Abstract
Social media has been shown to have an impact on young people's mental health in numerous contemporary studies. This dissertation sought to establish how social media use impacts the mental health of young people; given that social media has become more ubiquitous in young people's lives in contrast to other age groups. The objectives proposed to meet this aim were: to discover young people's views, to establish the impact of social media use on mental health and to identify support strategies that assist in addressing the issues encountered online.
A literature review-based approach was implemented to draw on a wide range of evidence. Electronic searches were conducted using the following databases: Discover@Bolton, Google Scholar and the Journal of Adolescent Health. The search terms included: "social media and young people's mental health" and "social media and adolescent mental health*". The inclusion criteria included peer-reviewed journals, published between 2010 and 2020 to maintain both relevance and appropriateness. Studies from other disciplines, including law, engineering and economics were excluded. Following this, data was analysed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Overall, the 16 studies revealed that young people viewed social media mainly negatively due to its associated implications, including addiction, inadequate sleep, and social comparisons. Correlations between social media usage and mental health were discovered, including increased depressive symptoms, low self-esteem and body image worries. It was also discovered that there is a gap in the literature which considers strategies, which could be addressed by future studies looking to propose potential models for solution management. Other recommendations included training for professionals, parental awareness through national campaigns, and interactive sessions within schools.