Social Media Use and Adolescent Well-Being: A Narrative Review of Longitudinal Studies

This article provides a narrative review of longitudinal studies investigating the impact of social media (SM) use on adolescent well-being from 2006 to 2019. A topic of popular concern, most research to date has been cross-sectional, limiting the inferences that can be drawn to correlational observations. Longitudinal studies add valuable input to extant scholarship, and they have begun to emerge in the literature. A systematic search of PsychINFO, Web of Science, and Assia conducted in January 2019 identified 14 papers meeting inclusion criteria. The article summarizes the evidence and highlights emerging trends. Most notably, research distinguishing type of SM use, as opposed to mere frequency of SM use, is producing more significant results, suggesting a need for study designs that are able to capture the complexities of SM engagement beyond time spent online. The review also sets out the limitations of the current studies, which include unvalidated, self-report exposure measures and a failure to consider conditional effects. Addressing these challenges will present avenues for future research.