The evolving psychology of social media and mental health: Trends, challenges, and emerging frontiers

The extensive utilization of social media is an increasingly prominent issue of mental health and has become a global focal point. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conduct a timely and comprehensive literature review on the impact of social media on individuals’ mental wellbeing. This study aims to deepen the understanding of the relationship between social media and mental health research by employing comprehensive visualization and scientometric analysis under the PRISMA paradigm while uncovering contemporary research trends and patterns. Drawing on a thorough scientific examination of 5656 datasets sourced from the Web of Science, this study utilizes CiteSpace software to analyze the outcomes. The findings show that the primary focal points of research in the intersection of social media and mental health revolve around themes such as social media, mental health, depression, anxiety, adolescents, prevalence, and symptoms. The emerging research topics include psychopathology, network analysis, fear of missing out, self-efficacy, and neural networks. In comparison to the brief overview of previous studies, constructing a knowledge graph in the context of this study helps deepen the understanding of the relationship between social media and mental health. It also provides the scientific basis and decision support for academic research and practical application in related fields.