Social Support at Your Fingertips: Exploring the Correlation Between Students’ Social Media Usage and Social Support Through Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Interplay of Advanced Computer Applications in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Since the pandemic, social media usage and corresponding concerns about mental health deterioration have both risen sharply. While policymakers are rapidly acting to regulate or even ban social media for adolescents, we still lack strong scientific knowledge about the overall tradeoffs. This meta-analysis (k = 97 studies; Nstudents = 49,449) unpacks the complicated relationship between social media usage and social support. We found a significant and positive correlation (r =.12, p < .001) between students’ social media usage and social support. Moderator analysis showed higher correlations for students from individualistic (versus collectivistic) cultures when seeking online support. This meta-analysis signals that social media is not unilaterally negative—an impression one could easily glean from the popular press.

Authors

• Qiyang Zhang, Johns Hopkins University

• Xue Wang, Johns Hopkins University

• Xirui Tian, Johns Hopkins University

• Hunter Gehlbach, Johns Hopkins University