The relationship between social networking sites (SNS) and mental health is influenced by individual user characteristics, making it crucial to understand the nature of this complex interaction. Despite its importance, however, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews synthesizing prior studies on how user characteristics moderate the relationship between usage of SNS and mental health. Therefore, to examine how this issue has been studied in the literature, we conducted a scoping review, focusing on quantitative evidence, including experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experience-sampling studies. We provide an overview of (a) user characteristics that have been examined as moderators of the relationship between (overall, active, or passive) SNS use and mental health (well-being or ill-being), and (b) methodological and theoretical features of these studies. After conducting a systematic database search, followed by title and abstract screening, full-text review of relevant studies, and an interrater reliability check among three authors, we found 30 journal articles examining 24 unique moderators. We then applied a narrative synthesis approach to describe the findings. Most studies were atheoretical, cross-sectional, and relied on convenience samples. Most moderators (n = 16, 67%) were examined in a single journal article only and for those examined at least twice (gender, social comparison orientation, neuroticism, extraversion, SNS use motives, Fear of missing out, self-esteem, social capital & social support, and age), results were mixed. However, experimental studies revealed that social comparison orientation was the most consistent moderator, aggravating the negative consequences of passive SNS use on mental health. We outline four recommendations for future studies on the conditional effects of SNS use on mental health to resolve existing inconsistencies and deepen our understanding of these conditional effects: (a) improving participant sampling, (b) refining the conceptualization and measurement of key variables, (c) accounting for platform diversity, and (d) incorporating theoretical frameworks.

The impact of smartphones and social media on mental health depends on how people use these technologies. Research distinguishes between overall, social and non-social smartphone use, as well as between overall, active, and passive social media use. Recent studies revealed that the consequences of these usage types for mental health may depend on personality traits; however, evidence remains elusive. This study examines the moderating role of extraversion and neuroticism in the within-person relationship between different types of (a) smartphone use and mental health, and (b) Instagram use and mental health. In a weeklong diary study with 142 participants (63% female, average age = 26.39), we collected data on subtypes of smartphone and Instagram use, and positive and negative affect. Neuroticism and extraversion were measured at baseline. Passive Instagram use predicted increases in negative affect. Moreover, Neuroticism (but not extraversion) emerged as a significant moderator. Only for users scoring high on neuroticism, time spent on smartphones and passive use of Instagram predicted increases in negative affect, emphasizing the complex interplay between usage types, user characteristics, and mental health. These findings may help practitioners tailor interventions to specific populations. Future research with diverse samples is necessary to identify additional vulnerability and protective user characteristics.

As social media provides opportunities but also involves risks for adolescents, some parents apply strategies to help their children adaptively use social media. Taxonomies of these strategies were primarily based on research conducted in the Global North. However, while social media use is also highly prevalent in the Global South, research on parental mediation strategies in the Global South is relatively scarce. The aim of this study is to increase our understanding of parental mediation strategies for social media use that occur in Indonesia. We conducted a qualitative study consisting of eight focus group discussions and eight semi-structured interviews (15 Indonesian parents and 30 Indonesian adolescents). The thematic analysis revealed that participating Indonesian parents typically applied a combination of specific restrictive and enabling strategies, including access restriction, interaction restriction, technical mediation, monitoring, interpretative mediation, supervision/co-use, modelling, and norm implementation. Parents reported a range of difficulties when trying to implement mediation strategies but overall, they believed that their strategies help their children to use social media more adaptively.