Does social media use make us happy? A meta-analysis on social media and positive well-being outcomes

In social media use research on mental health, a comprehensive summary of the association between social media use and “positive” well-being in all its nuances, including different well-being indicators considered separately, is lacking. To fill the gap, we carried out a meta-analytic review of the literature by including 78 studies published between 2009 and September 2022. In our meta-analyses, we explored the association between social media use (time spent on using social media, active and passive use, communication, problematic use, social comparison, and other positive and negative experiences) and well-being (conceptualized as hedonic, eudaimonic, social, and other positive indices). Hedonic well-being, i.e., experiencing positive emotions and life satisfaction, was associated with social media communication (r=0.11) and positive online experiences (r=0.21) and negatively with problematic social media use (r=−0.13) and social comparison on social media (r=−0.30). Eudaimonic well-being, i.e., a sense of purpose and meaning, was only negatively related to problematic social media use (r=−0.26). Social well-being was positively related to social media time (r=0.07) and social media communication (r=0.18). Also, overall measures of positive well-being were associated with active social media use (r=0.08), communication through social media (r=0.12), number of friends (r=0.14), social media intensity (r=0.21), and other positive experiences (r=0.19). Conversely, social media comparison (r=−0.30) and problematic social media use (r=−0.13) showed negative correlations with positive well-being. The analyses add to our understanding of how social media may contribute to ill-being and well-being by disentangling positive from negative effects, and pave the way for interventions aiming at using social media to improve well-being. •The research on social media use includes more ill-than well-being indicators.•We included social media use and hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being.•Hedonic well-being is the most studied well-being construct.•Effect sizes pile up around zero when social media constructs are too broad.•Effect sizes become larger when specific social media activities are considered.