The Effects of Social Media Consumption on Adolescent Psychological Well-Being

Social media platforms emerged with the promise to increase social connections and conversation, both of which are presumably conducive to mental health and happiness. However, early research appeared to suggest that social media use, particularly for adolescents, may have the opposite effect, with studies showing negative effects of social media use on well-being, prompting calls for greater scrutiny and regulation of social media platforms. In contrast, the more recent large-scale meta-analytic and longitudinal studies suggest that the effects may be minimal to the point of being inconsequential. In this research, we review the latest findings on the effects of social media use on adolescent psychological well-being, with the aim of making sense of these conflicting findings. In doing so, we discuss methodological issues that hamper the interpretation and generalizability of previous findings and provide a research agenda for consumer researchers interested in studying the effects of adolescent social media use.