“Like This Meta-Analysis: Screen Media and Mental Health”, 2021-11 (; similar):
The question of whether screen time, particularly time spent with social media and smartphones, influences mental health outcomes remains a topic of considerable debate among policy makers, the public, and scholars. Some scholars have argued passionately that screen media may be contributing to an increase in poor psychosocial functioning and risk of suicide, particularly among teens. Other scholars contend that the evidence is not yet sufficient to support such a dramatic conclusion.
The current meta-analysis included 37 effect sizes from 33 separate studies. To consider the most recent research, all studies analyzed were published 2015–42019. Across studies, evidence suggests that screen media plays little role in mental health concerns. In particular, there was no evidence that screen media contribute to suicidal ideation or other mental health outcomes. This result was also true when investigating smartphones or social media specifically.
Overall, as has been the case for previous media such as video games, concerns about screen time and mental health are not based in reliable data.
[Keywords: social media, suicide, smartphones, adolescence, depression]
…Main results for the meta-analysis are presented in Table 1: As can be seen from these results, the effect sizes for relationships between screen time as well as specific screen media such as smartphones and social media were very small and in no case passed the r = 0.10 threshold for interpretation as hypothesis supportive. statistically-significant heterogeneity existed in all data sets, although this was particularly true for correlational studies and those which examined general screen time, as opposed to longitudinal studies or those examining specific screen media. Longitudinal studies did not provide any more evidence for effects than correlational studies, suggesting there is little evidence for a cumulative effect…Effect sizes were slightly smaller in more recent years. It should be noted that the statistical sensitivity to detect these moderator effects was relatively low due to the small number of studies.