Effects of social networks on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

A literature review

Authors

  • Belén Cambronero-Saiz , Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, España ,
  • Begoña Gómez-Nieto , Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, España ,
  • Jesús Segarra-Saavedra , Departamento de Comunicación y Psicología Social, Universidad de Alicante, España , https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9420-5258 (unauthenticated)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2023.7703

Keywords:

scientific communication, COVID-19, social networks, mental health, mental disorders

Abstract

Introduction: empirical work on the use of social networks and mental health has gradually been published, so it is essential to understand it in the context of COVID-19 given the use of social networks and the mental health problems that resulted from the global pandemic. Objetive: to analyze the 91 empirical articles indexed in PubMed and WoS, which investigated the manifestations of mental health issues in social media and their relationship with COVID-19. Methodology: the study uses the literature review and includes the mental health topic analysed, objective of the article, methodology, region and country of the study, conclusions and their validity. Results: Asia and North America were the regions that published more articles. The most studied social media were Twitter (37.4%), Facebook (17.6%) and WeChat (14.3%). Twitter, Facebook or Instagram were rated positively as information tools (91%, 80% and 83.3% respectively), while WeChat and Weibo had lower percentages (45.6% and 50%). Conclusion: most articles have highlighted the positive use of social media as an information tool that helped to obtain real-time information on government plans and measures, which reduced the stress caused by the uncertainty of COVID-19.

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Author Biographies

  • Belén Cambronero-Saiz, , Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, España,

    Profesora Ayudante en la Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR) y miembro del grupo de investigación COYSODI de Comunicación y Sociedad Digital. Doctora en Estudios de Género (especialidad Comunicación y Salud) por la Universidad de Alicante en 2012. Desde entonces ha publicado numerosos artículos en revistas nacionales e internacionales como Global Health Action, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Reproductive Health Matters, DOXA Comunicacion o Gaceta Sanitaria. También es autora de varios capítulos de libros sobre salud y comunicación. Sus principales intereses de investigación incluyen género y comunicación, redes sociales y salud, comunicación y comportamiento social.

  • Begoña Gómez-Nieto, , Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, España,

    Doctora en Cultura y Comunicación por IE University. Licenciada en Publicidad y RR.PP. por la UCM. Profesora Titular en la Facultad de Empresa y Comunicación en la Universidad Internacional de La Rioja. Es directora académica del Máster en Comunicación Corporativa en dicha universidad desde el año 2020. Ha publicado más de setenta artículos en revistas de alto impacto, varios capítulos de libros y cuatro libros completos. Miembro del grupo de investigación UNIR COYSODI. Sus líneas de investigación se centran en publicidad, comunicación organizacional, periodística, branding, estructura de contenidos en webs, diferenciación de contenidos, igualdad de género en comunicación, comunicación y salud.

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Published

2023-11-23

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2023)

Section

Systematic Reviews

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How to Cite

Effects of social networks on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A literature review. (2023). Revista Española De Comunicación En Salud , 14(2), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.20318/recs.2023.7703