Hamare Santo

In what ways do race/ethnicity affect the nature of the association between social media use and mental health in adolescents?

Started June 14, 2024

Abstract or project description

There are many factors to consider when discussing the causes of declining mental health in adolescents. One factor is frequent social media use, which may be strongly correlated with poor mental health. To add the differences in such rates by race/ethnicity into discussion, this project examines the extent to which race/ethnicity impacts the association between social media usage and adolescent mental health. With literature review using 8 studies from Google Scholar databases, I will identify and synthesize recent, relevant research conducted across various institutions that consider the role of race/ethnicity. Despite the limited research surrounding this topic, there was a common suggestion among all eight studies: certain racial/ethnic experiences may be a significant way that race/ethnicity affects the association between social media use and adolescent mental health. It may explain the prevalence of mental health issues among racial/ethnic minorities. Therefore, this study suggests that race/ethnicity is likely an important factor to attend to when considering the association between social media use and adolescent mental health.