The associations of active and passive social media use with well-being: A critical scoping review

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Abstract

A recurring claim in the literature is that active social media use (ASMU) leads to increases in well-being, whereas passive social media use (PSMU) leads to decreases in well-being. The aim of this review was to investigate the validity of this claim by comparing the operationalizations and results of studies into the association of ASMU and PSMU with well-being (e.g. happiness) and ill-being (e.g. depressive symptoms). We found 40 survey-based studies, which utilized a hodgepodge of 36 operationalizations of ASMU and PSMU and which yielded 172 associations of ASMU and/or PSMU with well-/ill-being. Most studies did not support the hypothesized associations of ASMU and PSMU with well-/ill-being. Time spent on ASMU and PSMU may be too coarse to lead to meaningful associations with well-/ill-being. Therefore, future studies should take characteristics of the content of social media (e.g. the valence), its senders (e.g. pre-existing mood), and receivers (e.g. differential susceptibility) into account.

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Guidance for conducting systematic scoping reviews.

Micah D.J. Peters, Christina M Godfrey, Hanan Khalil … (2015)

Reviews of primary research are becoming more common as evidence-based practice gains recognition as the benchmark for care, and the number of, and access to, primary research sources has grown. One of the newer review types is the 'scoping review'. In general, scoping reviews are commonly used for 'reconnaissance' - to clarify working definitions and conceptual boundaries of a topic or field. Scoping reviews are therefore particularly useful when a body of literature has not yet been comprehensively reviewed, or exhibits a complex or heterogeneous nature not amenable to a more precise systematic review of the evidence. While scoping reviews may be conducted to determine the value and probable scope of a full systematic review, they may also be undertaken as exercises in and of themselves to summarize and disseminate research findings, to identify research gaps, and to make recommendations for the future research. This article briefly introduces the reader to scoping reviews, how they are different to systematic reviews, and why they might be conducted. The methodology and guidance for the conduct of systematic scoping reviews outlined below was developed by members of the Joanna Briggs Institute and members of five Joanna Briggs Collaborating Centres.