, work or study. However, social networking can also have a positive effect on the psyche. Building social capital, i.e. a network of relationships and contacts, can lead to feelings of belonging and support, thus contributing to overall psychological well-being. research on the impact of social networks on adolescents‘ psyche has often produced contradictory results. some suggest a slight negative effect, such as an increase in depression and anxiety, while others point to a slight positive effect, such as increased life satisfaction. the impact of social networks varies depending on individual, social and developmental factors. some studies point to the existence of ‚developmental windows of sensitivity‘ during which the influence of social networks on the adolescent psyche is more significant. other research has shown a link between social networking use and risky behaviors such as self-harm and eating disorders. the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing social networking use, such as ‚digital detox‘, is still unclear. studies to date suggest that reducing time spent on social networking sites has a more positive effect on overall psychological well-being than leaving them altogether.

Keywords:

social media – Adolescents – problematic social media use – social media disorder scale – well-being – nonsuicidal self-injury – digital detox

Sources

ami digital index 2024. [internet]. dostupné na: https://amidigital.cz/ pruzkum-index/
krause hV, Baum k, Baumann a, krasnova h. unifying the detrimental and beneficial effects of social network site use on self-esteem: a systematic literature review. Media psychol 2021; 24(1): 10–47.
festinger l. a theory of social comparison processes. Hum relat 1954; 7(2): 117–40.
Wood JV. What is social comparison and how should we study it? pers soc psychol Bull 1996; 22(5): 520–37.
mussweiler t. Focus of comparison as a determinant of assimilation versus contrast in social comparison. pers soc psychol Bull 2001; 27: 38–47.
morse s, Gergen kJ. social comparison, self-consistency, and the concept of self. J pers soc psychol 1970; 16: 148–56.
Wills ta. downward comparison principles in social psychology. psychol Bull 1981; 90: 245–71.
mussweiler t. comparison processes in social judgment: mechanisms and consequences. psychol rev 2003; 110: 472–89.
przybylski ak, murayama k, dehaan Cr, Gladwell V. Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. comput Hum Behav 2013; 29(4): 1841–8.
Baker ZG, krieger h, leroy as. Fear of missing out: relationships with depression, mindfulness, and physical symptoms. transl issues psychol sci 2016; 2: 275–82.
milyavskaya m, saffran m, hope n, koestner r. Fear of missing out: prevalence, dynamics, and consequences of experiencing FoMo. Motiv emot 2018; 42(5): 725–37.
elhai Jd, levine JC, dvorak rd, hall BJ. Fear of missing out, need for touch, anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use. comput Hum Behav 2016; 63: 509–16.
oberst u, Wegmann e, stodt B, et al. negative consequences from heavy social networking in adolescents: the mediating role of fear of missing out. J adolesc 2017; 55: 51–60.
putnam rd. Bowling alone: the collapse and revival of american community. 1. vydání. londýn: touchstone, simon & schuster 2001: 541.
nolan s, hendricks J, Williamson m, ferguson s. social networking sites (sns) as a tool for midwives to enhance social capital for adolescent mothers. Midwifery 2018; 62: 119–27.
Brand m, rumpf hJ, demetrovics Z, et al. Which conditions should be considered as disorders in the international classification of diseases (icd-11) designation of „other specified disorders due to addictive behaviors“? J Behav addict 2020; 11(2): 150–9.
kardefelt-Winther d, heeren a, schimmenti a, et al. How can we conceptualize behavioural addiction without pathologizing common behaviours? addict abingdon engl 2017; 112(10): 1709–15.
Valkenburg pm, meier a, Beyens i. social media use and its impact on adolescent mental health: an umbrella review of the evidence. curr opin psychol 2022; 44: 58–68.
sun y, Zhang y. a review of theories and models applied in studies of social media addiction and implications for future research. addict Behav 2021; 114: 106699.
parry da, davidson Bi, sewall CJr, et al. a systematic review and meta- -analysis of discrepancies between logged and self-reported digital media use. nat Hum Behav 2021; 5(11): 1535–47.
neisser u. nested structure in autobiographical memory. in: autobiographical memory. cambridge: cambridge university press 1986: 71–81.
schwarz n, oyserman d. asking questions about behavior: cognition, communication, and questionnaire construction. am J eval 2001; 22(2): 127–60.
van den eijnden rJJm, lemmens Js, Valkenburg pm. the social Media disorder scale. comput Hum Behav 2016; 61: 478–87.
schlossarek s, schmidt h, Bischof a, et al. psychometric properties of screening instruments for social network use disorder in children and adolescents: a systematic review. JaMa pediatr 2023; 177(4): 419–26.
austermann mi, thomasius r, paschke k. assessing problematic social media use in adolescents by parental ratings: development and validation of the social Media disorder scale for parents (sMds-p). J clin Med 2021; 10(4): 617.
Chen sh, Weng lJ, su yJ, et al. development of chinese internet addiction scale and its psychometric study. chin J psychol 2003; 45: 251–66.
Clark dl, raphael Jl, mcGuire al. Heads4: social media screening in adolescent primary care. pediatrics 2018; 141(6): e20173655.
appel m, marker C, Gnambs t. are social media ruining our lives? a review of meta-analytic evidence. rev Gen psychol 2020; 24(1): 60–74.
Course-Choi J, hammond l. social media use and adolescent well-being: a narrative review of longitudinal studies. cyberpsychology Behav soc netw 2021; 24(4): 223–36.
Valkenburg pm, peter J. the differential susceptibility to media effects model. J commun 2013; 63(2): 221–43.
Vaid ss, kroencke l, roshanaei m, et al. Variation in social media sensitivity across people and contexts. sci rep 2024; 14(1): 6571.
nesi J, Burke ta, lawrence hr, et al. online self-injury activities among psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents: prevalence, functions, and perceived consequences. res child adolesc psychopathol 2021; 49(4): 519–31.
orben a, przybylski ak, Blakemore sJ, kievit ra. Windows of developmental sensitivity to social media. nat commun 2022; 13(1): 1649.
arendt f, scherr s, romer d. effects of exposure to self-harm on social media: evidence from a two-wave panel study among young adults. new Media soc 2019; 21(11–12): 2422–42.
dane a, Bhatia k. the social media diet: a scoping review to investigate the association between social media, body image and eating disorders amongst young people. plos Glob public Health 2023; 3(3): e0001091.
Zhang J, Wang y, li Q, Wu C. the relationship between sns usage and disordered eating behaviors: a meta-analysis. Front psychol 2021; 12.
mingoia J, hutchinson ad, Wilson C, Gleaves dh. the relationship between social networking site use and the internalization of a thin ideal in females: a meta-analytic review. Front psychol 2017; 8.
marciano l, Jindal s, Viswanath k. digital detox and well-being. pediatrics 2024; 154(4): e2024066142.