Psychological effects of social networking sites: towards a theoretical model

Abstract EN

The rapid increase in the use of social networking sites (SNS) has drawn attention to the psychological effects of these sites on users.

Through a brief review of 119 Arab and western studies from 2011 to 2020, the results indicated that SNS help users in getting rid of psychological unity and improve their self-esteem.

Moreover, SNS help them in increasing the sense of self-confidence, belonging to the society and feeling love, acceptance and appreciation as a result of their interaction on SNS.

However, the use of SNS causes many negative psychological effects such as increasing social comparisons, jealousy, depression, anxiety and stress, as a result of exposure to contradictory opinions and ideas.

To contribute to this discussion, we attempt to present a complete vision of these psychological effects during our study years which help in reaching a theoretical model to explain how SNS affect the psychological aspects of users.