Problematic Social Media Use and Its Relationship with Depression or Anxiety: A Systematic Review.

There has been a notable increase in social media and Internet use over recent decades, not only for social interaction or entertainment, but also for working and meeting tools, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. A relationship between this usage and the development of mental illness is frequently hypothesized, but a few studies have empirical findings. This study is a systematic review of the relationship between social media use and depression or anxiety. Our Medline search yielded 1,747 papers. Our study found a strong and often bidirectional relationship between social media use and depression or anxiety. This relationship was frequently related to problematic social media use. No definite linear relationship was found between time spent using social media and depressive or anxious symptoms, but usually, the longer the time spent in that activity, the worse the outcomes. Factors related to problematic social media use were often different for men and women. Other variables may also play a role, such as nighttime-specific use, emotional involvement, and whether the individual behaves as an active or passive user. Evidence from this review provides a solid base for recommending cautious use of social media. Intense use and unhealthy habits, evidenced by addiction symptoms, may be problematic in less resilient individuals.

Public attitudes towards immigration, news and social media exposure, and political attitudes from a cross-cultural perspective: Data from seven European countries, the United States, and Colombia.

The data presented in this article provide the opportunity to comparatively analyse anti-immigrant and anti-refugee attitudes, news and social media consumption, and political attitudes (e.g., social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism) of the adult population in seven European countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Sweden), the United States, and Colombia in 2021 (N = 13,645). These countries were selected for their variety in national characteristics: coastal and non-coastal border countries, large and small economies, countries with major and minor political influence, and countries with varying degrees of popularity as asylum-seeker destinations. We conducted an online survey which - amongst others - included questions on socio-demographic characteristics, attitudinal indicators, and information on news and social media consumption. These data can be of interest for migration researchers and/or media scholars who want to explore (comparative) dynamics of outgroup attitudes, threat perceptions, and/or news and social media consumption, and for policy makers who seek to influence public attitudes towards immigration and migrants.

Social media use in patients with fibromyalgia and its effect on symptom severity and sleep quality

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate social media use in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and determine the effect of social media use on disease severity and sleep quality. Materials and methods: In total, 205 social media using patients with similar characteristics were included in the study. The study group consisted of 103 patients with FMS, and the control group consisted of 102 patients without FMS. The FMS symptom severity scale and diffuse pain index were used to determine the disease severity in FMS patients, the sleep disorder short form questionnaire (PROMIS) was used to evaluate sleep quality, and the Social Media Addiction Scale-Adult Form was used to evaluate social media addiction. A visual analog scale was applied to evaluate pain in both the patient and control groups, and social media usage times were recorded. Results: We found that pain severity, sleep disturbance and social media addiction were higher in patients with FMS than in the control group, and there was no relationship between the rates of social media use in patients with FMS and the severity and prevalence of the disease. Conclusion: The use of social media is more frequent in patients with FMS, which can motivate healthcare professionals to evaluate social media habits in individuals with FMS.