There is No Easy Answer: How the Interaction of Content, Situation, and Person Shapes the Effect of Social Media use on Well-being

Investigating social media use effects on children’s and adolescents’ well-being is one of the most contested research fields today. With a fast-growing literature, yet increasingly inconsistent and heterogeneous findings, it becomes difficult to draw reasonable conclusions. This chapter first introduces and summarizes the discussion around social media effects on well-being. We then propose a holistic model of social media use effects that identifies contextual, situational, and person-related factors that may account for either beneficial or detrimental effects. To exemplify the benefits of such a comprehensive approach, we discuss research on social media and body image. Based on this interpretation of the literature, we outline a future agenda towards a more nuanced understanding of these effects