Networking Your Way into Mental Illness: SLR of Social Media Usage Among Malaysian Youth

Youths are the most common group with social media utilisation as they are the biggest group of internet users. Their social media usage, however, poses a threat to them in the form of mental illness. Besides, there are still insufficient studies that systematically review existing literature on Malaysian youth groups concerning their social media usage and mental illness. Following that, this study aims to identify the forms of mental illness that are affecting Malaysian youths. It also highlights the specific areas and content of research that should be the focus of future studies. Therefore, this systematic literature review on the mental illness outcomes associated with social media usage among Malaysian youth is guided by ROSES (Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses). This study selected articles from reputable and widely recognised databases including Scopus and PubMed. Based on the thematic analysis, this review has four main themes focusing on the mental illness outcome from social media usage, namely 1) distress, 2) fear, 3) depression, and 4) anxiety. The identified themes contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential psychological impact of social media on this population thereby facilitating the development of targeted interventions and strategies to promote mental well-being among Malaysian youths. Keywords: Social media, mental illness, Malaysian, youths, literature review.