Is There Enough Evidence for the Argument that Social Media Use Causes Mental Health Concerns in Young Adults?

Abstract

This paper provides a critical examination of the current evidence for correlational and causal relationships between social media use and mental health and determines the strength of the evidence. This research included a literature review of 11 studies, consisting of two cross-sectional studies, three longitudinal studies, and six experiments. This paper revealed that the current evidence available is not robust enough to definitively indicate a causal connection between social media use and mental health concerns in young adults. The paper highlights various alternative explanations for the relationships observed in past research and suggests paths for future research that could yield stronger evidence for causality.