There has been a growing concern over the past couple of decades regarding the link
between social media use and mental health issues. Although research findings identify a
connection between increased social media use in the young adult population and increased
mental health problems in the same population, it is unclear how social media use may be
associated with these changes.
The purpose of this thesis is to explore how social media use is related to the mental
health of young adults. To accomplish this goal, the researcher reviews and synthesizes the
existing literature pertaining to characteristics of social media, general young adult mental
health, and the current social- and individual-level theories that may help explain the relationship
between social media use by young adults and their mental health