Background: Although previous meta-analyses were conducted to quantitatively synthesize the relation between problematic social media (SM) use and mental health, they focused on Facebook addiction.
Aims: The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine this relation by extending the research scope via the inclusion of studies examining problematic use of all platforms.
Method: One hundred and thirty-three independent samples (N =244,676) were identified.
Results: As expected, the mean correlations between problematic SM use and well-being are negative, while those between problematic SM use and distress are positive. Life satisfaction and self-esteem are commonly used to represent well-being, while depression and loneliness are usually used to indicate distress. The mean correlations of problematic SM use with life satisfaction and self-esteem are small, whereas those of problematic SM use with depression and loneliness are moderate. The moderating effects of publication status, instruments, platforms and mean age are not significant.
Conclusions: The magnitude of the correlations between problematic SM use and mental health indicators can generalize across most moderator conditions.
Keywords: Mental health; distress; meta-analysis; problematic social media use; well-being.