Social Support-Seeking among People with Mental Illness on Social Media: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11113/lspi.v12.26001Keywords:
Social support, systematic review, mental health, mental illness, social mediaAbstract
With the rise of social media, understanding how people with mental health illnesses seek social support online is crucial for enhancing support mechanisms. This systematic review synthesises evidence on the information-seeking behaviours of individuals with mental illness on social media, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework. A thorough search was done for studies published between 2014 and 2024 on PubMed, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Studies that looked at how people with mental health illness use social media to seek social support were required to meet inclusion criteria. A standardised form was used to extract the data, which were then qualitatively synthesised. A total of 11 studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings indicate that people with mental illness use social media primarily to seek social support, share personal experiences, and gather information on symptoms, treatments and medications. Social media platforms like Facebook, X, and Reddit were commonly used. This review highlights that social media is a significant resource for people with mental illness’ information and support seeking. While it offers benefits, there are also concerns about the reliability of information and privacy issues. Future research should focus on interventions to enhance the positive impacts of social media on social support-seeking behaviours.
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