Computer-mediated communication, social media, and mental health: A conceptual and empirical meta-review
Meier A, Reinecke L (2021)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article, Review article
Publication year: 2021
Journal
Book Volume: 48
Pages Range: 1182-1209
Article Number: 0093650220958224
Journal Issue: 8
Abstract
Computer-mediated communication (CMC), and specifically social media, may affect the mental health (MH) and well-being of its users, for better or worse. Research on this topic has accumulated rapidly, accompanied by controversial public debate and numerous systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Yet, a higher-level integration of the multiple disparate conceptual and operational approaches to CMC and MH and individual review findings is desperately needed. To this end, we first develop two organizing frameworks that systematize conceptual and operational approaches to CMC and MH. Based on these frameworks, we integrate the literature through a meta-review of 34 reviews and a content analysis of 594 publications. Meta-analytic evidence, overall, suggests a small negative association between social media use and MH. However, effects are complex and depend on the CMC and MH indicators investigated. Based on our conceptual review and the evidence synthesis, we devise an agenda for future research in this interdisciplinary field.
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Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Meier, A., & Reinecke, L. (2021). Computer-mediated communication, social media, and mental health: A conceptual and empirical meta-review. Communication Research, 48(8), 1182-1209. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0093650220958224
MLA:
Meier, Adrian, and Leonard Reinecke. "Computer-mediated communication, social media, and mental health: A conceptual and empirical meta-review." Communication Research 48.8 (2021): 1182-1209.
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