The Impact of Social Media on Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

The pervasive adoption of social media has sparked ongoing discussions about its impact on mental health. As a distinct social context, social media has the potential to foster connection, inclusion, and social support, as well as contribute to identity formation and knowledge sharing; at the same time, concerns have emerged about its role in empathy development, communication skills, loneliness, depression, anxiety, self-esteem, stress, suicidal ideation, misinformation, and overall well-being. We adopt a relatively broad definition of social media, encompassing online contexts that involve user-generated content, personal profiles, and interconnected social networks. Research in this area can shed light on both the risks and the benefits of social media engagement—whether through general use patterns or specific online behaviors—and uncover the underlying mechanisms and moderating factors that shape these outcomes.

This Special Issue aims to supplement existing literature by bringing together findings that highlight the complex and multifaceted relationship between social media use and mental health across diverse populations, cultures, platforms, and contexts. By offering a comprehensive perspective on when, why, and for whom social media supports or undermines psychological well-being, the Special Issue seeks to guide future research and inform preventive and intervention strategies that foster healthier social media practices.

We welcome submissions from a wide range of psychological perspectives, including cyberpsychology, developmental, cognitive, social, personality, media psychology, communication, clinical, counselling, and neuroscience approaches. Contributions may examine normative or problematic patterns of social media use, overall well-being indicators, or clinical disorders, and investigate the role of social media in mental health across daily experiences and long-term outcomes. Additional topics can include the use of social media as an information source related to mental health concerns, its impact on sleep, or the effectiveness of interventions designed to promote healthier social media use. Studies employing quantitative, qualitative, mixed-method, or interdisciplinary designs are all encouraged.

Dr. Malinda Desjarlais
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Psychiatry International is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• social media
• social network
• mental health
• psychological well-being
• online behaviour
• individual differences
• connection
• identity
• loneliness
• depression
• anxiety
• self-esteem