<p>Considering mixed findings on social media and mental health, this study examined motives for social media use, including escapism (to avoid real-life responsibilities), as potential risk factors for depression. In addressing them, we examined the involvement of malicious and benign envy (i.e., hostile and non-hostile, respectively, emotional reactions to others’ superior qualities), agency mindsets (i.e., perceived control over social media use), and valence mindsets (i.e., perceived benefits of social media). We recruited participants through a crowdsourcing platform (Prolific), and 334 completed our online questionnaire without attention-check failures (mean age = 38.7 [SD = 13.8; range = 18–77]; 51% female and 3% non-binary or non-disclosed gender; 61% non-Hispanic White; 55% college graduates). We first conducted multiple regression including different motives as predictors of depression: only escapism predicted higher depression, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and time spent on social media. In subsequent analyses, controlling for the covariates, malicious envy was associated with higher escapism indirectly through lower agency mindsets; benign envy was associated with higher escapism indirectly through higher valence mindsets; malicious and benign envy were linked to higher depression indirectly through their associated mindsets and escapism. These findings have practical implications, highlighting escapism, rather than social media use itself, as a potential risk factor for depression. While acknowledging its limitations (e.g., a cross-sectional design, a sample with limited generalizability), the present study suggests future research directions, including intervention studies to reduce escapism and depression while enhancing digital literacy and adaptive mindsets and mitigating the impacts of envy.</p>