Early Literature on Adolescent Social Media Use, Substance Use, and Depressive Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review

The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented changes in daily life that impacted health among all populations, including adolescents. We conducted a scoping review of early literature (through June 20, 2021) on adolescent social media use, substance use, and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Further, we summarized key findings and recommendations regarding study design and reporting for researchers in future public health emergencies.

We identified 29 studies that met the criteria for inclusion, a majority of which reported on depressive symptoms and/or suicidality among adolescents (n=22), with fewer on social media use (n=7) and substance use (n=4). Prevalence of social media use and depressive symptoms was high. Longitudinal assessments indicate elevated depressive symptoms in the first month of the pandemic, but decreases in the few months following. Findings for substance use were varied, but two studies found lower e-cigarette use. Broadly, studies presented heterogenous measures of key constructs and this was particularly evident for depressive symptoms.

Our review highlights the critical need to use validated measures, leverage ongoing longitudinal studies, and focus on salient health risk behaviors in future studies addressing public health emergencies.